Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 48968 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-42927

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what harbour (a) dues and (b) charges were paid by CalMac to (i) CMAL, (ii) other harbour authorities and (iii) local authorities in 2024-25 broken down by harbour.

The cost of harbour dues CalMac Ferries paid in 2024-25 paid to CMAL was £16,589,235, other harbour authorities was £11,702,717, and Local Authorities was £12,822,773

Details relating to each harbour is detailed in the following table:

Harbour	£	Harbour	£
Armadale	529,669	Campbeltown	868
Brodick	2,064,945	Craignure	1,886,150
Castlebay	343,320	Dunoon	740,498
Claonaig	160,033	Fionnphort	315,140
Colintraive	681,109	Gigha	198,939
Coll	480,858	Iona	323,910
Colonsay	214,672	Kilcreggan	57,904
Cumbrae Slip	1,299,130	Lismore	74,205
Fishnish	339,205	Port Askaig	845,193
Gallanach	17,709	Rothesay	2,787,920
Gourock	347,651	Tayinloan	199,034
Kennacraig	1,193,888	Aird Mhor (Barra)	117,659
Kerrera	47,153	Berneray	194,694
Kilchoan	61,278	Eriskay	108,539
Largs	1,273,275	Leverburgh	148,710
Lochaline Slip	354,795	Lochmaddy	968,604
Lochboisdale	208,314	Eigg	102,662
Lochranza	160,707	Muck	112,611
Oban	2,419,536	Raasay	348,180
Port Ellen	600,955	Rum	123,770
Portavadie	129,233	Sconser	348,180
Rhubodach	663,733	Uig	2,819,401
Tarbert	1,909	Troon	3,428,891
Tarbert Harris	392,750	Mallaig	896,986
Tiree	257,756	Canna	298,649
Tobermory	106,908	Stornoway	3,261,314
Wemyss Bay	2,238,745	Tarbert (Loch Fyne)	153,920
Ardrossan	1,051,428	Ullapool	2,611,529

Question reference: S6W-42913

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether weaknesses in tackling cryptocurrency-enabled organised crime risk depriving communities of potential funding through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 that could otherwise be reinvested in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that cryptocurrency-enabled organised crime is tackled and does not consider that weaknesses in this area risk depriving communities of potential POCA funding.

Law enforcement agencies in Scotland are equipped with significant POCA powers. These powers will be further enhanced when new powers for law enforcement to search, seize and detain cryptoassets and cryptoasset-related items come into force on 31 March 2026.

The Scottish Government continues to support operational partners to use all available tools to disrupt organised crime, including in the digital and cryptoasset space.

We remain committed to reinvesting recovered proceeds of crime to benefit young people and communities across Scotland. The Cashback for Communities Programme, funded through POCA receipts, will continue to invest in projects which support activity for young people at risk of becoming involved in anti-social and criminal behaviour. Phase 7 of the Programme, running from April 2026 to March 2029, will receive up to £26 million of funding, which is an increase of £6 million from Phase 6.

Question reference: S6W-42888

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all of the analyses referred to by the Minister for Public Finance during the debate on motion S6M-20295 on 7 January 2026, including (a) the analysis of the estimated level of revenue that will be raised from non-domestic rates should the revaluation proceed in line with the draft rateable values and (b) what its estimate is of the revenue that could be lost on that basis due to the potential closure of businesses that may no longer be able to trade profitably.

The independent Scottish Fiscal Commission is responsible for forecasting tax revenues in its Scotland's Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and for 2026-27 the forecast Non-Domestic Rates revenue is £3,387 million.

Once final rateable values are available, the Scottish Government will publish a report on the 2026 revaluation as it did at the 2023 revaluation. An interim revaluation report based on the 2026 draft rateable values has been published on the Scottish Government website at Non-domestic rates revaluation 2026: draft valuation roll statistics - gov.scot.

The draft Budget ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms measured by CPI than pre-COVID, despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time, and introduces the lowest Basic Property Rate for 2026-27 since 2018-19.

Question reference: S6W-42904

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what activities have been (a) stopped permanently, (b) suspended and (c) reduced as part of the Focused Day initiative by the Scottish Prison Service.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Following constructive and collaborative discussions with our partners, SPS have moved away from the national concept of a ‘Focused Day’ and instead have introduced a Regime and Roster Review which is designed to ensure that staff are available to an establishment when and where needed the most.

It is our intent that any changes adopted as part of this review, will not compromise a person’s time out of cell or access to purposeful activity, therefore no activities have been stopped or suspended. Changes are expected to create a more consistent and reliable regime for those in our care whilst protecting opportunities to maintain family contact either through in person visits or via in-cell telephones.

Question reference: S6W-42916

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the outturn spend on physical path infrastructure work has been for each of the four statutorily designated long distance routes in Scotland, broken down by (a) routine repair and maintenance and (b) capital works on restoration and improvement, in each financial year from 2022-23 to 2024-25, and what the corresponding allocated budget is for 2025-26.

Neither Scottish Government or NatureScot provide funding for the maintenance or improvement of the four statutory long distance routes. The respective local authorities and national park authorities lead on maintenance and improvements using a variety of approaches.

Scottish Government provides funding to the local authorities for “land access” as part of the Grant Aided Expenditure settlement. Scottish Government also provides funding to the National Park Authorities, and this has included capital for Long Distance Routes related projects such as Conic Hill on the West Highland Way in Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Question reference: S6W-42892

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will decouple the NorthLink Ferry service from the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate for calculating inflation.

Question reference: S6W-42911

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been recovered in Scotland through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 that originated from cryptocurrency or digital assets in each of the last five financial years.

Question reference: S6W-42875

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its energy strategy, what assessment it has made of the maximum data centre energy demand that can be accommodated in Scotland while aligning with its climate change targets.

There is an opportunity for Scotland to become a leader in green data centres given our capacity to generate energy from renewable sources.

Scotland’s renewable energy capacity continues to grow, with a strong pipeline of future projects that will play a key role in decarbonising the GB power system necessary for achieving net zero.

In October 2024, the Scottish, UK and Welsh Governments jointly commissioned a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) for Great Britain which will assess the optimal locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure required to meet future energy demand, including from data centres, with the clean, affordable and secure supply that we need.

Question reference: S6W-42880

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its current position is on modernising or replacing the 1491 Common Good legislation, in line with recommendations from the Scottish Land Commission.

The Scottish Government recognises the longstanding importance of Common Good assets and the need for a clear and effective framework for their governance. We note the Scottish Land Commission’s publications on Common Good which explore options for reform of the legislative framework.

The Scottish Government keeps the legislative position under review alongside wider priorities for land and communities. We have not taken decisions at this time to bring forward legislation to modernise or replace the Common Good Act 1491. Our current focus remains on supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties, including under Part 8 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the associated statutory guidance.

Question reference: S6W-42854

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent figures for the average Council Tax Band D bill in Scotland, and how that compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.

The 2025-26 average Band D Council Tax rates are published at the following locations:

Council tax datasets - gov.scot (Council Tax by Band 2025-26, Scotland)
Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2025 to 2026 (revised) - GOV.UK (England)
Council Tax levels: April 2025 to March 2026 [HTML] | GOV.WALES (Wales)

A summary table is as follows:

	2025-26 average Band D Council Tax rates
Scotland	£1,543
England	£2,280
Wales	£2,170

It should be noted that approaches to Council Tax differ across the nations, so full coherence is not possible and caution should be taken when making statistical comparisons. Property prices differ across the nations and have diverged since the 1991 valuations. The Council Tax bill in England contains additional elements, and special factors are taken into account when setting Council Tax levels. Properties in Wales have undergone a more recent revaluation than the other nations, and there will usually be other authorities levying Council Tax in addition to local councils. These are all factors which are likely to affect comparability in the statistics. Further details can be found in this paper:

Council Tax Rates: Comparing Scotland to other UK nations - gov.scot