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: S7O-00375

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of NHS Grampian’s preparedness to respond to any further cases of measles.

Question reference: S7W-03424

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what records management requirements apply to emails sent or received by special advisers via official Scottish Government email accounts.

Special Advisers are temporary civil servants appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. All civil servants are provided with the same IT support and services, including email accounts.

The Scottish Government’s records management arrangements are set out in our published Records Management Plan and apply to all civil servants in the Scottish Government.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 defines the information to which it applies, what exemptions may apply and in what circumstances. The Act applies to information irrespective of what media or platform that information is held in or on, whether within a civil service email account, or any other platform or media.

Question reference: S7W-03255

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of potential locations that would be suitable for the development of off-grid pumped-storage hydro facilities and offshore wind installations.

Scottish Government recognises the unique challenges faced by off-grid communities and we are committed to supporting them to develop sustainable, resilient and locally appropriate energy solutions that can improve energy security and help address energy costs.

The Scottish Government has made no assessment of potential locations for the deployment of off-grid pumped storage hydro and offshore wind installations. However, our Updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) will deliver the spatial planning framework for the ScotWind and Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing rounds.

Question reference: S7W-02078

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-01537 by Stephen Gethins on 23 July 2026, which did not address the point raised regarding the £10 million Scottish Heating Oil Support Scheme fund, where any unallocated funds are currently held and what its plans are for such funds when the scheme closes in September 2026, including where any remaining funds will be held thereafter.

The overall budget, including funding for the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme, is managed across the Scottish Government and, as happens every year, any overall funding changes required to support expenditure are confirmed as part of budget revisions.

The Scottish Government has recently announced that the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme is to be extended into winter, ensuring the most vulnerable households are supported throughout winter as prices remain volatile.

The funding will be made available for the scheme during this period.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual is issued by the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds, including information on Grants, such as the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme, and on “clawback” from any unspent funds once the scheme ends.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual is published on the Scottish Government’s website and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-public-finance-manual/

Alongside the extension of the scheme, I would encourage households that use heating oil or LPG to contact Home Energy Scotland for free and impartial advice on reducing energy bills, improving energy efficiency and exploring clean heating options. Advisers can help households identify the support available to them and navigate funding schemes for home energy improvements.

Question reference: S7W-03423

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether emails sent or received by special advisers via official Scottish Government email accounts are considered to be information that is held by the Scottish Government for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Question reference: S7W-03422

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether all special advisers are provided with an individual Scottish Government email account for the conduct of official business.

Yes. All special advisers are provided with an individual Scottish Government email account for the conduct of official business.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S7W-03424 on 29 September. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S7O-00312

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the latest homelessness statistics showing that 19,004 households are in temporary accommodation, the highest recorded figure, whether it considers that it has met its 2023 commitment to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2026.

Question reference: S7W-03018

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding GP walk-in clinics across Scotland, whether it will provide information on (a) the maximum capacity for patient consultations and (b) the funding awarded for financial year 2026-27, broken down by location.

Question reference: S7W-03027

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what passenger and aviation data it relied on when it concluded that the proposed Air Departure Tax exemption for domestic flights from Highlands and Islands airports, including Inverness Airport, is necessary to support connectivity, including (a) the source, (b) year of the most recent data considered and (c) any equivalent evidence relating to Aberdeen International Airport.

The Scottish Government considered a range of evidence in reaching its conclusion that an exemption from Air Departure Tax (ADT)is necessary to protect Highlands and Islands aviation connectivity.

This included evidence gathered through the ‘Delivering Scotland's Air Departure Tax’ consultation, which ran from 29 January to 26 March 2026 ,as well as wider stakeholder engagement.

The evidence gathered via our consultation highlighted the particular connectivity challenges faced by communities and businesses in the Highlands and Islands region, which necessitates a continued tax exemption for the carriage of passengers to UK airports.

The Scottish Government has also analysed official data published by the UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA),as well as private sector passenger and route-level data provided by RDC Aviation. These datasets disaggregate data by individual Scottish airports, including Inverness Airport and Aberdeen Airport.

Data on aircraft movements, including for commercial scheduled flights and business aviation, are published monthly by the CAA. Multiple respondents to the ‘Delivering Scotland's Air Departure Tax’ consultation cited CAA data in their responses, with the most recent data sourced from 2025.

During the policy development process, the Scottish Government utilised passenger and route-level data from the previous full financial year (2024-25), obtained via RDC Aviation’s Apex platform.

The Scottish Government additionally considered various sources of evidence in our subsidy control assessment, including:

‘Scottish Islands Survey’, Scottish Government(2023)
‘Scotland National Strategy for Economic Transformation: Evidence from Regional Economic Partnerships’, Scottish Government (2022)
‘Cost of Living: impact on rural communities in Scotland’, Scottish Affairs Committee (2024)
‘Strategic Approach – Islands Connectivity Plan’, Transport Scotland (2025)
‘Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands’, Scottish Human Rights Commission (2024)
Western Isles Transport and Health Working Group, HITRANS (2025)
‘Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry’, Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee (2024)
‘Regional Economic Strategy’, Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership (2025)
‘Rural and Regional Disadvantage in the Highlands and Islands’, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) (2022)

Question reference: S7W-03026

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7O-00157 by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026, what assessment it has made of the risk of distortion of competition between Aberdeen International Airport and Inverness Airport arising from the proposed Highlands and Islands exemption from Air Departure Tax, including any impact on competing domestic air routes.

Aberdeen Airport will benefit from the Scottish Government’s decision to extend the Air Departure Tax (ADT)Highlands and Islands exemption to the carriage of passengers on routes from all Scottish airports to airports in the Highlands and Islands. This includes routes such as those from Aberdeen Airport to Sumburgh and Kirkwall.

The ADT Highlands and Islands exemption is not expected to bring about any negative impacts on competition relative to current circumstances, as it is replacing the existing Air Passenger Duty(APD) exemption. The APD exemption has applied to the carriage of passengers departing from airports in the Highlands and Islands to any destination worldwide (including via connecting flights)since 1 April 2001.

The Scottish Government has decided not to include the carriage of passengers from airports in the Highlands and Islands to international destinations in the ADT exemption to minimise competition distortion where possible. Including the carriage of passengers from airports in the Highlands and Islands region to UK airports is considered the appropriate and necessary level of subsidy required to achieve the exemption’s core objective of protecting crucial connectivity for communities in the region.

The ADT Highlands and Islands exemption was confirmed following public consultation and consideration of the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. These processes provided interested parties with an opportunity to share views on the proposal and its potential impacts. The effectiveness and impact(s) of the ADT Highlands and Islands exemption will be monitored as part of future ADT policy considerations and subsidy control reporting requirements.