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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.

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Question reference: S6W-43207

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27 budget and level 4 tables that were published in conjunction with its draft Budget, whether the baseline used to calculate the total funds to implement the 2026-27 pay uplift in commissioned social care services was the current real Living Wage amount of £12.60ph.

The draft Budget 2026-27 set out a further £160 million investment to enable the payment of the Real Living Wage to adult social care workers in commissioned services in the next financial year. The baseline used to calculate the additional £160 million was the National Living Wage rate of £12.71 per hour.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has subsequently announced that a further £20 million will be allocated to the Local Government Settlement for Social Care, which can be used towards funding the Real Living Wage for adult and childcare sectors.

This will take the total Scottish Government investment in adult social care pay to over £1.1 billion annually.

Question reference: S6W-43620

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support (a) local authorities, (b) regional transport partnerships and (c) the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland to identify areas where there are lower levels of accessible buses that are compliant with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), and how it will support local operators to increase the proportion of buses in their fleets that meet PSVAR accessibility standards.

Vehicle accessibility legislation is set out in the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) 2000.PSVAR applies in England, Scotland and Wales and are the responsibility of the UK Government Department for Transport. The Department for Transport provides the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) with a specific fund to enforce the requirements outlined in the PSVAR. It is the responsibility of DVSA to ensure that PSVAR compliance is monitored closely and that any bus or coach operator found to be in breach of these regulations is dealt with accordingly.

The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) accelerates Scotland’s shift to cleaner, greener buses. Phase 3 of ScotZEB3 aims to maximise the number of accessible zero emission Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) operating on local public bus services. Financial support for new buses and coaches within the ScotZeb subsidy cap may include the integration of accessibility and safety systems required for public service operation, as well as modifications to provide wheelchair-accessible spaces in vehicle classes not covered by Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) 2000.

Question reference: S6W-43610

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the response of the Scottish Funding Council Apprenticeship Committee is to the recommendations of the Commission on Race in Apprenticeships, including how it will implement these.

The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill made provision for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to establish an apprenticeship committee. The transfer of apprenticeship responsibilities to the Scottish Funding Council is planned to be in place by 1 April 2027, the apprenticeship committee will also be established by this date.

Work is already underway across the apprenticeship system to consider the Commission's findings and to integrate its recommendations into ongoing improvement activity.

Question reference: S6W-43737

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.

Question reference: S6W-43736

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.

Question reference: S6W-43734

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.

Question reference: S6W-43738

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.

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-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-43699

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many appointments per week on average were delivered using the NHS service, Near Me, in each financial year from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The appointments per week on average delivered using the Near Me service in each financial year are detailed in the following table. There are no data for group calls prior to January 2022, and data for period 2025-2026 have been collected until the end of January 2026.

Period	One-to-one calls per week (average)	Group calls per week (average)
2021-2022	12810.8	67.3
2022-2023	8402.3	515.2
2023-2024	6787.3	857.8
2024-2025	6095.5	1054.6
2025-2026	5812.5	1058.9