Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S7W-01557

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of employing special advisers was in 2025-26.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.

The total cost of Special Advisers employed during the financial year 2025-26 was £2,160,036.

Total cost includes all salary costs, employer NI, and employer pension contributions. The level of employer NI, and civil service pension contribution is reserved and is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

The cost of Special Advisers during 2025-26 was based on the following Pay Bands and Pay Ranges:

Pay Band	Pay Range (£)	Number of Special Advisers in Band
2	£67,565 – £81,868	10
3	£84,364 – £107,385	7
4	£114,242 – £121,093	1

Information on current Special Adviser appointments for 2026-27 is available on the Scottish Government website and costs for the year will be reported after the end of the current financial year.

The First Minister has appointed a more streamlined Special Adviser team after the election who are supporting ministers to deliver on the things that matter most to the people of Scotland. As of the date of this response, there are 13 Special Advisers within the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S7W-01042

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 7 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents involving possession of a knife or bladed article have been recorded in schools in each of the last five years.

Table 1 shows the number of police recorded crimes of having in a school an article with a blade or point over 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Table 1: Crimes of having in a school an article with a blade or point, Scotland, 2021-22 to 2025-26

Crime category	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26
Having in a school an article with a blade or point (not used in other criminal activity)	98	112	94	121	99
Having in a school an article with a blade or point (used in other criminal activity)	37	27	35	28	28
Total crimes of having in a school an article with a blade or point	135	139	129	149	127

Source: Accredited Official Statistics Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26

Question reference: S7W-01016

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 7 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints regarding the illegal use of (a) quad bikes and (b) off-road motorcycles have been recorded by Police Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-01037

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 7 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents involving groups of young people causing public disorder have been recorded by Police Scotland in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S7W-01552

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what precautions it is taking to ensure that the development of data centres does not have a significant impact on energy and water resources

Question reference: S7W-01558

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the LIFT Open Market Share Equity (OMSE) scheme will reopen for applications.

Question reference: S7W-01561

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-31971 by Gillian Martin on 12 December 2024, whether it still plans to bring forward proposals to improve water, wastewater and drainage policy, and if so, by what date it will do so.

Question reference: S7W-01536

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the £10 million Scottish Heating Oil Support Scheme fund, how many households have received support, broken down by (a) average amount received and (b) total amount paid out from the fund.

Question reference: S7W-01547

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessments, reports, correspondence or briefing it has prepared since MV Glen Sannox entered service comparing the vessel's actual greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption with (a) those of the vessel or vessels that it replaced and (b) the emissions reductions forecast in the business case.

Question reference: S7W-01555

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement action has been taken by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park since the change of bye-laws relating to the use of jet skis.