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-01945

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme in (a) 2025-26 and (b) since April 2026 have been (i) approved and (ii) not approved.

In 2025-26 the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) received 1,063 applications, of which 777 were approved and 154 were rejected. The remaining 132 applications have a variety of statuses including still to be assessed, withdrawn, or offer letters have been issued but have yet to be returned by the applicant.

Since April 2026, 156 applications have been approved and offered contracts, with 61 of those already accepted. A further 50 applications have either been withdrawn or rejected.

Question reference: S7W-02168

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling has been carried out to assess the (a) demand and (b) capacity for hip and knee replacements over the next five yeare.

The Scottish Government has supported and used modelling to inform planning across the wider Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty.

This includes modelling undertaken through the Performance Management and Assessment Tool (PMAT), which considers demand and capacity across the full Trauma & Orthopaedic waiting list to support delivery planning and Scottish Government targets. However, this modelling is not undertaken specifically for hip and knee replacement services.

In addition, work has been undertaken with the University of Strathclyde through the Centre for Sustainable Delivery to model aspects of orthopaedic demand and capacity. This work was conducted at whole-specialty level rather than at the level of individual sub-specialties such as hip and knee replacement surgery.

Separately, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, which is the largest hip and knee replacement centre in the UK, employs a Clinical Fellow who undertakes modelling relating to arthroplasty demand through the Scottish Arthroplasty Project.

Question reference: S7W-01953

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings the minister with responsibility for energy has had with representatives of Scottish Enterprise since 2024, on what dates, and what was discussed.

Information regarding ministerial engagements is available on the Scottish Government website and I would refer the member to the following pages:

https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.

The minister with responsibility for energy met with Scottish Enterprise on the following occasions:

The Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy met Scottish Enterprise on 28 February 2024 to discuss the wellbeing economy.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work visited the Scottish Enterprise Clean Heat Supply Chain and Investment Conference on 27 March 2024 to discuss heat in buildings.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 22 May 2024 to discuss economic development.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met Scottish Enterprise on 10 July 2024 to discuss energy and the Just Transition.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chief Executive and Interim Chair of Scottish Enterprise on 23 July 2024 to discuss health and the economy.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work held a phone call with the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 12 August 2024 to discuss the economy.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 28 August 2024 to discuss the economy.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the President and CEO of NFI Group, the President and Managing Director, Group Finance Director and Group Marketing Director of Alexander Dennis Limited, and the Chief Executive and Account Manager of Scottish Enterprise on 5 September 2024 to discuss the economy and net zero.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 5 September 2024 to discuss the agency’s work.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Business Response Team Leader and Digital Transformation Specialists Team of Scottish Enterprise, and the Head of Enterprise and Business of South of Scotland Enterprise, on 31 October 2024 to discuss business resilience.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work recorded a video for Scottish Enterprise Backing Ambition 2024 and St Andrew's Day on 28 November 2024.
The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy met Scottish Enterprise and Crown Estate Scotland on 13 March 2025 to discuss offshore wind.

Question reference: S7W-01956

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings the minister with responsibility for energy has had with representatives of South of Scotland Enterprise since 2024, on what dates, and what was discussed.

Information regarding ministerial engagements is available on the Scottish Government website and I would refer the member to the following pages:

https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.

The minister with responsibility for energy met with South of Scotland Enterprise on the following occasions:

The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair and Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise on 26 June 2024 to discuss South of Scotland Enterprise’s activity and relevant portfolio issues.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise on 8 July 2024 to discuss rural housing.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair and Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise on 26 September 2024 to discuss South of Scotland Enterprise’s activity and relevant portfolio issues.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise on 19 September 2024 to discuss Public Service Reform.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise and a Director of Kight PowerHub BESS (Scotland) on 29 October 2024 to discuss Kight Powerhub’s work.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Business Response Team Leader and Digital Transformation Specialists team of Scottish Enterprise, and the Head of Enterprise and Business of South of Scotland Enterprise, on 31 October 2024 to discuss business resilience.
The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work attended the South of Scotland Enterprise Natural Capital Roundtable on 4 December 2024 to discuss natural capital investment.

Question reference: S7W-01961

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing legislation to prohibit the sale, supply and release of sky lanterns, and the release of helium balloons, into the atmosphere, in similar terms to the Sky Lanterns and Balloons (Prohibition) Act 2021 on the Isle of Man.

The Scottish Government is aware of the risks that sky lanterns and helium balloons can pose to wildlife, livestock and marine animals through ingestion and entanglement. That is why we will continue to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful and other partners through delivery of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy to prevent all sources of litter, raise awareness of their environmental impacts and encourage responsible behaviours that help protect Scotland’s natural environment.

Question reference: S7W-02586

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S7W-02587

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S7W-02349

Asked by: Michelle Campbell, MSP for Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, for each local authority, (a) how many businesses received non-domestic rates relief and (b) the total value of relief awarded, in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

The requested information can be found in Table 4 of both the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2024 and the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.

The figures in these publication are based on Billing System Snapshots, an annual property-level data return provided to the Scottish Government by councils. Values of reliefs are estimates based on the reliefs in place on the snapshot date. The values of reliefs reported are the total values of reliefs, funded by both the Scottish Government and by councils.

Outturn values of reliefs, including a breakdown by council area, are published in Non-domestic rates income statistics.

Question reference: S7W-02326

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the recent wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park, for what reason it (a) made a request for vehicles from the Ministry of Defence, specifically water bombing helicopters, that the Ministry does not possess, and (b) turned down an offer from the Ministry of Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters as part of efforts to combat the fire.

As part of the response to the significant wildfire in the Cairngorms two commercially hired helicopters were in use for water bombing the fire. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) assessed that additional aerial support to drop water on the fire could aid the response. The Scottish Government sought to explore every available avenue of support and that included requesting military assistance in the form of aerial support to drop water on the fire from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supplement the existing aerial resources that were in place. The response was that the MoD did not currently possess aerial firefighting assets stationed within the UK.

The MOD did offer Chinook helicopters for the movement of people, troops and logistical support. However, the Scottish Government received assurance from SFRS that it had sufficient firefighters and volunteers along with logistical support to deal with the fire and therefore the offer of this other military support was not taken up.

Question reference: S7W-02298

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards establishing a publicly owned national energy company, as first announced in 2017, and whether it remains committed to creating such a company.

Public investment in Scotland has previously been explored in the context of a publicly owned energy retail company supplying energy to households. Initial exploration of the retail company proposal, including the outline business case, highlighted key barriers to the Scottish Government advancing public investment, particularly around devolved and reserved responsibilities.

The Scottish Government is committed to maximising the public benefits of the energy transition and continues to explore opportunities to invest in energy-related projects, technology and infrastructure within devolved competence.