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-35360

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30676 by Mairi Gougeon on 30 October 2024, whether it has now modelled any potential contingent liability implications from its policy to encourage private investment in nature recovery; what any such modelling shows in relation to any potential public expenditure implications for every £100 million of private investment, and whether it will publish any such modelling that has been undertaken.

Question reference: S6W-35521

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it has in place with private sector providers for wind, hydro and solar electricity generation on land in its direct ownership or management; what the current capacity in megawatts is of any generation installed; what the most recently recorded annual income was for it from any such arrangements, and when each of the arrangements will come to an end.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages the majority of land owned by Scottish Ministers, in the form of Scotland's national forests and land. Currently FLS has 76 land agreements in place with private companies covering renewable energy schemes which are currently operational. There are 25 windfarms and 51 hydro schemes. There are no solar schemes. The assets comprising the FLS renewable energy portfolio are managed under operational leases.

The current operational capacity of this portfolio is 1257.95 MW, this comprises 1213.7 MW wind and 44.245 MW hydro.

The most recently recorded annual income for this portfolio is £21,800,000 wind and £2,049,842 hydro.

The lease end dates vary depending on lease length and whether any variations are applied during the lease period.

Question reference: S6W-35529

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 14 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding establishing a youth mobility scheme with the EU.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government to set out Scotland's priorities for the future relationship with the EU. We are clear that the UK Government should seek to agree a generous and wide-ranging youth mobility visa agreement with the EU. A youth mobility visa agreement will never replicate the benefits of freedom of movement, however, it will provide more opportunities for young people to live, work or study overseas. The UK already has reciprocal youth mobility agreements in place with 13 countries and territories and recent opinion polling shows strong support across Scotland for a UK/EU agreement.

Question reference: S6W-35227

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of its plan to issue bonds.

The Scottish Government published a further update to the work on Scottish Government bonds alongside the 2025-26 Scottish Budget https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836910558.

This explains the outcome of the initial phase of due diligence and the work required in the next stage in the due diligence process. This phase will include timing considerations for an inaugural issuance given market conditions and related events.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring Parliament is updated on this work as it progresses.

Question reference: S6O-04475

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what recent assessment it has made of the resources given to the Legislation team.

Question reference: S6O-04479

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what measures it is taking to support any LGBTQ+ staff whose welfare may be negatively impacted by any increase in the use of language in the Chamber and committees that may be perceived as trans-exclusionary.

Question reference: S6O-04477

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what discussions it has had with the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme trustees about investments in Tesla and any other companies that may conflict with the scheme's Statement of Investment Principles.

Question reference: S6O-04474

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what information it has on for what reason stamps that are issued in the Parliament’s Post Office are not Scotland Country Definitive stamps by default.

Question reference: S6O-04478

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will consider removing from its catering outlets any products made by companies identified by the UN Human Rights Office as being involved in activities related to illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Question reference: S6O-04476

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-34464, what its position is on whether MSPs should be able to participate in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, in addition to the Armed Forces Visits Programme, should they wish to do so, in light of it being a structured 15-day course with one of the armed services, and it also offering the opportunity to enrol on a Royal College of Defence Studies postgraduate degree level course in strategic leadership and international strategic studies, and it therefore being different in nature.