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-42668

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of predation of livestock by white-tailed eagles were reported to its agencies in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-42662

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the efficacy of its investment in rainforest restoration through the Nature Restoration Fund.

Question reference: S6O-05328

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work to support the historic environment, whether it will provide an update on its involvement in the regeneration of Grant Lodge in Elgin.

Question reference: S6W-42481

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require transmission operators to underground new distribution overhead lines in island communities.

Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government, with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) responsible for the strategic approach to the development of the electricity system across Great Britain.

The Scottish Government has no powers to direct network companies to prioritise one technology or route over another when developing their build plans.

Network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing project proposals they must give due consideration to their license obligations, which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer.

Question reference: S6W-42267

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions it has held with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) CalMac, regarding a summer ferry service for Kintyre in 2026.

Discussions around summer 2026 ferry services for Campbeltown are ongoing. I met with the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Constituency MSP Jenny Minto and Transport Scotland Officials on 9 December to consider the latest information available on the matter. CalMac have rightly not consulted on timetables for this route due to the limitations and impacts resulting from wider fleet issues and uncertainties across 2026 as new vessels are delivered and deployed.

Potential options remain under consideration but are dependent on new vessel delivery, deployment and cascade plans. Deploying the MV Isle of Arran to provide resilience across the network is likely to be vital as part of these plans. The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity is due to meet with the local stakeholders on 14 January when we hope to have further information from Transport Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-42262

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Planning and Environmental Appeals Division takes into account public concerns about fire risk when considering planning appeals for battery energy storage applications, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division considers public concerns about fire risk, if raised, when determining appeals for battery energy storage proposals, but only insofar as these concerns raise relevant planning issues.

Fire safety itself is regulated by other statutory regimes, such as building standards and fire safety legislation, and is not a matter for the planning system to control directly. However, where concerns relate to the suitability of a site or its layout, for example access for emergency services, provision of water supply etc, these would be valid considerations. In some cases, these matters may be capable of being addressed through planning conditions.

Question reference: S6F-04537

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the partial collapse of the Spey Viaduct, including what support it can offer to Moray Council in responding to the immediate consequences and the next steps for the local community.

Question reference: S6W-42278

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring, (b) reporting and (c) performance-measurement requirements Scottish Enterprise has put in place for Offshore Solutions Group following the award of financial support, and whether any clawback provisions exist should agreed outcomes not be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-42276

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of any (a) financial or (b) non-financial support provided by Scottish Enterprise to Offshore Solutions Group, including the (i) value, (ii) type of support, and (iii) the criteria used to approve such support.

Question reference: S6W-42260

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue from passengers it estimates has not been collected as a result of CalMac’s reported issues with its ticketing (a) hardware and (b) software on its non-bookable services.

The current booking system was released under the previous contract with CalMac to operate the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services. Under that contract CalMac were required to provide farebox revenue as a whole for routes across the network. The Scottish Government does not hold information on uncollected revenue, and there was no contractual requirement for them to provide this information to Ministers.