- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
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Current Status:
Due to be taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the importance of local decision-making and local accountability in the NHS.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Highlands and Islands Airports Limited airports are as accessible as possible to all residents and users.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that policing of island communities is adequately resourced.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with communities, developers and other stakeholders regarding wide loads and any increased traffic movements on the A86, A889, A82 and A87 linked to the Skye Reinforcement Project and the Glen Mor workers’ camp at Fort Augustus.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether local authorities should increase council tax, reduce public services, or a mixture of both, to meet any gaps in local government funding as a result of the draft Budget.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure transport links remain open during incidents of severe weather.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has undertaken and (b) will undertake an analysis to determine the total (i) number of civil servant hours spent on and (ii) cost of administering the Future Farming Investment Scheme to date.
Answer
FFIS was delivered entirely within existing Scottish Government staffing resources. No additional staff were appointed or recruited and no additional staffing costs were incurred. The scheme was prioritised and delivered by existing staff capacity for a defined period, in line with normal business practice.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue the Future Farming Investment Scheme in 2026.
Answer
The Future Farming Investment Scheme was a pilot scheme and we are now looking at what we do in the future, taking on board the concerns raised, to make sure we continue to support the agriculture sector. We will review the scheme to better understand what worked and where improvement to any potential future scheme could be made, to ensure it is more tightly targeted for any future rounds.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether AI has been used in any way to process applications to the Future Farming Investment Scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answers to questions S6O-05097 on 5 November 2025 and S6W-41741 on 21 November 2025.
The claims that an AI based system was used to assess applications are not correct. Applications were assessed through a standardised framework that cross checked application data against the Single Application Form (SAF) and other system held data to ensure consistency, transparency, and audit defensibility.
Assessment work was led by the Agricultural Development Team, supported by staff from across the RPID area office network, which is experienced in delivering Scottish Government Grant Schemes. Independent validation was undertaken by a Project Board, which also included RPID Area Office representatives, as well as being reviewed by Internal Audit representatives.
All answers to Oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to allow previously successful applicants to the Future Farming Investment Scheme to apply again in 2026, should the scheme continue.
Answer
Decisions on any potential future funding rounds of the Future Farming Investment Scheme have not taken place. If the scheme was to be run again, the Scottish Government would engage with stakeholders to determine any changes to the scheme.