Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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-37353

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what quantitative economic targets it has.

Question reference: S6W-37535

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on emerging energy technologies funds in the current parliamentary session to date.

In the current parliamentary session to date the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund has spent a total of £15.3 million on grant awards:

£6.8m to 31 projects, via the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (details at: )
£3.1m to the Storegga Speyside Hydrogen Project (details at: )
£3.4m to 11 projects, following the 2024/25 green hydrogen funding call (details at: )
£2.0m to National Gas Transmission Plc. to support the pre-Front End Engineering and Design phase of the SCO2T Connect Project.

Question reference: S6W-37351

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a complete list of its economic objectives.

The (2022-2032) outlines the Scottish Government’s vision for fair green growth underpinned by six economic objectives.

The strategy is supported by a measurement framework. Reports on progress are available in the and National Strategy for Economic Transformation’s Annual Reports.

Further to this, the Scottish Government’s (2017-18) set a target to double Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) expenditure in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W- 18678 on 6 June 2023. Following work between the Scottish Government and Office for National Statistics data quality concerns remain regarding BERD. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The (2018) set a target to at least halve the Disability Employment Gap in Scotland by 2038 based on 2016 baseline. Progress is reported via the Fair Work Action Plan Annual Report, as an annex within the National Strategy for Economic Transformation .

(2019) set out an ambitious target to increase international exports from 20 % to 25 % of GDP over the next 10 years. Progress is available within the (2022).

The (2022) set a target to reduce the gender pay gap in Scotland by the end of this parliamentary term (May 2026) and maintain or where possible improve our position relative to the UK as a whole and our international neighbours. Progress is reported via the Fair Work Action Plan Annual Report, as an annex within the National Strategy for Economic Transformation .

However, is important to note that currently, the Scottish Government does not have full levers over employment, taxation, social security, or migration – all of which are vital to our economic prosperity. The Scottish Government believes that independence would deliver the best deal for Scotland – providing control over all public spending decisions, as well as the suite of fiscal powers necessary to unlock Scotland’s full economic potential.

Question reference: S6W-37354

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures progress against its economic objectives.

Question reference: S6W-37352

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what economic objectives and targets it has adopted or discarded since 2015.

Question reference: S6W-37190

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what representation it has made to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the UK Government regarding (a) reported long delays for practical driving test appointments in Scotland and (b) reports that third party resellers are using bot-based technologies to capture cancelled appointments, which are then being resold at a far higher price, resulting in increased pressure on driving test centres in Scotland.

My officials met with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), an agency of the UK Government, on 5 February 2025. Topics discussed included actions being taken to alleviate driving test waiting times and issues surrounding the use of bots to book and upsell driving tests to learners.

These issues are unacceptable and I welcome the actions announced on 23 April 2025 by the Department for Transport’s Secretary of State, Heidi Alexander MP to rectify the situation.

My officials met with officials from DVSA again on 6 May 2025 to discuss further the actions announced, and will be meeting with them quarterly going forward.

Question reference: S6W-37193

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered amending the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 to make provision for means testing whether an additional charge for second homes should be applied.

Question reference: S6W-37192

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to conduct a review of the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023.

The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023, which came into effect on 1 April 2024, provide local authorities with discretionary powers to apply a Council Tax premium of up to 100% on second homes.

Council Tax is a local tax, and it is for individual councils to determine the appropriate balance of housing in their areas based on local needs. The Regulations give Councils greater fiscal empowerment, in the spirit of the Verity House Agreement. They enable Councils to charge Second Homes anywhere between a 50% discount, and up to a 100% premium. It is for Councils to take decisions about the tax treatment of second homes, including where exclusions may apply.

The Scottish Government is committed to monitoring the impact of these regulations and will consider their effects as more data becomes available. The first set of data reflecting the implementation of the premium was collected in September 2024. This data indicated a 10% decrease (2,455 properties) in the number of second homes compared to the previous year. This decline may be related to the introduction of the 100% Council Tax premium on second homes. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor the impact of the Council Tax premium.

The following link sets out the Councils that introduced a second homes premium on 1 April 2024,

The following link provides the published data on the numbers of second and empty homes as at September 2024, .

Question reference: S6W-37194

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 has had on housing supply in areas where an additional council tax levy is applied.

Question reference: S6O-04651

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with the Lord Advocate regarding the costs of defending unsuccessful legal cases in the Supreme Court.