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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 47721 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-43072

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government after what length of time would it consider its Building a New Scotland series of papers to be out of date.

The Building a New Scotland series is intended to inform public debate on Scotland’s constitutional future, including independence. The papers will remain relevant as long as the content within them remains of relevance to the context in Scotland and in which Scotland operates.

Since the independence referendum in 2014, significant factors changed about Scotland’s place in the UK, and about the UK’s place in the world. Many of the changes do not reflect the predictions or promises made during the debate about Scottish independence, and many could not have been predicted at the time. The Scottish Government believes that the people of Scotland should have the opportunity to consider their constitutional future, and the Building a New Scotland series helps inform that consideration.

The Scottish Government will continue to keep the people of Scotland updated with the information they need to make a decision about their constitutional future.

Question reference: S6W-43021

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been identified for youth work in the draft Scottish Budget 2026-27.

The Scottish Government remains committed to youth work and continues to provide support through a range of funding streams. This includes the local authority block grant, which gives councils significant flexibility to allocate resources for youth work in their area.

In recognition of their critical role in delivering localised services, including youth work, the Scottish Government is increasing the total resources available to local government in 2026-27 by almost £651 million.

We are also investing significant funding in youth work through programmes such as Cashback for Communities which the Scottish Government has committed to finance for a further three years, supported by a record budget of up to £26 million - an increase of £6 million from the previous phase.

This is in addition to £150,000 of new funding for youth work in 2025-26, announced on 27 October, supporting measures to help re-engage young people from low-income backgrounds with school and address anti-social behaviour, and deliver investment in grassroots youth work.

Since 2023 the Scottish Government has also invested more than £2 million in community-based youth work through national youth work organisations, including YouthLink Scotland and Youth Scotland, to reach young people outside school. This includes funding for over 5,500 youth workers in 2025-26 to develop skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver youth work through training opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-43081

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what effect the proposal to remove small business rates relief from country sport shoots is expected to have on conservation and land management associated with shoots, and how this aligns with its climate and biodiversity targets.

During Stage 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill Scottish Ministers committed to explore how non-domestic rates reliefs, particularly Small Business Bonus Scheme relief, can be better targeted.

Following consideration and engagement through the budget process, the draft Budget for 2026-27 set out that shootings and deer forests will be excluded from eligibility for Small Business Bonus Scheme relief and Fresh Start relief, with prescribed exclusions. For example, where shooting rights in shootings or deer forests are exercised solely for the purposes of environmental management, eligibility for Small Business Bonus Scheme will be maintained.

We recognise the vital role rural land managers have in delivering on key outcomes including reducing deer populations, and will ensure their concerns are considered to minimise any unintended consequences.

Question reference: S6W-43037

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government by how much the capital budget for colleges will increase in 2026-27.

In 2026-27 the proposed Budget increases core funding into the college sector by £70m, with an additional £61.4 million in resource funding and an extra £8.2 million in capital funding. For clarity, those figures do not include college specific infrastructure projects, such as Dunfermline Learning Campus.

The total budget for colleges increases from £694 million in last year’s budget to £764 million in 2026-27, with the aim of providing stability for the sector and space to consider reforms which will help deliver sustainability in the future.

Work is underway by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) with the sector - including with Dundee and Angus College, Forth Valley College and West College Scotland - to consider future infrastructure needs and funding for specific infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S6W-43082

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) gross and (b) net revenue it forecasts over each of the next five years from the proposal to remove small business rates relief from country sport shoots.

Question reference: S6W-43253

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the ongoing employment position of shop-floor manufacturing workers at Alexander Dennis's site in (a) Larbert and (b) Falkirk, in light of reports that the company has not applied for any funding through the furlough scheme that was created to support the retention of jobs at the company.

Question reference: S6W-43255

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise regarding training provision linked to the furlough scheme that it created to support the retention of jobs at Alexander Dennis, and whether any training support has been accessed in the absence of the company applying for any funding through the scheme.

Question reference: S6W-43376

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) Food Standards Scotland’s guidance permitting the use of alcohol-free labelling on products containing up to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), and whether this adequately protects consumers who are allergic to alcohol, and (b) Alcohol Focus Scotland’s calls for all alcohol substitutes and lower strength alcohol products to feature their ABV content plainly on the front-facing part of the label.

Question reference: S6W-43252

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the furlough scheme that was announced to support the retention of jobs at the company, whether Alexander Dennis has provided the required evidence of sufficient contracted orders to sustain long-term manufacturing operations in Scotland, and, if so, on what date any such evidence was (a) received and (b) assessed.

Question reference: S6W-43410

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set key benchmarks for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to measure response times for the first responding appliance.