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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-42893

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the NorthLink Ferry service booking system will change from opening bookings for a set time period to a rolling system.

As noted in my previous answer S6W-35683 on 26 March 2025, this issue is being considered through arrangements for the next Northern Isles Ferry Services contract (NIFS4), and no final decisions have been taken at this time.

NIFS4 is scheduled to come into effect from June 2028.

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.

Question reference: S6W-42891

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Transport has had with (a) CMAL and (b) CalMac regarding the proposed revaluation of non-domestic rates.

Question reference: S6W-42847

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides for country parks.

Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on open spaces and countryside amenities, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

In July 2021 we launched the Nature Restoration Fund, which provides additional funding for nature restoration projects to deliver significant improvements in biodiversity. The Nature Restoration Fund makes grants available through two main strands, including the Edinburgh Process strand, which provides direct allocations to Local Authorities. The Edinburgh Process strand is delivered through the General Capital Grant scheme to Local Authorities and is monitored through reports direct to the Scottish Government.

The NRF has already provided over £33 million directly allocated to Local Authorities and the National Parks to develop and deliver projects locally. Some examples of projects funded through the Edinburgh Process strand are outlined in an interim evaluation of the NRF available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/interim-evaluation-nature-restoration-fund/documents/

Question reference: S6W-42829

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making to support the switch of freight transport from road to (a) rail and (b) water.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of modal shift to help achieve transport emission reduction targets and to assist companies to move goods by rail or water instead of by road. We have shown leadership in setting out positive policies that work for the rail freight industry through our rail freight strategy, our regulatory growth targets for rail freight and our mode shift grants.

Since 1997, mode shifts grants have funded over 50 projects with a total spend of over £74 million which has resulted in the removal of over 50 million lorry miles from the road.

Question reference: S6W-42855

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes have been built in each local authority area since 2007, and how many of those have been for social housing.

A total of 141,730 affordable homes have been delivered between 1 April 2007 and 30 September 2025 and these include new build, rehab and off the shelf purchases. This includes 101,266 homes for social rent (71%), 14,201 homes for other affordable rent (10%), and 26,263 homes for affordable home ownership (19%). The Scottish Government publishes quarterly housing statistics on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme covering approvals, starts and completions by local authority area split by social rent and other affordable. These can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-quarterly-updates-on-approvals-site-starts-and-completions/.

We report on all homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) via our quarterly official statistics, and this includes approvals, starts and completions. We also report on all sector new build starts and completions by local authority including social homes. Official housing statistics are available on the Scottish Government website at Housing statistics - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-42845

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many country parks there are in Scotland, and who (a) owns and (b) manages each.

There are 40 country parks in Scotland. Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967, though the National Trust for Scotland manages Brodick and Culzean. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside, and as such, some private landowners also use the country park name. You can find out more about individual country parks using the NatureScot guide: Find a country park | NatureScot

Question reference: S6W-42884

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 63,867 domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in 2023-24 involved a repeat offender, and, if there are no available statistics on this, for what reason this information is not recorded.

Information on whether a suspected perpetrator involved in a domestic abuse incident in 2023-24 had been involved in a previous incident of domestic abuse is available in Table 10 of the Domestic abuse in Scotland 2023-24 publication.

Due to the set-up of the administrative system used by Police Scotland to record these cases, it is only known whether the suspected perpetrator was involved in a previous incident. If they were, it is not known whether they were the victim or suspected perpetrator for those earlier incidents.

Going forward, following the roll-out of a new crime recording system (UNIFI) across all divisions of Police Scotland, it may be possible to identify if offenders of domestic abuse aggravated crimes have committed earlier domestic abuse aggravated crimes (for 2024-25 onwards). Scottish Government statisticians will work with Police Scotland analysts to explore this further and will provide users with an update in the next Domestic Abuse bulletin. It should be noted this would only be possible for domestic abuse aggravated crimes, not all domestic abuse incidents.

Question reference: S6T-02845

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's admission of a likely link between issues with the water supply at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and patient infections.

Question reference: S6T-02850

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that grooming gangs are targeting children living in residential care homes in Scotland.

Question reference: S6T-02839

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of US tariffs on Scotland's economy, in light of the announcement this weekend of President Trump's decision to impose new tariffs on the UK.