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-03924

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of transport availability and connectivity in rural communities on college uptake, attendance and course completion rates, and what action it is taking to ensure that a lack of affordable and reliable public transport does not act as a barrier to further education.

Question reference: S7W-03935

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-02875, by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026, what opportunities have been identified to further support officers transitioning into operational roles, and when the Scottish Prisons Service (SPS) plans to implement these changes.

Question reference: S7W-03956

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported vandalism, graffiti or other deliberate damage to property as a neighbourhood problem in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-03960

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recently announced urban deer management pilot scheme in the Central Belt, whether it plans to support future proposed deer management and venison supply scheme in other parts of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03944

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any residual waste will be transported to (a) England or (b) another part of the UK, in light of reported capacity issues in the remaining three landfill sites in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03957

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of adults reported drug misuse or dealing as a neighbourhood problem in each year for which data is available since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-03934

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-02882 by Neil Gray on 11 September 2026, when the proposed national oversight mechanism for deaths in custody will be implemented.

Question reference: S7W-03914

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the amount of packaging used for fruit and vegetables.

Question reference: S7W-03905

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the next edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

I am pleased to announce that I have published the latest edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code today. It is normal practice to update the Ministerial Code following a Scottish Parliament election and I have taken this opportunity to make a small number of minor, technical updates. In addition to writing a new Foreword to the Code, I have made the following minor changes:

Paragraph 3.8 has been updated to amend the frequency of assurance reviews carried out by my independent advisers of the support provided by the Cabinet Secretariat to Ministers to help them declare their private interests. The Code now requires such reviews to be carried out every three years rather than annually. This change was suggested by my independent advisers and I agree with them that this offers a more proportionate approach. The Terms of Reference of my independent advisers have also been updated to reflect this change;
Paragraph 9.15 has been updated to add the Minister for Parliamentary Business to the list of Ministers who should be consulted on plans for publishing a policy statement or consultation paper;
Paragraph 10.8 has been updated to clarify the process that should be followed by Ministers when supplying advance copies of publications before the item of parliamentary business at which they are due to be discussed;
Paragraphs 8.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.14, 11.15 and 11.18 have been updated to clarify the clearance process for Ministers wishing to travel overseas for official or personal reasons. The previous version of the Ministerial Code required Ministers to seek authorisation for overseas trips from the Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for External Affairs. However, as there is currently no Cabinet Secretary with such responsibility and it would not be appropriate for approval to rest solely on a junior Minister, this element of the code has been amended.

Prior to this latest version, new editions of the Code were published in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 2023 edition introduced the proactive publication of Ministers’ private interests and in 2024 I introduced the most significant changes to the Code since independent advisers were introduced in 2008. This included changes to allow my independent advisers to launch Ministerial Code investigations on their own initiative, without a referral from me as First Minister.

Question reference: S7W-03883

Asked by: Kate Campbell, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Stephen Gethins on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress against its Heat in Buildings Strategy.

We have laid before Parliament today an annual progress report against our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the fifth since its publication in 2021: [https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781807755898].

The report highlights that over 2,600 heat pumps were installed between 2025 and 2026 through the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme – the highest since the scheme began.

We also installed over 2,500 clean heating and renewables systems through Warmer Homes Scotland, also the highest number since the scheme began.

The progress report also confirms £3.9 million of investment in heat networks through our Heat Network Fund in 2025.