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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: S6W-38198

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recently published Cost of Living Research 2025 report by Disability Equality Scotland, which highlighted issues that disabled people are having with ferry travel, what steps it is taking to ensure that all ferry services are accessible to everyone, and what consideration it has given to extending free ferry travel to disabled people.

I welcome the report and note the ferry recommendation.

The recently published Strategic Approach of the Islands Connectivity Plan sets Accessibility as one of four priorities for future ferry services and identifies a number of actions to support the delivery of this priority, including development of a Ferries Accessibility Standard and reopening of the Ferries Accessibility Fund.

The Scottish Government has recently introduced free travel on inter-islands ferries for under 22 year olds and an extension of the ferry journey voucher scheme to 19-21 year olds and there are no current plans to extend this further. However, we invest significantly to keep ferry fares affordable for all, including on Road Equivalent Tariff and islander fares, as well as the Older and Disabled Persons Concessionary Travel Scheme. In addition, a number of local authorities already provide concessionary ferry travel for disabled people.

Question reference: S6W-38068

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when section 6 of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 will be commenced.

Question reference: S6W-38075

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what cost-benefit analysis it has undertaken to compare the £80 million investment in carbon capture and storage technology with nature-based solutions such as peatland restoration, native woodland regeneration and coastal habitat restoration, including kelp forests and seagrass.

The deliverability and value for money of different options to achieve our climate change targets are assessed through the climate change planning and budgetary processes.

The Scottish Government has committed to make available £80 million to support the Acorn Project and Scottish Cluster, subject to the UK Government providing a full funding package and timeline towards a Final Investment Decision. This funding commitment is subject to the guidance provided in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Scotland is firmly committed to woodland creation, planting 75% of all new woodland across the UK in the past five years. This amounts to 55,000 hectares of woodland, approximately 40% of which is native. The Government will continue to use the Forestry Grant Scheme and other levers such as the Woodland Carbon Code to maximise the resources available for woodland creation.

Scottish Ministers remain firmly committed to peatland restoration and have pledged £250m to restoring 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.

Coastal and marine projects that aim to protect and restore important habitats for climate change and biodiversity received support from restoration and enhancement funds, including the Scottish Marine Environment Enhancement Fund (SMEEF).

Question reference: S6W-38074

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish a dedicated strategy for scaling up ecosystem-based approaches to climate mitigation, and, if so, when such a strategy will be released, and how it will be resourced.

The Scottish Government has no plans to publish a separate dedicated strategy for scaling up ecosystem-based approaches to climate mitigation, as these issues are addressed in our Biodiversity Strategy and Climate Change Plans.

Our Biodiversity Strategy and Climate Change Plans include policies to develop healthy and restored ecosystems with landscape scale nature-based initiatives, contributing to our nature and climate targets. This is an effective framework for policy, and we have recently announced that Scotland's Peatland ACTION partnership has put 14,860 hectares of degraded peatlands on the road to recovery last year, which represents a new record in one year.

Question reference: S6W-38524

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the current cost would be of abolishing non-residential social care charges, and how it has determined that cost.

Question reference: S6W-38479

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported delays in implementing the mandatory remote electronic monitoring requirements and tackling illegal discarding, how it is managing any risks to Scotland's global reputation for quality and sustainable seafood.

Question reference: S6W-38478

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in order to safeguard Scotland's hand-dived scallops' global reputation for both quality and sustainability, how it plans to work with organisations such as Seafood Scotland, Michelin and the AA to demonstrate support for low-impact seafood, including by encouraging transparent, evidence-driven certifications, and requiring the inclusion of provenance and catch methods on menus.

Question reference: S6W-38034

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 6 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage its ministers are involved in applications to translocate beavers; how they approach any such interventions (a) in general and (b) when an application (i) complies with Scotland's Beaver Strategy and (ii) has strong community support, and how its ministers have approached the translocation in Glen Affric.

The responsibility of the species licensing function was transferred from Scottish Ministers to NatureScot on 1 July 2011. Scottish Ministers retain an interest in the exercise of all the licensing powers delegated.

NatureScot must inform Scottish Ministers about any novel or contentious issues that arise in connection with the exercise of the delegated licensing functions.

The Scottish Government has not been involved in the licensing decision regarding the translocation of beavers to Glen Affric. The Scottish Government fully supports the decision by NatureScot that further consultation with those land managers who may be affected by the translocation of beavers in Glen Affric will be beneficial, and to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures will be agreed before any licensing decision is made.

Question reference: S6O-04776

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding allocations it has made, and plans to make, to enable local authorities to fulfil their statutory duties to uphold the statutory right of access to outdoor spaces, commonly known as the right to roam.

Question reference: S6W-38182

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Water following its reported policy change requiring waste treatment sites to be staffed during waste emptying, in light of reports that not all sites are staffed 24 hours a day and that Scottish Water has indicated that it lacks the resources to hire additional personnel for this role, leaving constituents on Mull unable to get their septic tanks emptied.