- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many board meetings of Historic Environment Scotland the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has attended since May 2021, and on what dates.
Answer
Since May 2021, Ministerial oversight of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has been led by the Minister for Europe and International Development until January 2022, then the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development from January 2022 until May 2024. I took over Ministerial oversight of HES in May 2024.
In that time period, I have not attended any board meetings of HES. However, the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers have met regularly with the Chief Executive as is normal convention for non-departmental public bodies.
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many units of affordable housing have been constructed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year since 2015, and how many were delivered compared with local delivery plans.
Answer
Statistics relating to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) by local authority are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of social and affordable homes, and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-quarterly-updates-on-approvals-site-starts-and-completions/
The homes provided through the AHSP comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.
The following table provides a breakdown of the number of homes completed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year between 2015-2016 and 2024-25:
Local Authority | Clacks | Fife | Perth and Kinross | Stirling |
2015-2016 | 50 | 386 | 318 | 164 |
2016-2017 | 72 | 611 | 251 | 118 |
2017-2018 | 117 | 960 | 446 | 68 |
2018-2019 | 63 | 547 | 465 | 98 |
2019-2020 | 90 | 500 | 486 | 73 |
2020-2021 | 78 | 495 | 235 | 231 |
2021-2022 | 118 | 405 | 408 | 171 |
2022-2023 | 98 | 721 | 294 | 103 |
2023-2024 | 60 | 524 | 260 | 77 |
2024-2025 | 28 | 414 | 262 | 119 |
TOTAL | 774 | 5563 | 3425 | 1222 |
Local authorities, as the strategic housing and, in most cases, planning authority are responsible for assessing housing need and demand in their area and setting out their investment priorities in their annual Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs).
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics for 2024, which showed an increasing trend of job losses across the fishing industry, and in light of reports of collapsing stocks of Northern Shelf cod and mackerel, how it will ensure that money coming into the sector through the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will return the sector to sustainable growth and deliver tangible benefits to all fishing communities, not just major fishing ports.
Answer
I refer the member to the answers to the related questions S6W-41798 on 24 November 2025 and S6W-41726 on 13 November 2025.
The Scottish Government will make funding decisions for 2026-27 and future years in the upcoming Scottish Budget and Spending Review. When that process concludes we will be able to provide more detail on future years of marine funding in Scotland.
However, the allocation of just 7.78% to Scotland of the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund is nothing short of an insult to our fishing industry and coastal communities. With a fair share of the Fund, we would be able to go further in supporting our vital industry and communities to ensure a sustainable and thriving future for Scotland’s fisheries.
Meanwhile, our Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) has been supporting tangible benefits for marine industries and coastal communities across Scotland since its launch in 2021, awarding to date £70 million to 390 projects, enabling over £150 million of investment. The MFS supports a range of projects across Scotland, including activities at major fishing ports as well as within wider fishing communities.
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.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many controlled
parking zones have been introduced by each local authority in each year since
1999, also broken down by how many parking permits have been sold for these
each year, and how much has been raised by these sales.
Answer
Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and this includes the introduction of controlled parking zones. The Scottish Government does not monitor how many of these zones have been introduced, or the revenue from parking permit sales. This information would only be available from the local authorities directly.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what funding Transport Scotland has provided to Dunoon Community Development Trust in each year since 2016-17.
Answer
Transport Scotland has no direct funding relationship with Dunoon Community Development Trust (DCDT), but since its creation in 2021(with support including £15,000 from the Scottish Government’s ‘Scotland Loves Local Fund’), DCDT has benefitted from support via Transport Scotland funded programmes.
This Transport Scotland backed support has included funding through Cycling UK via the Smarter Choices Smarter Places (SCSP) programme, and support from the regional transport partnership Hitrans via the People and Place programme (see table below).
Prior to 2021, a number of different legacy projects and initiatives in the Dunoon area benefited from Transport Scotland support, some aspects of which we understand DCDT has since taken on and continued. This includes Cycling UK’s Dunoon Bothy Project, which had previously been supported via the separately funded ‘Connecting Communities’ programme, and an app which had previously been developed by Argyle and Bue Council, with SCSP funding.
Financial Year | Support via Transport Scotland funded programmes | Comment |
2016-17 to 2020-21 | N/A | N/A |
2021-22 | £0 | DCDT established 16 June 2021 with SG, LA, and National Lottery funding. |
2022-23 | £0 | |
2023-24 | £2,000 | Cycling UK via Smarter Choices Smarter Places. |
2024-25 | £8,000 | Hitrans via People and Place. |
2025-26 | £11,000 | Hitrans via People and Place. |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with UK-wide agencies, industry bodies and the EU to ensure that there is as smooth a transition as possible to the new EU traceability regime, which comes into effect on 10 January 2026, to allow Scotland's seafood businesses to maintain competitive access to its largest market.
Answer
The programme of informing the UK industry of these changes is being led by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) with input and support by Devolved Governments.
We would encourage industry to engage with the process and attend the virtual engagement sessions raising any concerns or questions they may have. The changes being introduced by the EU are mandatory for all imports of fisheries products entering the EU from all third countries after 10 January 2026 so there is no alternative to compliance when trading.
Alongside other Fisheries Administrations, we have been seeking clarity, via UKG engagement with the EU, on the most pressing areas where questions remain, so responses can then be passed to industry.
Marine Directorate compliance officials are also flagging the MMO guidance as part of their routine engagement with industry. A dedicated Scottish mailing address has also been created and communicated to industry to field direct queries to.
For those impacted, they should talk with other industry representatives and their associations to ensure as many as possible are aware of the changes and what additional actions will be required from each other to facilitate continued trade.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41283 by Mairi McAllan on 12 November 2025, and in light of the acute nature of the housing emergency in Glasgow, what its position is on whether the Scottish Government has an active leadership role to play in facilitating a Common Housing Register in Scotland's largest city, and if it should adopt a more proactive role to broker and to incentivise registered social landlords to cooperate to create one.
Answer
Further to my answers S6W-41283 on 12 November 2025 and S6W-41415 on 17 November 2025 I would reiterate that the Scottish Government supports the establishment of a Common Housing Register in Glasgow, either city wide or on a district basis, where the Council and housing associations involved are in agreement that this is the best way forward to manage their allocation policies. My officials will look at this matter further to get a greater understanding of the views of RSLs on common housing registers. However, any future change to the current approach should be driven by the views of RSLs and Glasgow City Council, reflecting their role in managing local circumstances.
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.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41171 by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025, what the estimated cost is for the Energy Consents Unit to process a representation from a member of the public, also broken down by the time taken to do so.
Answer
Processing a public representation requires multiple members of staff in the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) to manually undertake a sequence of detailed administrative tasks. This involves logging the submission in the correct format, reviewing its contents for validation, ensuring it is compliant with data protection obligations and preparation for inclusion in the case record.
Each representation must also be checked for sensitive material and cross-referenced with other submissions, which adds further administrative time. The estimated cost and time taken to process representations is therefore highly dependent on the nature of each submission, and the total number of representations received for an application.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans are in place to help any of Scotland's seafood businesses that might not be ready in time for the new EU traceability rules, which come into effect on 10 January 2026, and therefore are unable to export to the EU.
Answer
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) are responsible for updates to the IT system – the Fish Export Service (FES) – which exporters will use to provide the enhanced processing statements, catch certificates and other documentation required by the EU from 10 January 2026.
We are seeking assurances from UK Government that appropriate support will be available through MMO to deal with any immediate industry issues arising – including for out of hours service given the nature of seafood exports often occurs outwith routine business hours.
