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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-43073

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 complaints it has received from members of the public in each year since 2021, broken down by complaint category.

The following figures show the total number of complaints received during each of the specified years. When calculating these figures, each complaint has been counted only once, regardless of whether it was processed at stage 1 only, stage 2 only, or at both stage 1 and stage 2.

Year	Total number of complaints
2021	70
2022	44
2023	54
2024	62
2025	80

We do not currently categorise complaints based on the type of complaint. However, we are exploring how this may work in future.

Question reference: S6W-43105

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, in light of reports of cold conditions at certain times on ScotRail’s West Highland Line services, what its position is on whether these services are safe for passengers.

Question reference: S6W-43067

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on Scotland’s forests of its proposed budget reduction of 40.2% to Forestry and Land Scotland in its draft Budget 2026-27.

The 40.2% reduction compares the FY 25/26 budget, including Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) transfers with the FY 26/27 budget.

During the FY 2025-26, Forestry and Land Scotland received a £7.0m transfer for Peatland and Atlantic Rainforest restoration on Scotland’s national forests and land as part of the ABR. Allocation of funding for those activities in FY 2026-27 to delivery partners (including FLS) has yet to agreed.

If this transfer is removed to enable a like-for-like comparison, the reduction is 22% (£5.0m), which relates to funding for woodland creation on Scotland’s national forests and land.

There is a corresponding increase in the capital allocation to Scottish Forestry. The Scottish Government is placing a greater emphasis on supporting woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS).

Focusing woodland creation through the FGS offers improved value for money for the taxpayer, as the FGS only partially covers the cost of tree planting, requiring private investment to meet remaining costs and to purchase the land.

Question reference: S6W-42928

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the current yearly lease payments payable to CMAL by CalMac is for each vessel in the current CMAL fleet.

The vessel leasing costs for the current contract period (Oct '25 to March '26) payable by CalMac Ferries to Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), for vessels currently operating the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service are detailed in the following table.

VESSEL
Argyle	£ 429,313
Bute	£ 425,223
Caledonian Isles	£ 290,297
Catriona	£ 621,479
Clansman	£ 605,125
Coruisk	£ 294,387
Finlaggan	£ 1,189,809
Glen Sannox	£ 2,248,095
Hallaig	£ 580,593
Hebrides	£ 621,483
Isle of Arran	£ 89,953
Isle of Cumbrae	£ 8,177
Isle of Lewis	£ 453,845
Isle of Mull	£ 179,902
Loch Alainn	£ 73,595
Loch Bhrusda	£ 49,063
Loch Buie	£ 28,618
Loch Dunvegan	£ 69,508
Loch Fyne	£ 69,508
Loch Linnhe	£ 16,354
Loch Portain	£ 188,080
Loch Ranza	£ 20,445
Loch Riddon	£ 20,445
Loch Seaforth	£ 1,461,880
Loch Shira	£ 310,741
Loch Striven	£ 16,354
Loch Tarbert	£ 36,799
Lochnevis	£ 200,344
Lochinvar	£ 621,483
Lord of the Isles	£ 200,344
Loch Frisa	£ 2,094
Cavoria	£ 21,914

Question reference: S6W-42907

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with Moray Council to ensure that the local authority receives a fair share of funding from the Just Transition Fund.

To date, capital funding through the Just Transition Fund has been awarded through competitive processes, including open bidding rounds in 2022 and 2025. We have actively engaged with regional stakeholders, including Moray Council and local partners, throughout these bidding rounds.

The Scottish Government is investing £32.5m into Moray through the 10-year Moray Growth Deal. We welcome the council’s recent successful bid for an additional £40k from the Just Transition Fund to deliver a Strategic Outline Case for a refocussed skills and innovation project under the Moray Growth Deal.

Question reference: S6W-42909

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding awarded to each local authority from the Just Transition Fund in each year since 2022, also broken down by each project that was awarded funding.

A breakdown of funding provided to local authorities from the Just Transition Fund is given in the following table. This provides details of each project that has been awarded funding:

Fund	Recipient / Organisation	Project	Description	Year	Total Award	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26
Just Transition Fund	Moray Council	Just Transition Masterplan – Moray Council	Five interlinked projects to support Moray’s journey away from fossil fuels, including projects to support offshore renewables, creation of a local hydrogen economy, natural capital approach to offsetting, and redeveloping derelict land and premises.	2022 - 2024	£881 k	£250,544.62	£215,967.68	£172,471	£0
Just Transition Fund	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray Councils	NESS Carbon Capture Feasibility Study	Study to determine if there is a viable project to retrofit carbon capture systems to the NESS energy facility.	2022 - 2023	£100 k	£96,750	£0	£0	£0
Just Transition Fund	Moray Council	Development of a Strategic Outline Case for Moray Growth Deal Skills & Development Project	The programme supports six linked projects in Moray, advancing renewable energy, nature restoration, low-carbon housing, and green enterprise to drive economic, social, and environmental benefits.	2025-2026	£40k	£0	£0	£0	£40k

Question reference: S6W-42908

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will open the next funding round for the Just Transition Fund.

Question reference: S6W-42906

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether Moray Council is eligible for funding from the Historic Environment Grants Programme to help repair the Spey Viaduct bridge.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including queries relating to any Grant applications or eligibility, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

I would suggest that Moray Council contact Historic Environment Scotland directly at grants@hes.scot to discuss the Spey Viaduct Bridge repair project and any potential funding options. Further information on Historic Environment Scotland’s Grant Schemes is available at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/grants-and-funding/.

Question reference: S6W-43259

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42965 by Gillian Martin on 21 January 2026, whether (a) the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy and/or (b) the Minister for Public Finance made a formal request to the First Minister to reallocate ministerial responsibility for determining consent decisions and, if so, whether it will confirm when this request was made and, if this took the form of a written request, whether it will publish this.

Question reference: S6W-42939

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership is considering reducing its responder service as part of wider budget savings.

The Scottish Government wants to ensure that people are supported to live independently in their own homes and communities.

However, decisions on how best to deliver services for local communities are ultimately for integration authorities to make. This has to be a continuous way of working that appropriately seeks to understand the needs of local people and how best to meet them.

The Scottish Government would encourage all local partners to work together to find solutions that not only address financial pressures, but put the needs of local people – particularly those most vulnerable – at the centre.