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-03706

Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has considered putting in place to encourage individuals to enter the counselling profession.

Question reference: S7W-03736

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses applied to the Cairngorms Fire Recovery Fund, broken down by how many applications from tier (a) 1 and (b) 2 businesses were (i) approved and (ii) not approved.

Question reference: S7W-03742

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a single unique identifier for children and young people to allow for data sharing between health, social care and education services.

Question reference: S7W-03722

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number and proportion of pupils with additional support needs whose current package of educational support has been assessed or reviewed by an educational psychologist as being appropriate to meet their identified needs.

Question reference: S7W-03724

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the average waiting time for a pupil to receive an assessment by an educational psychologist, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S7W-03712

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce a Shetland Energy Act, or similar legislation for all of Scotland’s islands, during this session of Parliament.

Question reference: S7W-03711

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is prepared to deal with an increasing number of challenges to individual social care budgets, in light of higher numbers of people escalating complaints from local authorities.

Question reference: S7W-03704

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to address concerns raised by the self-catering sector regarding the interaction between short-term let licensing and planning requirements, including the application of planning requirements to established operators both within and outwith short-term let control areas, and the reported risk that otherwise viable self-catering businesses may be forced to cease trading as a result.

Question reference: S7W-03733

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the cost of student accommodation is affecting students’ choice of university by making it financially necessary for some to study within commuting distance of their family home, and what action it is taking to ensure that accommodation costs do not create a barrier to accessing higher education.

Question reference: S7W-03313

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a binding duty on local authorities to provide cross-boundary funded childcare placements in the current parliamentary session.

Local authorities do not have a statutory duty to provide funded ELC to children who reside outside their area, however they have the power to do so under section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act (1980) and are encouraged through joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance to treat children from neighbouring authorities the same, wherever possible.

While the Scottish Government is not currently planning to legislate to create a statutory duty, Ministers remain open to exploring all potential routes to improving families’ experiences.