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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 1 February 2026
Answer status
Question type

Displaying 1870 questions Show Answers

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Question reference: S6W-43119

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any implications of the transfer of Electricity Act 1989 consent responsibilities to the Minister for Public Finance for the consideration of alternatives to overhead transmission lines.

Question reference: S6W-43110

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it used to determine that responsibility for Electricity Act 1989 consents should sit under the Public Finance portfolio.

Question reference: S6W-43116

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance, instructions or internal protocols that govern Electricity Act 1989 consent decisions have been revised following the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance on 18 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43117

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any updated guidance reflecting the revised ministerial responsibility for Electricity Act 1989 consents.

Question reference: S6W-43288

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42412 by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025, what guidance it provides to officials on whether information that is available for release through Freedom of Information legislation should also be provided in response to a parliamentary question.

Question reference: S6W-43290

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what training it provides to its officials responsible for drafting answers to parliamentary questions, and whether this includes training delivered by officials responsible for responding to Freedom of Information requests.

Question reference: S6W-43292

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42412 by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025, whether it held the total cost information relating to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy’s attendance at the COP30 UN climate summit at the time that the answer was provided.

Question reference: S6W-43293

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role of parliamentary questions in enabling parliamentary scrutiny in instances where information that is available through administrative processes such as Freedom of Information requests is not provided in answers to similar parliamentary questions.

Question reference: S6W-43291

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who is responsible for deciding whether detailed cost information is included in an answer to a parliamentary question, and what criteria are applied when determining whether such information should instead be released through proactive publication or in response to Freedom of Information requests.

Question reference: S6W-43289

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42412 by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025, and in light of the information provided in the response to a request under Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation, dated 20 January 2026, what steps it takes to ensure consistency between information released by officials responding to parliamentary questions and those responding to FoI requests.