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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-43625

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total amount of business rate income received from onshore renewable energy installations was in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25, broken down by (i) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (ii) local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-43624

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum planning fee applicable is for onshore renewable energy project applications, broken down by capacity of (a) under 50MW and (b) 50MW and over.

Question reference: S6W-43626

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the business rate income received from onshore renewable energy installations in 2023-24 and 2024-25 was returned to each of the local authorities where the rates were collected.

Question reference: S6W-43612

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many onshore energy generation project applications are currently live and awaiting determination by the Energy Consents Unit, broken down by capacity of (a) under 50MW and (b) 50MW and over.

Question reference: S6W-43613

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Section 36 onshore energy generation project applications are currently live and awaiting determination by the Energy Consents Unit, broken down by (a) technology type, including onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems, and (b) local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-43383

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to divert lithium-ion batteries from the residual waste stream.

Lithium-ion batteries should not be disposed of in the residual waste stream and must clearly display markings relating to their disposal (the crossed out wheelie bin symbol). They are hazardous waste, pose safety risks due to fire, and result in valuable material being lost from Scotland’s economy.

Products containing lithium-ion batteries are regulated under both the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations and the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations. Producers of these products must fund collection and recycling infrastructure, and the Scottish Government is working on a four-nation basis to reform waste batteries legislation to strengthen product standards and set statutory recovery and recycling targets for lithium batteries.

UK retailers selling electrical items containing a lithium-ion battery, including vapes, must offer a free takeback service for used items and meet statutory recycling targets. In 2025, a new category of Electrical and Electronic Equipment was established for vapes to ensure producers of vape products are legally required to finance the collection, recycling, and safe disposal of used vapes. New targets for vape-specific collections will be introduced in 2026.

The Scottish Government will consider further measures to divert lithium-ion batteries from the residual waste stream in its forthcoming product stewardship plan. This includes working with the UK Government and other nations on proposals set out in the WEEE consultation and call for evidence, held in 2024.

Question reference: S6O-05500

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent changes to SQA policy permitting internet-enabled devices, such as Chromebooks, in exams, what action it is taking to ensure that pupils who rely on speech-to-text as their normal way of working are not, in practice, prevented from using this technology during exams.

Question reference: S6W-43542

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether procurement exercises for the migration of public EV charging infrastructure from ChargePlace Scotland required bidders to commit to tariff rates remaining at, or below, existing levels for any defined period, and, if so, whether it will specify the (a) duration and (b) conditions of any such requirement.

Question reference: S6W-43543

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what oversight it provides of EZO’s performance under its 20-year contract to adopt and manage public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the north of Scotland, including in relation to service reliability, uptimes and response times for maintenance issues.

Question reference: S6W-43532

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what area of Scotland's seabed located within the proposed Priority Marine Feature management area options, as published in September 2025, has been subject to towed bottom-contact gear, such as scallop dredging and trawling for nephrops, since the publication of the consultation on protection from these practices in July 2018.