Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 1240 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-43108

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many passengers have complained to ScotRail about the temperature on the West Highland Line trains since it came into public ownership.

Question reference: S6W-43087

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding its plans to undertake a consultation on merging sections 1 and 2 of the Firearms Act 1968 under a single licensing system.

As firearms legislation is reserved, the Scottish Government maintains engagement with Home Office officials on preparations for the public consultation planned for early 2026. This work will continue through established stakeholder forums comprising the Home Office, Police Scotland, shooting representative bodies, and Scottish Government officials. This process will ensure that perspectives from all relevant sectors are appropriately captured and that consultation responses are assessed in a thorough and balanced manner.

We understand that the consultation will seek views on strengthening shotgun licensing controls, bringing them more into line with those applied to other firearms in the interests of public safety and in light of the recommendations made. Any outcomes from the consultation relating to the potential merging of section 1 and section 2 firearms will be addressed within the resulting recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-43074

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the complaints it received, which were processed at stage 1 of its complaints handling procedure, were not resolved within five working days, in each year since 2021.

The following figures show the number and percentage of complaints processed at stage 1 of the Scottish Government’s Complaints Handling Procedure that were not responded to within five working days for each of the specified years. These figures include all complaints processed at stage 1, whether or not they then went on to be processed at stage 2.

Year	Number of complaints not responded to within 5 working days	Total number of complaints processed at stage 1	% of stage 1 complaints not responded to within 5 working days
2021	17	43	40%
2022	13	32	41%
2023	15	32	47%
2024	6	37	16%
2025	17	50	34%

The Scottish Government’s Complaints Handling Procedure states that the deadline for responding to a stage 1 complaint is usually five working days, though this can be extended to a maximum of ten working days if necessary. We will extend the stage 1 complaint deadline when we determine that doing so will help achieve a positive outcome for the complainant.

Question reference: S6W-43104

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether ScotRail has ever issued guidance to passengers who plan to travel on its West Highland Line trains regarding the reportedly cold onboard temperatures at certain times.

Question reference: S6W-43070

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the complaints it received were referred to stage 3 of its complaints handling procedure in each year since 2021.

The following figures show the number of complaints that were considered by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) after being processed under the Scottish Government’s Complaints Handling Procedure for each of the specified years.

Year	Total number of complaints considered by the SPSO	Total number of SG complaints	% of SG complaints considered by the SPSO
2021	12	70	17%
2022	5	44	11%
2023	7	54	13%
2024	7	62	11%
2025	5	80	6%

The figure for 2025 may increase further as complainants usually have 12 months to raise their complaint with the SPSO. This period is counted from when the complainant becomes aware of the issue about which they are complaining.

The reduction in complaints reaching the SPSO demonstrates the Scottish Government’s increased emphasis on rigorous complaint handling and its renewed drive to ensure issues are resolved promptly and effectively at stage 1 and stage 2.

Question reference: S6W-43075

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the complaints it received, which were processed at stage 2 of its complaints handling procedure, were not resolved within 20 working days, in each year since 2021.

The following figures show the number and percentage of complaints processed at stage 2 of the Scottish Government’s Complaints Handling Procedure that were not responded to within 20 working days for each of the specified years. These figures include all complaints processed at stage 2, whether or not they were initially processed at stage 1.

Year	Number of complaints not responded to within 20 working days	Total number of complaints processed at Stage 2	% of stage 2 complaints not responded to within 20 working days
2021	13	34	38%
2022	11	22	50%
2023	13	29	45%
2024	8	34	24%
2025	8	53	15%

The Scottish Government’s Complaints Handling Procedure states that the deadline for responding to stage 2 complaints is 20 working days. However, the procedure acknowledges that for complex complaints it may take longer to conduct a thorough investigation.

If we believe that an extension to the deadline will result in a more rigorous investigation, we will inform the complainant and seek their agreement to implement such an extension.

Question reference: S6W-43064

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on how much Transport Scotland has spent on landside mitigation measures at the A815 near the A83 Rest and Be Thankful in each year since 2021, and what further investment it has planned for that section of road.

Question reference: S6W-43107

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation is available to passengers who have made a complaint about the reportedly cold conditions on ScotRail’s West Highland Line trains at certain times.

Question reference: S6W-43066

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision to increase the budget for "Other arts and activity" by 277.6% in its draft Budget 2026-27, whether any of this funding has already been earmarked for particular organisations, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this.

The “other arts and activity” budget line in the 2026-2027 draft budget is now confirmed as £16.044m. The Museums Future Programme, Non National Libraries and the Royal and Ceremonial lines have been moved to their own Level 4s. The "other arts and activity" funding will support a range of projects, with around £10 million going to Creative Scotland to support our world class festivals through the Expo Festivals Fund and our Culture Collective. Other funding has been indicatively allocated to a range of priorities including creative communities and our national collection bodies.

Question reference: S6W-43106

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has planned to improve the heating system on ScotRail’s West Highland Line trains.

While we expect ScotRail to provide an environment which allows for a comfortable journey, this is a matter for ScotRail. ScotRail continues to consider solutions, which can be applied to improve the situation. ScotRail advises that due to its investment so far, the heating system improvements allowed ScotRail to achieve an ambient temperature on board of 156 class trains in half the time, as compared to Winter 2024-25.

In the longer term, the Scottish Government’s investment in its rolling stock replacement programme will bring more modern trains onto the network, which will benefit passengers travelling on West Highland Line.