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-02368

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual fuel consumption associated with providing CalMac's Gourock to Dunoon ferry service has been in each year since 2024.

Question reference: S7W-02346

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an analysis of its public consultation on the future of council tax in Scotland.

As part of this work, the Scottish Government undertook a public consultation alongside a wider programme of engagement, including in-person events with members of the public and tax professionals. The consultation closed on 30 January 2026 and the analytical report of the consultation responses and engagement activity is currently being finalised.

This report will be published in the coming weeks. It will help inform further work to build cross-party agreement on reforms that can make the Council Tax system fairer.

Question reference: S7W-02370

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) CalMac or (b) Transport Scotland plans to provide a replacement bus service during the period of scheduled works on the MV Ali Cat and MV Argyll Flyer between 2 September 2026 and 25 March 2027.

Question reference: S7W-02366

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many sailings on CalMac's Gourock to Dunoon ferry service carried (a) zero passengers, (b) fewer than 12 passengers, (c) between 13 and 24 passengers, (d) between 25 and 36 passengers, (e) between 37 and 48 passengers, and (f) 49 or more passengers, between March 2025 and March 2026.

The number of passengers carried by CalMac on the Gourock-Dunoon between March 2025 and March 2026, inclusive, according to the number of passengers per sailing is detailed in the following table.

Grouping of Passengers Carried	Sailings
Zero passengers	492
Fewer than 12 passengers	4,680
Between 13 and 24 passengers	3,513
Between 25 and 36 passengers	1,666
Between 37 and 48 passengers	599
49 or more passengers	354

Question reference: S7W-02509

Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role credit unions play in supporting financial inclusion and access to affordable credit.

The Scottish Government understands the important role of the credit union sector in providing access to fair and affordable financial products and services to their members, including those who may be otherwise financially excluded.

Officials are currently engaged with representatives of the credit union sector, including trade bodies and individual credit unions, to better understand the sector’s presence in Scotland. Officials are also engaging with the UK Government and the regulators on the impact of proposed regulatory reform, interventions identified in the UK Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy and HM Treasury’s independent review of Access to Banking Services to ensure Scotland’s credit union sector and Scotland's unique and distinct structural challenges and geographic contexts are understood and represented.

In November 2025, the Scottish Government issued revised directions to the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) for Scotland’s share of dormant assets funding. The new directions now include financial inclusion and specifically increasing access to affordable credit. NLCF has consulted stakeholders on the new direction and has also awarded grant funding of £92,000 to Social Investment Scotland to help develop the affordable credit element to ensure that any future work on affordable credit is grounded in lived experience, sector expertise and delivery realities.

NLCF is currently developing a strategic plan that they will present to Government to outline how they can meet the delivery of the funds against any new directions and we will continue to engage with them as their strategy develops.

Question reference: S7W-02369

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the number of sailings provided and the number of passengers carried on CalMac's Gourock to Dunoon ferry service during the April to June quarter in (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.

Question reference: S7W-02364

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail in light of the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service temporarily running as a single vessel service between 2 September 2026 and 25 March 2027.

Question reference: S7W-02303

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards the establishment of the Gaza Student Scholarship.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the impact it is having on civilians.

We recognise the appalling circumstances many Gazan students are experiencing, including those who have secured university places in the UK but face significant barriers in taking them up.

In academic year 2025-26, the Gaza Student Support Scheme enabled 27 students on fully funded scholarships to access their studies at Scottish universities. Keeping this vital route open gives students from Gaza a path to safety, stability and the chance to fulfil their potential. The Scottish Government has consistently pushed the UK Government to continue this scheme and we welcome the recent announcement that the scheme will continue into 2026-27.

Building on this support, the Scottish Government has pledged to work with Universities of Sanctuary to explore how we can further support students from Gaza, including through the development of a postgraduate Scottish Gaza Scholarship Programme. Further detail will be set out to Parliament as this work progresses.

Question reference: S7W-02293

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to a dedicated cancer strategy for children and young people, to follow the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care strategy and how it will ensure the continued delivery of the strategy's aims, once it reaches the end of its lifecycle in 2026.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of age-specific cancer care for children and young people, and our ambitions are clearly laid out in the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026.

The Scottish Government is actively considering how we best continue to deliver on our ambitions to improve care for children and young people with cancer. This includes engaging with those involved in delivering on the current strategy to understand the opportunities to do so when considering any future strategy approach.

Question reference: S7F-00029

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Year	Litres (Marine Gas Oil)
2024	649,100
2025	520.844
2026*	350,360

Quarter	Sailings	Passengers
April – June 2024	4,460	59,030
April – June 2025	2,656	48,792
April – June 2026	4,132	51,597