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-39066

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 14 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding allocated from the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme went to growers based outside of Scotland in each year since it was established.

While Producer Organisations (POs) that currently receive aid through the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme funded by the Scottish Government do have a number of members that are not based in Scotland, the scheme does not fund individual growers. Aid is provided to recognised POs, based on an approved operational programme, which must have the support of all PO members. Funding offers a range of opportunities which are of collective value to the PO and its members. Currently there are also a number of Scottish growers which are members of POs in other UK nations.

Information related to funding allocated to POs in other UK nations is not held by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for the Rural Payments Agency.

Question reference: S6W-39233

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many sheep being moved to Scotland have so far been given a pre-movement test as a precaution for bluetongue virus.

Question reference: S6W-39347

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement of additional funding for National Treatment Centre Highland on 10 April 2025, what proportion of the additional funding will be used to support ophthalmic procedures, and how many additional cataract operations it anticipates will be delivered as a result.

Question reference: S6W-39346

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement of additional funding for National Treatment Centre Highland on 10 April 2025, what assessment it has made regarding the additional funding allocated to support the introduction of combined cataract and trabecular bypass procedures.

In 2025-26 all ophthalmic procedures at National Treatment Centres (NTCs) will be cataract surgery. NTCs will not provide glaucoma treatments such as trabecular bypasses.

The treatment centres are focusing on delivering higher volume surgery in cataract only lists due to the volume of surgery required. If patients require cataract surgery and an additional procedure, surgery is likely to be undertaken in their Health Board of residence with an Ophthalmologist who specialises in the particular sub-specialty outwith cataracts i.e. Glaucoma.

Question reference: S6W-39287

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly limited access to the Islands Business Resilience Fund to eight islands, and whether it will consider extending this fund to businesses in all of Scotland's island communities.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to develop and refine the eligibility criteria for the Islands Business Resilience Fund (IBRF) and identify how this targeted funding can reach those businesses which meet the criteria and have been impacted by reductions in ferry services.

HIE carried out detailed analysis of data and statistics provided by Transport Scotland and CalMac relating to ferry disruption. Based on this, the islands of South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Arran were identified as eligible for the Fund, as they each had experienced more than 15% ferry cancellations over the last three operating seasons, with limited alternatives. For comparison, the average disruption to ferry services, across the CalMac network was around 6-7%.

Question reference: S6W-39232

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any potential threat of the bluetongue virus in Scotland, in light of the whole of England being made a bluetongue restricted zone on 1 July 2025.

Scottish Government have been in regular communication with both Defra and Welsh Government, including regular discussions between CVO’s since disease was identified as circulating in England in 2024, with meetings taking place at least twice a week since then. Scottish Government policy and veterinary colleagues have attended twice weekly bluetongue meetings, and weekly bluetongue vaccine task force meetings with the other devolved administrations and industry representatives. There are also twice weekly licensing and policy calls between all the administrations.

Question reference: S6W-39265

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to (a) public, (b) private, (c) third sector and (d) community organisations from the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund since it was established, broken down by local authority area.

The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund (ICCEF) is distributed to island local authorities, which decide where funding will be directed based on their local knowledge and understanding of the impacts of the cost crisis on their island populations.

The six island local authorities have provided, where possible, a breakdown of how the monies have been distributed.

Several recipients could reasonably be classified as both third sector and community organisations. For the purposes of this question, local authorities have assigned each recipient to the category they consider most appropriate.

In this instance, the Scottish Government has assumed ‘private’ to mean private individuals and families

2022-23	Public	Private	Third Sector	Community Organisations	Total allocation
Argyll and Bute	£0	£169,449	£0	£27,551	£197,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	£0	£227,800	£0	£132,200	£360,000
Highland	£0	£115,000	£0	£32,000	£147,000
North Ayrshire	£43,000	£10,000	£10,000	£17,000	£80,000
Orkney Islands	£0	£0	£305,000	£0	£305,000
Shetland Islands	£85,795	£47,549	£158,143	£19,514	£311,000
Total	£128,795	£569,798	£473,143	£228,265	£1,400,000

2023-24	Public	Private	Third Sector	Community Organisations	Total allocation
Argyll and Bute	£0	£125,000	£0	£16,000	£141,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	£20,000	£48,000	£97,000	£92,000	£257,000
Highland	£0	£105,000	£0	£0	£105,000
North Ayrshire	£25,000	£10,000	£0	£22,000	£57,000
Orkney Islands	£46,000	£9,600	£104,400	£58,000	£218,000
Shetland Islands	£32,815	£159,900	£0	£29,285	£222,000
Total	£123,815	£457,500	£201,400	£217,285	£1,000,000

2024-25	Public	Private	Third Sector	Community Organisations	Total allocation
Argyll and Bute	£0	£125,000	£0	£16,000	£141,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	£0	£0	£0	£257,000	£257,000
Highland*	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	£105,000
North Ayrshire	£0	£0	£0	£57,000	£57,000
Orkney Islands	£62,529	£0	£105,471	£50,000	£218,000
Shetland Islands	£13,500	£195,506	£0	£12,994	£222,000
Total	£76,029	£320,506	£105,471	£392,994	£1,000,000

*Note: Information regarding the Highland Council’s 2024-25 distribution of funds has not been provided to date.

Question reference: S6W-39264

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in total to the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund in each year since it was established.

Question reference: S6W-39266

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund have (a) been approved and (b) not been approved in each year since it was established, broken down by local authority area.

The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund is distributed as part of the General Revenue Grant to island local authorities which decide where, and how, funding will be directed based on their local knowledge and understanding of the impacts of the cost crisis on their island populations.

There is no requirement for local authorities to use an application process to distribute monies, although some may choose to. The Scottish Government does not, therefore, hold this information.

Question reference: S6W-39231

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government was assessment it has made of any impact on cross-border trade of measures introduced to prevent the bluetongue virus entering Scotland.

The Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC) have undertaken studies into the levels of cross border trade between Scotland and England, with input from the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers Scotland (IAAS) to determine an economic evaluation of that trade on a monthly basis. EPIC have also conducted a study to assess the impacts on Scottish livestock movements in response to the England-wide restriction zone, with consideration to the control strategy which includes the requirement for pre-movement testing. The findings of these reports have been shared with key industry stakeholders in Scotland, devolved administrations and Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) colleagues for further analysis and discussion.