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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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Question reference: S6W-44106

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential for deep geothermal energy generation in (a) Scotland and (b) north east Scotland specifically.

Question reference: S6W-44105

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it has made for deep geothermal energy generation development in the (a) Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, (b) Community and Renewable Energy Scheme and (c) Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

Question reference: S6W-43883

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to the security of employment of the workers at Wave Energy Scotland as part of its decision to not allocate the organisation funding in its draft Budget 2026-27.

Question reference: S6W-43885

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what role the constitution of Wave Energy Scotland as a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise played in its decision-making when it allocated funding in its draft Budget 2026-27, and what its position is on whether this type of arrangement supports the security of employment of public sector workers.

Question reference: S6W-43884

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy has attended with workers at Wave Energy Scotland to discuss the organisation's future funding, and what its position is on whether the principle of effective worker voice has been upheld during its consideration of the organisation.

Question reference: S6T-02933

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish publicly owned infrastructure, such as Prestwick or Wick John O' Groats airports, has been used by the US Airforce for the recent strikes on Iran.

Question reference: S6F-04709

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the outcome of the University of Aberdeen UCU ballot, which resulted in 83% of those voting in support of strike action and 90% in favour of action short of a strike.

Question reference: S6W-43528

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recommendations in the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation report, in relation to (a) extension of application timeframes, (b) earlier notice of funding rounds to applicants, (c) transparency of decision-making processes and (d) strength of monitoring of applicant project progress for applications to the Just Transition Fund.

We have secured £15.9m capital and £1m resource for the JTF in the 2026-27 budget. We will announce plans for managing this spend imminently, including the publication of full criteria and guidance for applicants.

The commissioned independent research Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation report, evaluated the impact of the first two years of the Just Transition Fund. We used the opportunity of the FY 2025-26 funding round to develop our processes. We engage with each project team regularly and ask for progress updates including monitoring against project specific milestones and indicators.

We remain committed to making improvements in how the Fund is managed, to help ensure that it supports the net-zero transition, helps to diversify the regional economy away from carbon-intensive sectors, creates jobs and prosperity, and delivers measurable benefits for workers, businesses, and communities.

Question reference: S6W-43526

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the report, Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation, in relation to the financial administration and payment delays to applicants to the Just Transition Fund.

We commissioned independent research to evaluate the impact of the first two years of the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray (JTF). This study noted several project delivery challenges and included suggestions from project partners on how Scottish Government should address these challenges.

We agree terms and conditions with each grant recipient individually, using the Scottish Government Model Offer of Grant as a basis. Under this Model Offer, grant payments are made in arrears and we are not able to make payments upfront. We have changed our processes between the FY 2022-23 round and the FY 2025-26 JTF round, and now process grant payments on a monthly basis rather than a quarterly basis.

Question reference: S6W-43527

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what engagement it has had with and (b) when it last met with representatives from (i) the offshore oil and gas sector, (ii) the offshore renewables sector and (iii) trade unions in Scotland following the publication of the report, Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation.

We regularly engage with stakeholders, including the offshore oil and gas sector, offshore renewables sector and trade unions, on a variety of subjects, including on the Just Transition Fund. The last time we met with the offshore oil and gas sector was 10 February when officials met with OEUK. The last time officials met with the offshore renewables sector was 10 February. The last time officials met with STUC was on 15 January, to discuss the work STUC carries out to support just transition capacity within the trade union movement.