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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-43647

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost is of a (a) Hospital Specialty and (b) General Practice Specialty Training Programme place.

Based on 2025-26 pay scales, the estimated average annual cost is £117,922 for a Hospital Specialty training place and £115,792 for a General Practice Specialty training place. These estimates assume banding supplements of 50% for hospital placements and between 40-45% for General Practice placements and use average staff support costs . These estimates include salary, employer contributions and infrastructure costs, and vary depending on the specific grade and year of training.

Question reference: S6W-43670

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact that the reported proposed reduction to the telecare emergency response team in Argyll and Bute will have on residents.

The responsibility for telecare provisions lies with local authority responder services. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold this information. However, the Scottish Government recognises the value of telecare services in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and has contributed more than £4m towards the national programme of securing the analogue to digital migration for telecare, the procurement of the Shared Alarm Receiving Centre, and the associated data and innovation programme.

Question reference: S6W-43684

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reopen the Local Bridge Maintenance Fund.

Question reference: S6W-43640

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the grant funding that it has provided to Scottish Canals has delivered in each of the last five years, and what it expects funding in 2026-27 will deliver.

Scottish Canals receives annual grant funding from the Scottish Government to support the delivery of its statutory duties, which include the safe operation, maintenance and stewardship of Scotland’s inland waterways and associated heritage assets. Over the last five years, this funding has enabled Scottish Canals to maintain essential canal infrastructure, support navigation and water management, undertake safety-critical repairs, protect historic structures, and contribute to wider regeneration, active travel and placemaking objectives along the canal network.

Scottish Canals sets out its corporate priorities through its annual Business Plan, with the 2026-27 plan to be published in due course.

The funding provided in 2026-27 will support Scottish Canals’ core statutory responsibilities, ensuring the network remains well maintained, navigable and safe for the public. It will protect essential infrastructure, strengthen long-term resilience, and support the thousands of people who use the waterways every day — whether boating, walking, wheeling, cycling or enjoying the surrounding public spaces. This investment will enable priority maintenance and asset management work, and help deliver activity that maximises the public, community and environmental benefits of Scotland’s canal network.

Question reference: S6W-43649

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00312 by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2021, how many entrants there have been to accredited pre-registration radiography specialty courses in each of the last five years.

Radiography education is not commissioned or controlled by the Scottish Government. The following table sets out the number of entrants to accredited radiography courses at Scottish Universities each academic year. Figures for the 2024-25 academic year are not yet available.

Entrants to accredited pre-registration radiography courses (rounded to nearest 5)

Year	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Therapeutic Radiography	40	40	45	25	45
Diagnostic Radiography	140	145	150	140	130
Total	180	185	195	165	175

Source: HESA Student Population

Question reference: S6W-43596

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the Marine Directorate Licensing Operations team will release its findings into the pollution event that took place at Loch Hourn in April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43651

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many advanced level nurses in primary care have been trained in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6O-05563

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly reduced the funding it provides to the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award programme for 2026-27.

Question reference: S6O-05566

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 aligns with Fair Trade principles for imported food and drink.

Question reference: S6O-05569

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce orthopaedic services waiting times across NHS Lanarkshire.