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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: S6O-05606

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund and how it is supporting families in Scotland with the cost of living.

Question reference: S6O-05594

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-05609

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-05588

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on tackling the reported critical shortage of social care workers.

Question reference: S6O-05607

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that newly built housing is adaptable for future needs.

Question reference: S6W-43816

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has to shape incinerator capacity once all planned incinerator facilities have entered into the full consultation process.

The Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland made it clear that Scotland does not need additional waste incineration facilities to treat our unavoidable and unrecyclable municipal residual waste, beyond those for which planning permission has already been granted, with very limited exceptions.

That is why the Scottish Government introduced restrictions on energy from waste developments in National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which came into effect on 13 February 2023. This sets out that development proposals for energy from waste facilities will not be supported except in limited circumstances where a national or local need has been sufficiently demonstrated (e.g. in terms of capacity need or carbon benefits) as part of a strategic approach to residual waste management. No new energy from waste planning requests have been submitted since NPF4 was adopted.

Any changes to an existing incineration facility’s throughput (i.e. authorised capacity) requires an application to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for a permit variation.

The Scottish Government recognises that national capacity is not currently considered in SEPA’s environmental permit decisions and will work with SEPA to ensure that the Scottish Government’s indicative capacity cap for residual waste, under development through Scotland’s residual waste plan due in 2027, is reflected in regulations and considered when assessing environmental permits. This will ensure that, going forward, SEPA will consider national capacity as part of environmental permitting.

Question reference: S6W-43860

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill on the NHS Scotland workforce, including whether staff choose to leave the NHS if the bill passes into legislation.

The Scottish Government continues to maintain a neutral position on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which is a matter for the Scottish Parliament to decide upon.

In that context, the Scottish Government has been following closely the evidence provided by stakeholders during the earlier stages of the Parliamentary process. Consideration of potential implications for NHS Scotland, including workforce-related issues, is dependent on the outcome of Parliamentary scrutiny and the final form of the legislation.

Any further consideration of workforce impacts would therefore take place after the Stage 3 vote, should the Bill be passed, and would need to take account of the final form of the legislation, as well as engagement with relevant professional bodies, staff representatives and other stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-43838

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out how the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) defines “tolerable” risk, and what its position is on the deployment of this yardstick by the SFRS.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is conducting a Service Delivery Review (SDR) to enable the organisation to respond to current and future risks. SFRS acknowledges that it cannot eliminate risk but it aims to reduce risk to a point where it is manageable, proportionate, and consistent with its legal and statutory duties, strategic aims, and the benefits that the proposed changes in the SDR are expected to deliver.

If SFRS considers the risk to be manageable, well understood, controlled and proportionate it can consider this tolerable. Throughout the SDR, SFRS has identified associated risks to demonstrate sound process and methodology to its approach. This allows SFRS to have informed data led considerations, based on evidence, robust modelling and professional judgement to maintain crew, partner and public safety while delivering organisational improvement within its allocated budget.

Question reference: S6W-43845

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that the Scottish salmon industry recorded 1,274 weekly sea lice counts exceeding the industry’s Code of Good Practice guidelines in the last year, and whether it considers that the current regulatory framework for sea lice management is adequate.

The sea lice levels referred to in the Code of Good Practice are suggested criteria at which producers should consider treatment to prevent build up of gravid female sea lice They are not a regulatory standard and have no bearing in the regulation of sea lice for fish health purposes.

The Scottish Government’s approach to sea lice management is set out in the document entitled The Sea Lice Regulation in Scotland’ This includes the level of sea lice per fish at which the Fish Health Inspectorate will intervene or take enforcement action. It represents a robust regulatory approach to sea lice management.

Industry actions in response to the regulatory regime delivered the lowest sea lice numbers on record in 2024. These were similarly low in early 2025, rising later in the year within expected levels of seasonal variability.

A risk-based regulatory framework is implemented by SEPA for the purpose of managing the risk that sea lice from fish farms pose to wild salmonids. Separate thresholds for sea lice management may be applied on a temporal or locational basis to specific farms through licence conditions.

Question reference: S6W-43839

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-fatal fire casualties there have been (a) in absolute terms and (b) broken down by (i) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) areas and (ii) non-SIMD areas, in each of the last three years.