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-00325

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full list of the policy areas for which the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs has responsibility.

Question reference: S7W-00336

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of data centres applying for gas connections, how many such applications it is aware of in Scotland, and what its position is on gas-fired power generation for data centres.

The Scottish Government is not routinely sighted on applications for gas connections, but we are aware there are emerging data centre proposals that may have a gas component. The Scottish Government policy position is that new AI infrastructure developments should minimise reliance on fossil fuel solutions and we encourage developers to explore renewable and sustainable alternatives to gas fired generation wherever possible.

Question reference: S7W-00215

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many adult patients in Dumfriesshire are currently (a) registered and (b) not registered with an NHS dentist.

Question reference: S7W-00297

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, whether it plans to produce detailed guidance for grocery retailers in advance of any cap coming into effect.

Question reference: S7W-00499

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when Community Glaucoma Services to lower-risk glaucoma patients from hospitals, enabling them to receive care from accredited providers in the community, will be fully embedded across Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00312

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the SNP manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with its Retail Industry Leadership Group regarding the proposal.

At the Retail Industry Leadership Group (RILG) meeting on Tuesday 19 May, a commitment was made to engage meaningfully at the appropriate stage of the process.

At the Regulatory Review Group (RRG) meeting on Tuesday 26 May, a commitment was made to engage meaningfully at the appropriate stage of the process.

The Scottish Government routinely engages with a broad range of stakeholders and is committed to sustaining meaningful and constructive engagement throughout the policy making process.

Question reference: S7W-00338

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the potential particulate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions associated with diesel and gas backup generation that might be required for hyperscale AI data centres proposed in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00498

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party 2026 manifesto commitment, when the national commissioning model for deafblind services will be implemented.

Question reference: S7W-00275

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies in the Highlands and Islands region to decarbonise buildings in 2025-26, broken down by public body.

The Scottish Government introduced Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation to support the public sector in transitioning their current heating systems to low carbon alternatives, and to reduce energy use by utilising a wide range of energy efficiency measures. A breakdown of funding received by public bodies in the Highlands & Islands electoral region in 2025-26, per public body, is set out in the following table.

Organisation	Organisation Type	Scheme	Financial Year	Amount
Shetland Islands Council	Local Authority	Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund	2025-26	£167,873.00
Orkney Islands Council	Local Authority	Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund	2025-26	£120,000.00
Sabhal Mor Ostaig	Further Education Colleges	Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme	2025-26	£1,249,315.50

Additionally, Health Boards in the region have been supported through direct allocations from the Health Portfolio budget. These figures are indicative of overall funding totals for energy efficiency and decarbonisation project from the Health Infrastructure budget.

Organisation	Financial Year	Amount
NHS Grampian	2025-26	£1,614,460
NHS Highland	2025-26	£696,000
NHS Shetland	2025-26	£108,000
NHS Orkney	2025-26	£109,000
NHS Western Isles	2025-26	£80,000

Question reference: S7O-00055

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to increasing the powers of the police to confiscate and retain e-bikes, e-scooters and quad bikes used antisocially or in connection with criminal offending.