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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-39145

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled any potential energy security risks for Scotland as a result of completely removing nuclear from the energy mix.

The Scottish Government commissioned a report into the security of supply of Scotland’s electricity system. This report, Electricity system security of supply in Scotland, was published on the ClimateXChange website in December 2023.

The report found that the technology pathway to net zero in Scotland by 2045 would see the reduction in traditional firm generation capacities. The report also found that the generation capacity losses from this reduction would be offset by vast increases in wind and solar installed capacity, which along with the installation of storage technologies would provide security of supply in Scotland.

Although the Scottish Government commissioned this report, security of supply is a reserved matter that the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) is responsible for.

Question reference: S6W-39128

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff are currently employed in the nuclear sector in Scotland, and what alternative employment or training will be available following the closure of any nuclear facilities.

The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey, published by the Office of National Statistics, estimates that in 2023 there were 2100 direct Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) roles in the nuclear industry in Scotland.

Decommissioning of nuclear sites in Scotland will take decades and will require the retention of a highly skilled workforce. Independent analysis by Ernst & Young (EY) suggests, with the right support, there could be around 2000 direct and indirect jobs and just under £400 million of direct and indirect Gross Value Added (GVA) in nuclear decommissioning in Scotland by 2045.

Question reference: S6W-39146

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work on a tenure-neutral housing standard, and whether a public consultation on this issue will take place in 2025.

The quality of housing in Scotland has improved over the years due to the action of this Government. The introduction of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard in social housing in 2012 and strengthening of the Repairing Standard for the private rental sector in 2024 shows our commitment to making improvements. The Scottish House Condition Survey shows that the condition of our housing across all tenures continues to rise. However, we recognise that different sectors are moving at different speeds, and some types of housing need particular attention, which is why the government committed to having a tenure-neutral standard.

However, the work on the tenure-neutral housing standard was paused last year to prioritise key actions required to respond to the housing emergency declared in June 2024, putting additional pressure on household finances whilst the cost-of-living pressures persisted.

While our focus remains on responding to the Housing Emergency, Scottish Government has an ambition to ensure full alignment of housing standards in the future.

Question reference: S6W-39131

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what proportion of private landlords who exited the sector in 2024-25 were small investors with only one property.

The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested as exits from the Scottish Landlord Register and changes in portfolio size are not tracked.

The following table shows active registrations on the Register in March 2024 and March 2025.

Date	Number of Registrations	Landlords with 1 Property	Total Properties
31 March 2024	242,265	162,428	357,417
31 March 2025	239,666	159,374	358,931

The Landlord Registration system is an administrative system used primarily to manage the registration of landlords and rental properties, and has not been designed to produce robust statistical figures on the sector.

Please note that the number of landlords with 1 property will include joint owners of properties, and will therefore not exactly correspond to the number of properties.

Question reference: S6W-39130

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of tenancies that have been lost as a result of landlord exits from the market since November 2024.

Question reference: S6W-39476

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 18 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce an NHS mobile app, similar to the NHS England app, to allow patients to, for example, arrange appointments and repeat prescriptions.

I can confirm that the initial release of an online app for Health and Social Care will be in December 2025. This is set out in our Operational Improvement Plan, as well as in the answer to question S6W-38145 on 11 June 2025.

Secure login using a unique ID through Scot Account

Receive digital letters from the dermatology team
View dermatology appointments
Access personal health information, including demographics, medications and allergies
Use a national service finder to locate health and care services

The online app will be expanded over the next five years with further capabilities as a key component of health and social care access to services.

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-39298

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many court cases there currently are in any backlogs, and how many are solemn cases to be heard before a (a) high and (b) sheriff court.

Question reference: S6W-39359

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many fire stations had firefighting staff that exceeded the permitted maximum of 24 hours of overtime per month in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-39355

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the reported 29% vacancy rate in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. The 29% vacancy rate refers to on-call establishment figures. SFRS is taking action to recruit more on-call firefighters though the use of 50 full time on-call support officers and in providing targeted assistance to potential candidates. In addition more flexible contracts have been introduced which can reduce the time commitment needed to be an on-call firefighter.

Question reference: S6W-39342

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it will make to the design and delivery of the Just Transition Fund, in light of reported concerns regarding the findings of the independent evaluation that it commissioned in relation to transparency, administrative complexity and a lack of multi-year funding to support sustainable outcomes to deliver a just transition for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Just Transition Fund (JTF) is responsive to the needs of the North East and Moray. This includes full consideration of the recommendations of the independent evaluation to support ongoing improvements to the 10-year Fund in a way which aligns with Scottish Government’s budget position.

The independent evaluation highlighted the positive and catalytic impact of support delivered through the Fund in its first two years of operation. We have already delivered against some of the report’s recommendations. For example, updated application material and guidance were issued as part of the 2025-26 open capital funding round for the JTF to support greater transparency of process.