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 45822 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-39835

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent the permanent closure of Ballantine Castings Ltd, in light of reports that it is Scotland's last architectural ironworks.

Whilst the Scottish Government are aware that Ballantine Casting Ltd is going through liquidation, we were not notified in advance of commercial decisions to appoint the liquidation. The business is not account managed by Scottish Enterprise. The individuals affected by these decisions are always our main priority and the Scottish Government will do everything in its power to help those affected through our initiative for responding to potential redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). PACE will work with the liquidators [Johnston Carmichael] to offer direct support to affected employees.

Question reference: S6W-40261

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the commitment in its Programme for Government 2025-26 to set out its "priorities for future reform of school education by June 2025, appointing an experienced headteacher to lead this work".

I am pleased to advise Parliament that John Wilson, the recently retired headteacher of Broughton High School in Edinburgh has been appointed as an Independent Professional Adviser to Scottish Ministers to lead on this work.

Mr Wilson will provide advice and recommendations to Scottish Ministers on what further reforms of school education could be made following the passage of the Education (Scotland) Act by the Scottish Parliament to ensure that we have an education system fit for the future to deliver equity and excellence for all.

Drawing on his experience of 30 years of working in the education system, Mr Wilson will be focussed on three key areas - education governance, where he will be assessing the areas where further focus and activity is required to support school leaders; school funding, where he will reflect on 10 years of the Scottish Attainment Challenge Fund; and support for improvement, where he will be looking to establish what more could be done to ensure more consistent outcomes for secondary schools.

He will be guided in his work by an advisory group made up of experienced headteachers and other education system leaders; and by headteacher panels which have been set up and which I will chair.

Question reference: S6W-40044

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on virtual private network (VPN) services in each year since 2021.

In keeping with our network security policy, we can neither confirm nor deny the use of VPNs by revealing any cost or lack thereof. This is consistent with our response to a recent FOI (202500480214) asking a similar question and aligns to the approach taken by government bodies across the UK. Providing details on the type of networking tools used could provide hostile actors with information on the setup, and potential weak points, of sensitive government systems.

Question reference: S6W-40094

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance is available to allow people in the Highlands and Islands region who reside outside Inverness to utilise the Nevis House rehabilitation service.

The Scottish Government provided £2.4m to support the development of Nevis House, as part of our aim to increase residential rehab capacity – particularly for areas outside the Central Belt.

Nevis House will provide six beds, equating to up to 22 placements a year. It aims to support referrals from more remote parts of the Highlands alongside the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.

Nevis House expands on existing work carried out at Beechwood House, offering residential rehabilitation, community outreach and social care to people affected by substance use in rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-40097

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown showing which organisations secured funding from the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund in each year since 2021, including how much funding was awarded.

The information requested is available online, please find the details requested as follows:

Year	Reference to website address
2021	https://www.gov.scot/news/sharing-knowledge-innovation-to-tackle-climate-change/
2022	https://www.gov.scot/news/sharing-knowledge-innovation-to-tackle-climate-change/
2023	https://www.ruralpayments.org/news-events/innovative-rural-projects-awarded--240-000.html
2024	https://www.gov.scot/news/agriculture-support/

2025 data is excluded as the fund is currently open for applications and results are pending.

Question reference: S6W-40019

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional resources will be allocated to recruit and retain trained attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) specialists.

Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters – including the recruitment and training of staff – are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS Board.

We continue to work closely with Health Boards and clinical professionals across Scotland to understand any specific challenges they are facing in the recruitment and training of specialist staff needed to support people with ADHD.

We continue to fund NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to deliver professional learning to improve the Scottish workforce’s knowledge and skills about Neurodivergence, including Autism and ADHD.

To address specific challenges in the recruitment and retention of psychiatrists in Scotland we established a Working Group which recently reported to Ministers, 23 June 2025. Funding also continues to be provided to Boards for the additional roles to help mental health pharmacy services including within community mental health pharmacy support to improve medication use and prescribing practices.

Question reference: S6W-39765

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed any legal and diplomatic risks of using the term "genocide" regarding Gaza, in relation to live international conflicts.

Question reference: S6W-39840

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there are any constraints against the establishment of new data centres in Scotland; if there are, what it considers that those constraints are, and what action it is taking to mitigate any such constraints.

“Data centres, and the associated digital infrastructure required to service them, are the backbone of a vibrant digital economy. Increased data centre presence in Scotland will help the country to fully embrace new and emerging technologies and opportunities in the future and support the Scottish Government's policy ambitions.

There are a number of different considerations that can impact the establishment of new data centres including electricity network, planning and technical considerations and each site has its own challenges and opportunities. Working across Scottish Government and its agencies, in conjunction with the UK Government where appropriate, we are seeking to address these opportunities and challenges to support the realisation of data centre investment across Scotland, whilst maximising spillover benefits such as re-use of excess heat and economic additionality.”

Question reference: S6T-02642

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce NHS waiting lists, in light of new analysis reportedly showing that waits of over two years are now more than 800 times higher in Scotland than in England.

Question reference: S6T-02626

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the overall increase in recorded crimes in the past year, including rape, violent crime, antisocial behaviour and shoplifting.