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: S6F-04446

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government is still on track to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.

Question reference: S6F-04434

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-04432

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-04452

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the report on regional economic growth by former University of Glasgow principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli.

Question reference: S6F-04433

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-41598

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement is has had with the National Records of Scotland regarding the operation of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and whether it needs to be updated.

The main focus of the Scottish Government's recent engagement with the National Records of Scotland regarding the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 has been in relation to our planned Family Law consultation, this includes (i) whether we should legislate to raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 and (ii) setting qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies to meet when they solemnise marriage. The draft consultation is currently being finalised and we expect to be in a position to launch the consultation by the end of this year.

Question reference: S6W-41591

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that prisoners with alcohol problems are able to access the treatment and support that they need.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS Alcohol & Drug Recovery Strategy aims to ensure that people in our care have access to appropriate support and a range of interventions and services which are similar to those delivered within our communities.

Working collaboratively with key stakeholders, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), we offer a range of mutual aid support groups to share skills, knowledge and resources designed to reduce and prevent the harm caused from alcohol use.

In addition to this, NHS and SPS Staff continue to promote and support access to the Prison to Rehab Pathway to ensure people in our care are aware of the residential rehabilitation options and structured programmes available to them as part of planning for their liberation.

Question reference: S6W-41481

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much Pupil Equity Funding has been distributed to schools in each year since 2021, broken down by local authority area.

The requested figures are set out in the following table

	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
	Allocation	Allocation	Allocation	Allocation	Allocation
Aberdeen City	£3,110,987	£3,731,120	£3,263,915	£3,263,915	£ 3,264,200
Aberdeenshire	£2,909,744	£3,489,762	£3,239,675	£3,239,675	£ 3,239,675
Angus	£2,184,071	£2,619,435	£2,309,785	£2,309,785	£ 2,309,785
Argyll & Bute	£1,330,813	£1,596,093	£1,366,800	£1,364,350	£ 1,364,350
Clackmannanshire	£1,527,827	£1,832,378	£1,662,965	£1,662,965	£ 1,662,965
Dumfries & Galloway	£2,870,271	£3,442,420	£3,274,115	£3,274,115	£ 3,270,440
Dundee City	£5,068,557	£6,078,903	£5,107,235	£5,107,235	£ 5,107,235
East Ayrshire	£3,503,018	£4,201,297	£3,809,120	£3,809,120	£ 3,843,420
East Dunbartonshire	£1,663,869	£1,995,538	£1,726,750	£1,726,750	£ 1,752,475
East Lothian	£1,613,823	£1,935,516	£1,789,725	£1,816,063	£ 1,816,063
East Renfrewshire	£1,353,017	£1,622,722	£1,488,515	£1,488,515	£ 1,488,515
Edinburgh City	£7,265,551	£8,713,837	£7,868,350	£7,911,225	£ 7,915,045
Eilean Siar	£292,290	£350,554	£340,375	£340,375	£ 340,375
Falkirk	£3,659,972	£4,389,536	£3,962,315	£3,962,315	£ 3,962,315
Fife	£9,880,538	£11,850,085	£10,465,820	£10,465,820	£ 10,465,820
Glasgow City	£22,201,370	£26,626,904	£23,208,495	£23,208,495	£ 23,224,420
Highland	£4,007,948	£4,806,876	£4,272,140	£4,290,515	£ 4,284,970
Inverclyde	£2,396,357	£2,874,037	£2,585,290	£2,585,290	£ 2,585,290
Midlothian	£2,209,916	£2,650,432	£2,423,905	£2,423,905	£ 2,436,155
Moray	£1,394,840	£1,672,882	£1,484,285	£1,484,285	£ 1,482,125
North Ayrshire	£4,297,771	£5,154,472	£4,172,180	£4,172,180	£ 4,196,680
North Lanarkshire	£9,110,457	£10,926,499	£9,682,080	£9,682,080	£ 9,678,420
Orkney Islands	£237,780	£285,178	£249,805	£249,805	£ 249,805
Perth & Kinross	£1,699,113	£2,037,808	£1,873,930	£1,873,930	£ 1,863,500
Renfrewshire	£4,360,388	£5,229,570	£4,662,760	£4,662,760	£ 4,662,760
Scottish Borders	£1,798,853	£2,157,430	£1,923,695	£1,948,855	£ 1,947,630
Shetland Islands	£227,676	£273,060	£254,575	£254,575	£ 254,575
South Ayrshire	£2,398,707	£2,876,855	£2,615,625	£2,615,625	£ 2,614,430
South Lanarkshire	£8,262,368	£9,909,356	£8,949,160	£8,949,160	£ 8,962,635
Stirling	£1,417,866	£1,700,498	£1,452,975	£1,452,975	£ 1,452,975
West Dunbartonshire	£3,166,555	£3,797,765	£3,380,835	£3,380,835	£ 3,380,835
West Lothian	£5,009,817	£6,008,454	£5,438,330	£5,449,355	£ 5,465,280
Sum of local authorities	£122,432,130	£146,837,274	£130,305,525	£130,426,848	£ 130,545,163

Grant-Maintained	£107,845	£129,344	£110,510	£110,510	£ 110,510

Total	£122,539,975	£146,966,619	£130,416,035	£130,537,358	£ 130,655,673

Budget	£120,000,000	£140,000,000	£130,000,000	£130,000,000	£ 130,000,000
*As allocations are issued in full, this represents actual SG spend, not LA level spend.

Question reference: S6W-41482

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Pupil Equity Funding has ever been allocated to schools to help (a) parents and (b) pupils meet ferry costs in relation to traveling to school.

Headteachers are empowered to take the decisions they judge will have the greatest impact for their pupils. They know their school communities best and are best placed to identify the approaches most likely to reduce barriers to learning.

The Scottish Government does not hold central records on individual schools’ expenditure decisions, and therefore does not record whether PEF has been used to meet ferry costs. However, funding can be used flexibly to remove barriers that prevent pupils from fully engaging in their education, where this can be evidenced as supporting equity of access and improved outcomes.

In island and rural communities, schools have used PEF in a variety of ways to address the particular challenges of geography and cost - for example, by supporting digital connectivity, access to school trips and extra-curricular activities, and targeted wellbeing interventions that help ensure pupils can participate fully in learning.

Question reference: S6W-41596

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review and update current SIGN guidelines to make discussions regarding Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) a mandatory part of epilepsy care.