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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-44108

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) is aware of health, wellbeing and safety concerns regarding HGV transport through Girvan and (b) what consideration it has given to the development of a Girvan bypass.

The Scottish Government is aware of the potential impacts that Heavy Goods Vehicles are having on key routes in the South West, including on various communities such as Girvan.

In response, Transport Scotland, working closely with key local partners, has assessed the A77 through Girvan against the established criteria for introducing a new 20 miles per hour speed limit. This assessment concluded that most of the trunk road through the town meets the requirements for a reduced limit.

On that basis, a 20mph limit will be introduced from Bridgemill Roundabout in the north toa point near to the Shallochpark Roundabout at the southern end of the town. In line with standard practice, this will initially be delivered by means of a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order, which allows the impacts of the change to be monitored and evaluated before any decision is taken on whether the limit should become permanent. It is expected that this will be in force in thein the coming weeks.

A Girvan Bypass was considered as part of the transport appraisal that supported the second Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR2). However, this option is not one of the 45 STPR2 recommendations, which make up our long term framework for investment in transport infrastructure. Instead, other options to maintain and safely operate the A77 were considered more appropriate and have been highlighted in Recommendation 40.

Transport Scotland officials are working with local stakeholders to identify potential areas for improvement on the A77 beyond general maintenance schemes, as set out in Recommendation 40.

Question reference: S6W-44106

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential for deep geothermal energy generation in (a) Scotland and (b) north east Scotland specifically.

Scotland’s geology provides the potential for deep geothermal to contribute to decarbonisation.

We are continuing to work with partners to support stakeholders as they assess this resource. Examples of this work include:

- Our enterprise agencies have awarded funding to a number of projects relating to geothermal energy, including to Aberdeen Council, Geothermal Energy Limited, and Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Limited.

- We provided funding in 2025 to NHS Grampian to allow it to assess the feasibility of using deep geothermal energy to heat the Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen. The study concluded that while the use of geothermal is feasible, further exploration is required to determine whether it would be economically viable. NHS Grampian is reviewing its options following the conclusion of the feasibility study.

- We are engaging with the Mining Remediation Authority to identify opportunities to heat NHS facilities using geothermal heat stored in minewater.

Question reference: S6W-44098

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has published in relation to its Energy Consents Unit's new representations portal system having been driven by public complaints about the email process.

The Scottish Government previously received an information request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, for the following:

“All documents, records, assessments, briefings, reports, emails, and meeting notes created, held or considered by the Scottish Government in relation to the decision to remove email as a method for members of the public to submit representations on energy consent applications, and to require use of the Energy Consents public portal for public submissions.”

Our response has been published and can be found at the following address:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202600502867/

The decision to transition from email-based submission to a structured digital portal was taken to address operational, legal, and service improvement objectives. This included responding to longstanding public feedback about delays in the publication of submitted representations.

Question reference: S6W-44107

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring is in place to assess the air quality in Girvan.

Scotland enjoys good air quality compared with the rest of the UK and Europe. Under the Environment Act and associated regulations, all Scottish local authorities are required to regularly review air quality in their areas against objectives for several pollutants of particular concern for human health. The Scottish Government provides grant funding to support authorities in undertaking this work.

South Ayrshire Council currently operates two automatic monitors in Ayr and 20 nitrogen dioxide sensors across the Council area in Ayr, Maybole, Prestwick, Troon and one location at Bridge Street in Girvan. Current data indicate that concentrations are well below the objective level at all monitoring sites.

Further information can be found in South Ayrshire Council's 2025 air quality annual progress report which is available at South Ayrshire APR 2025.pdf

Question reference: S6W-44087

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost of addressing school maintenance backlogs has been in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for maintaining their school estate, including determining the investment needed to address maintenance backlogs.

However, the latest School Estate Statistics, published in September 2025, show that the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has reached a record 92%, a substantial rise from 62.7% in 2007 when this Government first took office. We are driving further improvement by providing significant ongoing investment to local authorities through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Question reference: S6W-44086

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in Inverclyde, (a) how many school pupils aged 4 to 18 have been on waiting lists and (b) what the average waiting time has been for an assessment for additional support needs, in each of the last five academic years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Support should be put in place to meet a child or young person’s requirements based on need and not dependent on a formal diagnosis.

Information on the number of pupils with additional support needs, planning approaches and types of need are collected and published within national statistics.

Classes and pupils - Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024 - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-44095

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any complaints from developers such as SSEN about the number of public objections being filed was considered when discussing removing email as a public submission route as part of changes to the Energy Consents process.

Question reference: S6W-44096

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place to consider reinstating email as a valid method for public objection submission since its Energy Consents Unit introduced its portal on 16 January 2026.

Question reference: S6W-44057

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will propose the scheduling of a ministerial statement on the use of Scotland’s inshore seas for the marine storage of offshore wind platform bases or other apparatus, in light of the potential impacts on the marine environment and on economic and recreational activities, such as fishing, angling and sailing, which depend on near-shore waters.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to propose the scheduling of a ministerial statement on the use of Scotland’s inshore seas for the marine storage of offshore wind platform bases or other apparatus.

Storage and constructions of floating offshore wind farm foundations is considered through the established marine licensing process, which assesses potential impacts on the marine environment, and on other users of the sea.

The Scottish Government ensures that, where required, decisions affecting the marine environment include public consultation so that affected communities and stakeholders, including those involved in fishing, angling, and sailing, can express their views.

Question reference: S6W-44049

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that Scottish Enterprise awards a £1.8 million grant to a company on the basis that clawback is payable in certain circumstances, and those circumstances arise, and the company had assets of around £131,000 at the approximate time of the award, whether any liability would fall on the CEO or any other officer, or whether the loss to the public purse would be written off.