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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-36959

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time spent by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crew was on dealing with wildfire incidents in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-36954

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a specific retention package for retained firefighters in remote and island areas.

Question reference: S6W-36953

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding additional incentives to support retained firefighter recruitment and retention in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-36947

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding it has allocated to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the Highlands and Islands to enhance its capacity to respond to wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-36955

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the sustainability of the retained duty model for fire cover in remote parts of the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-36951

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported challenges in the recruitment of retained firefighters in rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-36961

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time spent by each fire station was in each of the last 10 years in engaging with stakeholders on reducing the risk of wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-36946

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the (a) funding, (b) personnel and (c) equipment available to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is adequate to deal with wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-35917

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the reliability and frequency of public transport in Highland communities, in light of reported concerns regarding issues such as cancellations and long waiting times.

We want all local transport authorities to be able to improve all of the bus services within their areas. That is why, through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, we have given local authorities powers on partnership working, franchising and the ability to run their own bus services. This provides the opportunity for services that are reliable, frequent and tailored to local demand.

The Scottish Government provided £1.7 million of funding to extend platforms on the West Highland Line. This now allows ScotRail to run longer trains which will reduce overcrowding and lead to increased capacity for residents, tourists and cyclists with their bikes.

ScotRail has a programme of works which are being delivered specifically to improve the reliability of the diesel train fleet which operate on the Highland routes and these improvements are expected to be completed later this year.

ScotRail is considering options to recast the Inverness to Central Belt and Inverness to Aberdeen timetable. ScotRail will consult with passengers prior to any changes being determined.

The Scottish Government have committed to investing around £700m in ports and vessels. This includes 6 new major vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) fleet before the end of this Parliament session, and the delivery of a further seven electric vessels as part of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme by 2029, while work to deliver two new Freight Flex vessels for the Northern Isles Ferry Service is progressing.

Question reference: S6W-35910

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the comparative costs of underground energy transmission infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has not itself carried out analysis on the comparative costs of undergrounding energy transmission infrastructure and these will vary on a project to project basis. There are a number of industry commissioned reports that demonstrate both in general and on a project specific basis that underground cables are initially more expensive than overhead lines.

As the independent energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem is responsible for protecting energy consumers’ interests. Transmission network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing projects they must have consideration of their license obligations which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer. The cost of undergrounding as compared to other forms of transmission infrastructure will be an important consideration for Ofgem assessing the transmission network companies investment plans and agreeing the costs that can be recovered from bill payers.