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: S6W-39085

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency regarding potentially expanding the available locations offered by the Scottish Driving Assessment Service for people who wish to commence, resume or continue driving after illness or injury, in light of the reported barriers to attendance for those in the Highlands and island areas.

The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the DVSA about the expansion of locations offered by the Scottish Driving Assessment Service.

The Scottish Driving Assessment Service is a matter for NHS Boards, and is hosted by NHS Lothian on behalf of NHS Scotland. The service is free for users and is currently funded through contributions from NHS Boards to NHS Lothian.

The NHS Directors of Planning Group has agreed to oversee a review of the Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS) and present a paper to the NHS Boards Chief Executives group. A Working Group will oversee a detailed scoping exercise to understand the demand for driving assessment in Scotland, and how this is currently being met.

It is proposed that the review will conclude with an Option Appraisal, supported by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, enabling stakeholders from throughout Scotland to discuss and appraise potential future service delivery models for driving assessment in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and the review is expected to conclude in late 2025.

Question reference: S6W-38791

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has undertaken with stakeholders regarding a workable solution to enable patients in Scotland to take part in proton beam therapy clinical trials, and what the estimated timeline is for the conclusion of any such work.

Scottish Government Officials have held 2 stakeholder meetings including representatives from the NHS Boards to discuss access for patients in Scotland to Proton Beam Therapy clinical trials delivered at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Manchester.

These meetings took place on 23 January 2025 and 23 April 2025. In addition officials have held numerous calls with individual stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-38792

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the Chief Scientist Office’s budget for excess treatment costs has been in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-39127

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any (a) disruption and (b) health implications reportedly caused by wind turbines, and what consideration it has given to changing its planning policy for wind turbines, in light of reports that subaudible, low-frequency noise emissions can have an impact on people’s health.

Guidance on the assessment of noise from onshore wind turbines across the UK is set out in the UK Government’s ETSU-R-97 guidance. The UK Government is currently consulting on an update which aims to bring the guidance in line with available evidence on turbine noise emissions, developments in turbine technology, and wind turbine noise assessment methodologies. The UK Government intends to issue a formal response to the consultation in Autumn 2025, and has advised that the current guidance remains suitable for assessing wind turbine noise in the meantime.

The Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy 11 (energy) requires that wind energy project design and mitigation will demonstrate how impacts on communities and individual dwellings, including from noise, are addressed. Having an established and consistent policy framework enables confidence in the planning system and we have no current plans to amend NPF4.

Question reference: S6W-39278

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported calls from the RSPB for a moratorium on gamebird and Mallard releases in 2025 due to the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in Britain being formally classed as "high".

Question reference: S6W-39262

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that Scottish SPCA guidance stating that, in the event of an animal requiring euthanasia, a vet should perform the injection rather than Scottish SPCA staff could result in increased animal suffering due to difficulties accessing a vet for the animal.

Question reference: S6W-39215

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government in which year it anticipates that new ferries to replace MV (a) Hjaltland, (b) Hrossey and (c) Hamnavoe, which serve the Northern Isles Ferry Service route, will come into service.

Question reference: S6W-39216

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to begin the process of replacing MV (a) Hjaltland, (b) Hrossey and (c) Hamnavoe, which serve the Northern Isles Ferry Service route.

Question reference: S6W-39218

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the process of replacing MV (a) Hjaltland, (b) MV Hrossey and (c) MV Hamnavoe, which serve the Northern Isles Ferry Service route.

Question reference: S6W-39217

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what cost estimates it has made of the process to replace MV (a) Hjaltland, (b) Hrossey and (c) Hamnavoe, which have served on the Northern Isles Ferry Service route since 2002.