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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: S6F-04543

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on local authorities, which host renewable energy infrastructure, receiving Scottish Crown Estate revenue allocations, such as a share of the income from ScotWind projects.

Question reference: S6W-42281

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the November 2025 report by the Shetland Fishermen’s Association and consultancy firm, Voar, Energy developments in Shetland and their interactions with fisheries.

The Scottish Government recognises the report’s findings on increasing pressure on Shetland’s marine space from energy developments and will use it to inform our fisheries co-existence work.

We are committed to managing Scotland’s seas to ensure sustainable use of resources and to minimise impacts on existing users, including fishers.

Shetland’s fishing fleet and the wider Scottish sector are vital to our economy and communities, and we aim to secure a prosperous future for them while meeting net zero targets. To achieve this, we are updating the Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind, developing National Marine Plan 2, and commissioning work on cumulative impacts.

Fishing representatives are key stakeholders in these processes, and we will continue to engage with them through planning and consenting stages, alongside workstreams under the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council to support coexistence between offshore wind and fisheries.

Question reference: S6W-42135

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact (a) of cross-border online alcohol sales on wholesalers, distributors and small businesses in rural and island communities, and (b) of minimum unit pricing on the ability of these firms to be competitive with alcohol sales dispatched outside of Scotland.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) undertaken for the continuation and uprating of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) found that the policy primarily affected low-cost, high-strength products and was not expected to significantly disadvantage Scottish businesses compared to those dispatching alcohol from outside Scotland.

As well as a BRIA, an Island Communities Impact Assessment was developed to assess the impacts of the continuation and uprating of MUP on those living in the Islands. No evidence was found during the five-year evaluation to show the implementation of MUP at 50ppu has had an effect on the island communities in a way that is significantly different from its effect on the mainland. The Scottish Government, therefore, concluded that the increased price of 65 pence per unit strikes the appropriate balance between achieving the public health aims of Ministers and minimising the potential effects on business, industry and consumers.

Question reference: S6W-42091

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the contract award for Lot 6 (Scotland) of the Project Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy scheme, covering premises in Orkney and Shetland, will be announced.

Question reference: S6O-05211

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it can take to ensure that critical national infrastructure serves the local communities hosting it and is built safely, securely and in a way that is sensitive to the landscape around it.

Question reference: S6W-41589

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many floods have been recorded in each of the (a) 42 formal flood protection schemes and (b) flood engineering works' areas in each calendar year since January 2016, broken down by the (i) damage caused and (ii) cost of each incident.

Due to the nature of flooding, for which the scale of impacts can vary significantly, the number of flooding incidents are not systematically recorded. The responsibility for development, delivery, operation and maintenance of flood protection schemes rests with individual local authorities, who are best placed to respond to local resilience needs. Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Question reference: S6W-41590

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which of the (a) 42 formal flood protection schemes and (b) flood engineering works' areas have been completed, broken down by the (i) number of properties protected and (ii) completion date, and what the (A) initial forecast and (B) final cost was of each.

The 2015 Flood Risk Management Plans contained 42 flood protection schemes. 40 were initially eligible for funding. 9 were removed because they were no longer required, subject to alternative arrangements or failed to meet progress deadlines. 21 are complete, 1 is under construction, 6 are expected to have a main construction contract in place by March 2026 and 3 are subject to local hearing or public local inquiry. The information requested regarding completed schemes is given in the following table.

#	Scheme name	Local authority	Completion	Cost (2016) (£m)	Final cost (£m)	# of properties with improved protection
1	Huntly	Aberdeenshire	2017	4.8	3.8	68
2	Newmill	Moray	2017	1.8	1.8	18
3	Dundee	Dundee City	2018	6.2	6.9	200
4	Kirkwall	Orkney	2018	1.8	1.8	541
5	White Cart Water Phase 3	Glasgow	2019	5.9	7.2	87
6	Camlachie Burn	Glasgow	2019	1.2	1.8	This is one element of a phased project to reduce flood risk in the area
7	Smithton and Culloden	Highland	2021	15.5	10.0	129
8	Broughty Ferry	Dundee City	2022	10.0	16.3	450
9	Kirkintilloch - Park Burn	East Dunbartonshire	2022	0.4	0.4	70
10	New Cumnock	East Ayrshire	2022	3.3	8.4	108
11	Drumnadrochit	Highland	2022	3.4	5.1	35
12	Arbroath	Angus	2023	11.4	13.5	530
13	Caol and Lochyside	Highland	2023	8.4	15.2	296
14	Stonehaven	Aberdeenshire	2023	19.9	27.5	376
15	Millport Coastal	North Ayrshire	2024	12.1	48.6	657
16	Stranraer	Dumfries and Galloway	2024	0.4	1.6	350
17	Upper Garnock	North Ayrshire	2024	15.5	18.5	600
18	Kilmacolm – Glenmosston Burn	Inverclyde	Completion confirmed but exact date not provided by local authority in annual returns	0.5	0.5	Not provided by local authority as designprovides general reduction in downstream flows
19	Quarriers Village	Inverclyde	Completion confirmed but exact date not provided by local authorityin annual returns	0.2	0.2	60
20	Campbeltown	Argyll and Bute	2025	9.3	16.0	770
21	Hawick	Borders	2025	37.4	78.6	970

Question reference: S6W-41122

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel periodic report 2021-2024, and what action it will take regarding the recommendation to deliver on its commitment from February 2024 to revise the Fuel Poverty Strategy by the end of 2026.

The 2019 Fuel Poverty Act requires Ministers to undertake a review of the current Fuel Poverty Strategy by December 2026. I welcome the Panel's report and met with the Panel on 11 September to discuss it and recommendations, which we will consider as we work together to ensure any future strategy meets the ambitions and challenges of tackling fuel poverty and achieving our fuel poverty targets – which remain the most ambitious in the UK.

Our commitment to tackling fuel poverty is unwavering, and we are doing all we can within our powers to support households. We continue to support vulnerable households through our winter heating benefits, provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice and energy efficiency schemes.

High energy prices are currently the greatest driver of fuel poverty. It is clear that high energy prices must be addressed, and the fundamental fiscal and policy levers lie with the UK Government. This is why we continue to press the UK Government to urgently deliver an automatic and targeted discount on energy bills to address unaffordable bills at source.

Question reference: S6F-04425

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent news that Eastern Airways, which runs lifeline regional services in the Highlands and Islands, has entered administration.

Question reference: S6W-40869

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on every household having an emergency or resilience box in preparedness for any major crisis, similar to the approach used in Denmark and Finland, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding developing such an initiative.

The Scottish Government’s Ready.scot website provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for emergencies. It includes established advice on how to build a small emergency kit and keep it in a safe place. These proactive measures help support readiness for a broad range of emergency scenarios, and elected members of the Scottish Parliament can play an important role in raising the profile of this advice. The Scottish Government also works closely with UK Government colleagues and other devolved administrations to support the provision of relevant public information and advice on reserved matters in Scotland.