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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: S6O-05053

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it considers the percentage of students earning an A, B or C in Higher History fluctuated by 27.6% between 2023 and 2025.

Question reference: S6O-05002

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Chair of NHS Grampian and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S6W-40070

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration local authorities and planning authorities should give to the current School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967, and what impact its stated commitment to update these regulations could have on any plans for new schools that may be built under updated regulations.

We continue to expect local authorities to comply with the current School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967, wherever possible. Furthermore, we would expect new schools to comply with the prescribed requirements of the revised regulations, once they are introduced.

As previously committed to, the Scottish Government’s consultation on the updating of the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 will commence before the end of this year.

Question reference: S6W-40304

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Stabilisation, detoxification and other crisis support in Scotland: Service mapping and capacity survey 2022–2023, what the annual cost is of operating stabilisation centres, broken down by (a) total programme expenditure to date, (b) annual budgeted running costs per centre and (c) average per bed or per service user costs.

Scottish Government does not directly fund any standalone stabilisation centres and so do not hold this information. Facilities that offer stabilisation and detoxification alongside other residential services will often be commissioned and funded locally by Alcohol and Drug Partnerships using baseline of National Mission funding that we provide annually, however they do not provide the breakdown to Scottish Government for which you have asked.

Question reference: S6W-40303

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on whether stabilisation centres are used in any other European country as a flagship response to addiction, and, if so, whether it will provide international evidence of outcomes.

Question reference: S6W-40305

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have completed a stay in a stabilisation centre since 2021, and of those individuals, how many subsequently accessed detoxification or residential rehabilitation.

Question reference: S6W-40069

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out regarding updating the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967, and when it expects any new regulations to be introduced.

Question reference: S6O-04953

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the unified statement agreed at the Community Council Convention of the Highland Council Area regarding the impact of major energy infrastructure in the region, in Beauly on 14 June 2025, what the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy’s response is to the statement and whether she will attend a future convention meeting to discuss it.

Question reference: S6W-39470

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when its summit to address the menace of seagulls will be held, and whether the meeting will be (a) open to the public, (b) independently chaired and (c) held in a venue with significant capacity to accommodate any large numbers of people with an interest in this issue.

As I mentioned during the Scottish Government’s response at the debate on 26 June 2025 to Motion S6M-17969: Action to Address the Impact of Gulls in Scotland, I will chair a summit in Inverness later this year.

The Scottish Government is currently working closely with NatureScot on the agenda and final arrangements for the session, including the attendee list. The summit will focus on bringing together those who are managing gulls effectively with those who are facing the most negative impacts of gulls to address the question of how we can mitigate the negative impacts going forward and the actions we need to take ahead of next year.

Question reference: S6W-38731

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the SPCB) on 26 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-36629 by John Swinney on 3 April 2025 and the answer to question S6W-38203 by Ivan McKee on 11 June 2025, whether all ministers, including the First Minister, received new mandates from the Scottish Parliament's Pay and Pensions Team following the decision to equalise the MSP element of ministers' salaries with that of MSPs who are not currently serving ministers from 1 April 2025, and, if so, whether these mandates will be published.

In April 2025, the First Minister, Ministers, and Law Officers received ministerial waiver mandate letters. As the mandates contain data which is personal to the individuals concerned the Scottish Parliament, as a data controller, will not publish them. It is a matter for individuals to decide if they wish to publish information contained within their own mandate letters.

The SPCB publishes up to date information about salaries for MSP, Ministers, Law Officers and Office Holders on its website.