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: S6W-36041

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a feasibility study on emulating the Common User Facility (CUF) model at the Australian Marine Complex in Perth, Western Australia, and Osborne Naval Shipyard near Adelaide, South Australia, at the (a) Newark Shipyard facility, which is owned by the Scottish Ministers via Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited, and (b) Inchgreen Marine Park, which is owned by Peel Group and operated in a joint venture with Inverclyde Council.

The Scottish Government provides a range of support to shipbuilding, marine engineering, harbours and ports across Scotland, but has no plans to undertake a feasibility study to emulate a Common User Facility for shipyards in Australia and Scotland, as the skill sets of the staff at the respective yards will differ.

This Government took a proactive approach to preserve commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde at Ferguson Marine and remains committed to invest in the skills and capabilities needed to secure a sustainable future for the shipyard.

Question reference: S6W-36081

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed any barriers to implementing recommendations arising from fatal accident inquiries, and, if so, what any such barriers were.

Question reference: S6W-35963

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on whether the consolidation or merger of local authorities would lead to improved public service delivery and efficiency.

The Scottish Government is committed to public service reform to enhance the sustainability of public services and improve their effectiveness. The Scottish Government has invited bids from local government as part of the Invest to Save Fund, and an announcement of successful bids will be issued in due course.

Local authorities are responsible for considering their own options for reform and transformation. The Improvement Service supports councils to develop capability and capacity for improvement to enhance the delivery of high quality, efficient local services.

Question reference: S6W-35980

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with businesses, including in the renewable heating sector, before making the decision to not proceed with the proposed Heat in Buildings Bill.

As I have set out in my statement to Parliament earlier today, we intend to introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill in Year 5 of this Parliamentary session. In this statement I set out government’s rationale for the format of the Bill. We will continue to engage with stakeholders from all sectors as we do so, building on the discussions that began with our consultation and have been continuing since then.

Question reference: S6W-36555

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a progress update on the public inquiry into Sam Eljamel and NHS Tayside.

The Scottish Government recognises that many former patients still live with the consequences of being treated by Mr Eljamel and have waited a long time for answers. As I set out in my statement in February 2024, patients will be at the heart of this inquiry.

I am pleased that today I can confirm that following consultation with many former patients and their representatives by Lord Weir and his team, that I have agreed the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, and that the Inquiry is now ready to commence from today.

The final Terms of Reference will be made available on the Eljamel Inquiry website today. (https://www.eljamelinquiry.scot/).

Question reference: S6W-35984

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a breakdown of total university funding per student, including teaching grants and other financial support, in each of the last 10 years.

As part of the annual budget process the funding for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), is announced. The 2025-26 Budget includes over £1.1bn of investment in teaching and research in Scotland’s universities.

It is the role of the SFC to allocate these funds to individual institutions. The SFC publish details as part of their annual Final Allocation publication. This provides details of the funding for controlled and non-controlled subjects and funded places to each university, as well as the subject price groups.

Question reference: S6W-35898

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on requiring (a) occupiers of non-domestic properties to provide information about unused heat on the premises and (b) buildings with unused heat to provide this to a heat network zone.

Question reference: S6W-36629

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on MSP pay for its ministers for 2025-26, and whether the ministerial element of pay will remain frozen.

Since 1 April 2009, Scottish Ministers have declined to accept their full salary entitlement, freezing it at 2008-09 levels.

Between the start of the pay freeze on 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2025, this has resulted Scottish Ministers making over £2.2 million available for public spending from their own pay packets.

The freeze of the Ministerial element of pay at 2008-09 levels will remain in place for 2025-26, recognising the wider economic and fiscal pressures as well as the restraints placed on public sector pay.

The Ministerial element of pay will therefore remain at 2008-09 levels as shown in the following table:

Junior Minister	£26,068
Cabinet Secretary	£41,618
First Minister	£80,224
Lord Advocate	£54,371
Solicitor General	£39,316

From 1 April 2025, the MSP element of Ministers’ salaries will be equalised with that of MSPs who are not currently serving Ministers, providing parity in line with their roles. This has been set for all MSPs at £74,507.

The Scottish Parliament is responsible for the payment of salaries for MSPs and members of the Scottish Government. These arrangements are made under the Scottish Parliament Salaries Scheme. The rules of the Scottish Parliament Salaries Scheme do not give the power to withhold an annual increase from the gross salary entitlement. To achieve the required reduction, the pay increase to which Ministers and Law Officers would have been entitled are deducted from their net salary and paid direct to the Scottish Government to be made available for public spending.

The Scottish Parliament’s Pay and Pensions Team will be formally notified of this change and the commencement date of 1 April. They will then complete the relevant calculations and issue new mandates to all Ministers confirming the updated deduction value.

Question reference: S6W-35895

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing regulations that would require people purchasing a property to comply with a prohibition on polluting heating in a specified amount of time following the completion of the sale.

As I have set out in my statement to Parliament earlier today, we intend to introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill in Year 5 of this Parliamentary session.

We intend this Bill to introduce a statutory target to decarbonise our buildings by 2045, as far as possible.

We recognise that this will involve a mix of heating types, and that different solutions will be needed in different homes and non-domestic buildings.

We do not now intend to immediately take forward proposals that would have placed an obligation on those purchasing a property to transition that building to a clean heating system within a specified period of time following the completion of the sale.

This decision has been taken following analysis of the more than 1600 responses we received to our public consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, extensive engagement with stakeholders, and consideration of research commissioned by the Scottish Government into the impacts of these proposals on the Scottish housing market.

Question reference: S6W-35896

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to cap the installation costs of clean heating systems.

As set out in Parliament today, we intend to bring forward a Heat in Buildings Bill in Year 5 of this Parliamentary session.

We intend this Bill to introduce a statutory clean heating target for all buildings in Scotland to be decarbonised by 2045, as far as possible.

We understand that achieving this target will require a mix of technologies, and that different solutions will be needed in different types of buildings and for different people.

We also know that, while this Bill may not intend to legally require individuals to change their heating system now, any future ask of individuals must be fair and reasonable. That is why our consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill last year recognised that a cost cap could play a key role in supporting any future heat in building standard. This was to ensure that homeowners and businesses were not required to pay unreasonable costs, as well as providing an understanding of the maximum costs individuals may face in complying with regulations.

We will continue to consider the need and appropriateness of introducing a cost cap for any proposed legislation that introduces requirements on individuals.