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: S6O-04215

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the current value of Scotland’s renewable energy output is to the UK economy.

Question reference: S6O-04212

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to ScotRail ticket offices scoring one out of five in the most recent Service Quality Inspection Regime data.

Question reference: S6O-04196

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Auditor General’s November 2024 report, Fiscal sustainability and reform in Scotland, which states that “The Scottish Government has not been sufficiently transparent with the Scottish Parliament or the public about the current fiscal situation”.

Question reference: S6O-04161

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will improve access to legal aid.

The Scottish Government remains committed to providing legal aid for a wide scope of actions. The draft Scottish Budget includes a proposed further investment of £14.2 million for the Legal Fund in 2025-26 which is an increase of 10% on this year’s budget (to £155.5 million).

Despite financial constraints, the Scottish Government continues to focus on building a more inclusive Scotland for all, investing in services and support that will help our communities during these difficult times.

Our budget, if passed by Parliament, will ensure that this government can continue to prioritise action to eradicate child poverty, protect our public services including improving access to legal aid and grow Scotland’s economy, while addressing the inequalities that many in our communities still face.

Question reference: S6W-32406

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it carries out of the reasons for train delays and cancellations, and what that main problems are that lead to these.

The Scottish Government requires ScotRail and Network Rail in Scotland to co-operate in the management, monitoring and improvement of Scottish train performance. The Office for Rail and Road publishes performance data for Scotland on its website. Delays and cancellations to Scottish rail services can be caused by problems with infrastructure, rolling stock, availability of staff (including through industrial action) and delays introduced to the Scottish rail network by poor performance of cross-border rail services from England.

Question reference: S6W-32263

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) weather conditions and (b) late delivery of a bull would qualify crofters and farmers for protection of their subsidies under the force majeure clause in the Rural Support (Improvement) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, and in what circumstances the late delivery of artificial insemination would qualify crofters and farmers for protection under this clause.

The Force Majeure/Exceptional Circumstance (FM/EC) provision is one that has existed for a number of years and if a business has been unable to comply with the rules of a scheme because of FM/EC, they may retain the right to aid in respect of the claim. To qualify, a business must notify the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division (SGRPID) in writing of the FM/EC event along with relevant evidence from the date they are in a position to do so.

The FM/EC provision applies on a case by case basis, and decisions are taken on the basis of relevant evidence provided. The way on which the Scottish Government continue to approach cases relies on the approach set out by legislation.

Examples of force majeure or exceptional circumstances are:

1.the death of the farmer

2.the long-term professional incapacity of the farmer

3.a severe natural disaster gravely affecting the holding's agricultural land

4.the accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the holding

5.an epizootic affecting part of or all of the farmer’s livestock (for example, Foot and Mouth Disease)

This is not an exhaustive list and animal health concerns, weather conditions, bull failure or transport issues may also qualify as FM/EC.These are only examples and they are not, by themselves, sufficient to qualify as FM/EC and the applicant would still need to provide evidence in support of these events that demonstrate that calving performance has been impacted by comparison to previous years.

In August 2024, the Scottish Government posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to support the industry with information on the new calving interval condition being introduced to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) from 2025. The FAQ includes detail of the FM/EC provision in the context of the SSBSS calving interval condition, including the type of evidence that would be required to support a request for it to be applied.

Question reference: S6W-32401

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the performance of ScotRail has been (a) in each of the last five years and (b) since April 2024, including the number of cancellations; what regular monitoring of this it carries out; what its position is on whether the level of performance has been satisfactory, and what its reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-32515

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve community flood defences, in light of reports that fewer than half of projects scheduled to be built by 2021 have been completed.

Local authorities are responsible for the developing and delivering flood protection schemes, supported by Scottish Government funding. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies published by SEPA prioritised 42 flood protection schemes. These schemes require complex planning and consultation and often take years to complete, so it has always been recognised that completion of construction work on all 42 schemes might not have taken place by 2021.

In addition to an annual £42 million provided to local authorities for flood resilience, Scottish Government has committed to an additional £150 million over the course of this Parliament.

Since 2015 this investment has led to the completion of 18 flood resilience projects, including Millport Coastal, one of three completed in 2024. An additional two projects are in an advanced stage and nearing completion.

The National Flood Resilience Strategy published in December underscores Scottish Government’s long term commitment to tackling climate-related challenges. An additional £15 million has been set aside in the draft 2025-2026 Scottish Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy, wider flooding resilience and coastal adaptation work.

Question reference: S6W-32405

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Network Rail regarding the relatability of its services (a) in Scotland and (b) cross border.

Question reference: S6W-32485

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude its review of the use of ultra high frequency electronic identification in livestock.