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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: S6F-04187

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-04200

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government regarding funding and timescales for the development of the Acorn carbon capture and storage project.

Question reference: S6F-04189

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-04195

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that up to 100 truckloads of Scotland's waste will be moved each day to England as a result of the landfill ban on biodegradable waste.

Question reference: S6W-38414

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors compliance with confiscation orders, and whether this process is subject to independent audit.

Question reference: S6W-38389

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide financial support to families who wish to move a family member's ashes, in light of reports that this can cost between £5,000 and £10,000, or more if there is an objection to planning permission.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to provide financial support in connection with applications for exhumation.

However, we are committed to simplifying the process as much as possible. Officials are developing regulations under the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 which will remove applications for exhumation from the courts, making the process more straightforward and less expensive for applicants.

Question reference: S6W-38088

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the degree to which achieving net zero is a moral imperative, in light of reports that doing so will have a disproportionate impact on Scottish industries.

The Scottish Government recognises that achieving net zero is more than a moral imperative: it is an economic necessity and an opportunity to grow our economy. The Green Industrial Strategy sets out actions to achieve growth in priority areas, ensuring Scotland secures the maximum economic benefit from the energy transition, including the enormous opportunities provided by offshore wind and other net zero opportunities. Our Circular Economy Act (2024) can help grow the economy, by opening up new market opportunities, improving productivity and saving money. Both of these approaches are underpinned by our focus on growth in our National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

We are also clear in our support for a just transition for Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments and energy security.

We are supporting businesses to transition and grow, including through our £500m 10-year Just Transition Fund and our investment of up to £500m over five years to help anchor the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-38123

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £28 million provided to local authorities in 2025-26 to support additional support needs provision in schools has been allocated to Scottish Borders Council.

Spending on additional support for learning by local authorities reached a record high of over £1 billion in 2023-24. The latest finalised local government statistics show that Scottish Borders spent £13.912 million on additional support for learning last year.

Local government will receive an additional £28 million of investment from 2025-2026 to help improve outcomes from all children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) through an enhanced offer of support to develop the ASL education workforce.

The Allocation for Scottish Borders Council was £0.554m

The allocation of the £28m investment to individual authorities is based on pupil numbers, as agreed through the standard CoSLA Settlement & Distribution Group process, agreed by Leaders.

Question reference: S6W-38086

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any impact of NHS pay increases on recruitment and retention in the adult social care sector.

Whilst the Scottish Government is not a social care employer, we are working with key stakeholders, including COSLA, trade unions and provider representatives to introduce sectoral bargaining for commissioned social care services.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific analysis of the impact of the recent NHS pay deal on recruitment and retention in the adult social care sector, however for this financial year we are investing £125 million to enable adult social care workers in the third and private sectors to be paid at least the Real Living Wage rate, which takes the estimated total investment to deliver this policy up to £950 million.

This £12.60 per hour minimum pay rate that came into effect in April 2025 represents an increase of 5%.

Question reference: S6W-38081

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Police Scotland’s reported policy of not automatically recording the biological sex of rape or sexual assault suspects.

The recording of sex or gender in crime reporting and case management is an operational matter for Police Scotland. The Scottish Government expect Police Scotland to ensure its recording practices are compliant with legal obligations and support accurate, consistent data collection. The Scottish Government also recognises the importance of public confidence in how sensitive crimes are recorded and investigated. Police Scotland is currently undertaking a review of their recording and use of data relating to sex and gender.