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-00866

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings ministers have held with GB Energy sice May 2025, who attended and what was discussed.

Question reference: S7W-00878

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the 2026 report by Carers Week, Building Carer Friendly Communities, which found that 38% of respondents in Scotland have provided unpaid care at some point, how it plans to recognise and support unpaid carers throughout the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S7W-00873

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it became aware that the Grangemouth refinery was a bottom quartile-performing refinery on the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index, and what measures it proposed to address this.

Question reference: S7W-00760

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is planning to ensure the safety of jobs available for graduates in the ever-increasing world of AI.

Question reference: S7W-00311

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with the Scottish Retail Consortium regarding the proposal.

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, and I, met with the Scottish Retail Consortium on 3 May. At that meeting, 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-00186

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what timescales it has set for the delivery of new affordable homes under its proposed Rural and Island Housing Fund and how it will evaluate the fund's progress, including key annual milestones.

In February we announced our intention to introduce a Rural and Islands Housing Grant Scheme to complement existing funds within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, including the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund, both of which are open to application to March 2028.

The development of this new grant scheme will be taken forward with rural and housing partners. The scheme will be open to individuals to help meet the cost of securing a permanent home. It is expected it will provide support to first time buyers, families, rural returners and others to help them access affordable owner occupation in the rural and island communities of their choice.

Our intention is that the fund will be operational in 2026-2027 but will want to take time to develop the finer details in collaboration with rural and island housing partners to ensure that this scheme meets the needs of rural and island communities.

Question reference: S7W-00185

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with representatives of rural and island communities regarding its proposed Rural and Island Housing Fund.

The Scottish Government works collaboratively with a broad range of rural and island stakeholders on a number of housing-related issues. This includes engagement on the development of the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan, published in October 2023, and on affordable housing delivery more generally.

In February 2026 we announced our intention to develop a Rural and Island Housing Grant Scheme. The development of the scheme will be taken forward with close engagement with rural and island housing partners.

Question reference: S7W-00800

Asked by: Joe Long, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when unpaid carers will be able to access a right to breaks, as set out in the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.

The date for this legislation going live has yet to be decided. Our consultation on the approach to implementation closed on 22 May and we aim to publish a report on responses within 12 weeks.

Preparation for implementation is being supported by the Right to Breaks Implementation Steering Group, involving unpaid carer representatives as well as statutory and third sector organisations.

In the meantime, local authorities already have responsibilities to promote a variety of short breaks in their areas and carers who meet local eligibility criteria can continue to access short break support in accordance with their rights under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. Additionally, we are providing £13m in 2026-27 for the voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund which enables unpaid carers to benefit from a wide variety of easy-access short breaks.

Question reference: S7W-00333

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to any risks of relying on the Vision 3 service, in light of previous Vision 3 suppliers reportedly going into administration.

The Scottish Government has considered the risks associated with reliance on the Vision 3 service. Following the administration of In Practice Systems Limited (INPS) in December 2024, migrations were paused while contractual novation to OneAdvanced was secured, involving extensive due diligence over nine months.

Robust governance, including framework procurement rules, clinical safety assessments, and contractual safeguards, remains in place. Risk mitigation measures include ongoing oversight by the GP IT Service Management Board, a phased rollout of migrations to the Vision system, and supplier performance management. The system continues to be supported, secure, and subject to continuous review, with contingency planning reflected in the extended EMIS PCS GP IT system contract to June 2027 while the programme of migrations to the Vision system is ongoing.

Question reference: S7W-00198

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out how, as participants in the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme, customers who receive their allowance through Social Security Scotland might be affected by changes to the Motability UK scheme from 1 July 2026.

The Scottish Government is working with Motability Operations to understand how any changes stemming from UK Government tax changes in its November 2025 Budget might affect its customers in Scotland who use the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme.

We are aware of the upcoming changes announced by Motability to new and renewing lease customers elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Motability will separately set out in due course how any changes will apply to its future provision in Scotland under the AVE Scheme.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the AVE Scheme and ensuring that eligible clients get the right vehicle to meet their needs and to allow them to remain independent.