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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-43470

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades, what advice it provides to homeowners seeking compensation where installers or scheme providers are no longer trading.

The Scottish Government funds both the Home Energy Scotland and Advice Direct Scotland service to provide free and impartial advice. Property owners who may be affected by the failure of this UK Government scheme can contact these services for advice.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme requires installers to reduce energy bills by installing energy efficiency improvements such as insulation. The UK Government are responsible for the design and regulation of the ECO4 scheme, this is administered by Ofgem on their behalf.

Installers delivering improvements as part of the ECO4 scheme were required to be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government’s trusted trader scheme. They were also required to be certified installers with a relevant industry body and ECO4 installations had to be covered by a guarantee. Where an installer has ceased trading, the UK Government advises property owners to contact the guarantee provider to arrange for remediation of any outstanding defects or damage.

Consumer protection, product and business regulation are reserved matters. The UK Government has published advice for property owners about their key rights and protections under consumer law. Buying green heating and insulation products: consumer guide - GOV.UK

Question reference: S6W-43472

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what oversight is in place to ensure that installers operating under the ECO4 scheme for energy-efficiency upgrades remedy defective or damaging works.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is a UK Government scheme based upon Westminster regulations and administered by Ofgem, the independent regulator. The obligation requires energy suppliers to achieve energy bill savings by funding the installation of energy efficiency improvements in domestic properties. The design of the scheme and any requirements to undertake remediation are reserved to the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-43461

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what recent analysis it has undertaken of recruitment and retention challenges in NHS Grampian.

The NHS Grampian Assurance Board was established in July 2025. It commissioned an independent diagnostic review to help inform NHS Grampian’s approach to system redesign and service transformation.

A sub-group of the Assurance Board has been established to advise on the Board’s approach to a strategic review of their workforce planning. This work is in the early stages of development, and the Assurance Board is expecting to consider the approach and associated work plan in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-43462

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that newly qualified nurses are able to access employment opportunities within NHS Grampian, in light of reported concerns about the limited availability of posts suitable for new graduates.

The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland. Operational matters, including local recruitment decisions, are the responsibility of each NHS Health Board as employers.

Whilst it is hoped that all graduates can join the NHS in their local area upon graduation, this is not always immediately possible. When a student is ready to graduate and cannot find employment with a local health board, universities will provide support and career guidance to assist the student in the consideration of all employment opportunities across health and social care.

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen workforce planning across NHS Scotland, we have developed an internal panel (the Advisory Panel on Workforce Projections & Controlled Subject Intakes) to improve our healthcare student planning, ensuring we continue to fund the right number of healthcare training places across a range of disciplines.

In addition, we have tasked the NHS Scotland Centre for Workforce Supply to explore what further national support is required to promote employment opportunities in Scotland and we are working alongside the Scottish Executive Nurse Directors Group to identify what action can be taken to support newly qualified nurses to access employment in health and social care across the country.

Question reference: S6W-43460

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is consistent with Scottish planning policy for a local authority to refuse a planning application on the basis of a separate project that has not reached a formal determination stage, particularly in cases where the local authority is not the final decision-maker for that separate project.

Section 37 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 sets out that, when determining planning applications, planning authorities are to have regard to the provisions of the development plan, so far as material to the application, and to any other material considerations. The development plan consists of National Planning Framework 4 and the relevant local development plan.

It is for the relevant planning authority to identify, in each individual planning application, what material considerations apply and what weight to give to each material consideration in reaching their decision. This is a matter of planning judgement for the authority.

Question reference: S6O-05483

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to restore salmon numbers in Scotland’s rivers.

Question reference: S6W-43242

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05166 by Kevin Stewart on 24 January 2022, whether it will provide an update on the number of people with learning difficulties and autism who have died in inpatient units in Scotland since 2015.

Following the parliamentary question asked on 24 January 2022, Public Health Scotland (PHS) published a statistical report in May 2022 on inpatient deaths for patients with learning disabilities and autism at the request of the Scottish Government. The full report can be found on the PHS website:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/psychiatric-care-inpatient-deaths-for-patients-with-learning-disabilities-and-autism.

Question reference: S6O-05464

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to recognise rurality in local government finance settlements.

Question reference: S6O-05445

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment of teachers in rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-42517

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) develop a dedicated men’s health strategy, similar to that published by the UK Government for men in England, and (b) address any health inequalities affecting men and boys.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published a Population Health Framework, which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade.

There are no current plans for the Scottish Government to develop a specific strategy focused on men’s health; however, the Framework contains 30 initial actions, including in those areas that disproportionately affect men. For instance, the Scottish Government's commitment to develop a Healthcare Inequalities Action Plan to improve healthcare access and equity, as well as development of an Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan - building on the progress of the National Mission - which will be published in the new year.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government will shortly be publishing a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, for 2026 – 2029. In view of the persistent trend of male suicide, the Scottish Government is determined to address and continue to test new, and creative, ways to reach and support men.