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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-38372

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent capital budget commitments it has made to tackle the housing emergency.

To tackle the ongoing Housing Emergency, the Scottish Government is investing £768 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) for 2025-2026, a 38% increase compared to 2024-2025. Of this, £688 million is capital, which is a 44% increase compared with the previous year. This includes £40 million targeted towards acquisitions to support the local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures.

In addition are also investing an additional £4 million in the Ending Homelessness Together budget for 2025-2026 to help local authorities, frontline services and relevant partners prepare for new prevention measures and to help them to respond to the housing emergency by preventing homelessness before it occurs.

We have also announced a long-term commitment of £100 million for Mid-Market Rent – and with institutional investment we will grow that fund to at least £500 million to support the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes.

Question reference: S6W-38646

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that local authorities effectively enforce smoke control area regulations and address complaints, particularly regarding the use of unauthorised fuels in domestic wood-burning stoves.

Question reference: S6W-38521

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the private company that expressed interest in taking on the Tarbolton Moss landfill site, and whether any outcomes or next steps have been identified from any such engagement.

Question reference: S6W-38470

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the last 12 months, and what percentage of any funding went to SMEs based outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Scottish Government supports the full range of businesses primarily through its enterprise agencies, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. As such the allocation of this direct funding to the size of businesses is held by each agency along with the number of businesses supported outside the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Please email Scottish Government Enterprise Sponsorship team on enterprisesponsorship@gov.scot if you would like to contact the agencies directly.

Question reference: S6W-38071

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Medicines Consortium guidance on the use of ritlecitinib for alopecia areata is in alignment with the guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which states that living with severe alopecia areata can have a profound impact on psychosocial health.

Following a full submission from Pfizer Ltd, in advice published on 8 April 2024, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) accepted ritlecitinib (Litfulo®) for use in the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland for the treatment of severe alopecia areata in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over. The detailed advice is available on the SMC’s website:

https://scottishmedicines.org.uk/medicines-advice/ritlecitinib-litfulo-full-smc2610/

The SMC and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) utilise different processes and methodologies, particularly in terms of scope and timelines and therefore, it would not be appropriate to comment on whether their guidance aligns.

Question reference: S6W-38471

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many micro-grants of £500 Business Gateway has provided in the last 12 months, broken down by (a) location of recipient and (b) what they were used for.

Question reference: S6W-38520

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what specific steps are being taken to address the reported ongoing issue of land ownership at Tarbolton Moss landfill site.

Question reference: S6W-38519

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons have been learned from the Tarbolton Moss case to inform future policy on the management and remediation of abandoned landfill sites.

There are provisions in the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 to require companies to make adequate financial provisions for landfill aftercare and this requirement is also included in the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendments Regulations 2025. However, in the case of Tarbolton Moss the company was dissolved without any such funds remaining.

Officials continue to work with SEPA to understand how this occurred to ensure that the risk for similar future scenarios is minimised.

Furthermore, to minimise risk of further site abandonment, we will continue to work closely with local authorities and commercial operators to examine challenges faced before the commencement of the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste on 31 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-38522

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Tarbolton Moss landfill site, what mechanisms are being used to coordinate communications between SEPA, Scottish Government officials, and the local community, including the Tarbolton Tenants and Residents Association.

Question reference: S6W-35965

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children in each NHS board area have seen an NHS dentist in each year since 2024, and how this compares with (i) 2010, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2020.