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-28090

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported data published by the British Medical Association Scotland showing that the top five NHS boards with the highest number of GP vacancies per 100,000 population are within the Highlands and Islands region.

The British Medical Association has used data from the latest , published by NHS Education Scotland in December 2023, which collects data on vacancies throughout the year. This report notes data quality concerns over vacancy status and advises caution when referring to vacancy rates published from the survey, which are likely an overestimation. It further suggests that the particularly high vacancy rates for island boards are unlikely to be an accurate reflection of the current staffing situation.

Improving recruitment and retention of GPs and other doctors is vital in all localities, including rural and island areas. The Scottish Government provides a range of supports to the GP workforce, including a rural specific graduate entry medical degree (ScotGEM), Golden Hello payments for harder to fill posts mostly in remote and rural areas, as well as bursaries for GP Speciality Training aimed at attracting GPs to work in rural Scotland. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) also provide a Rural GP Fellowship for those interested in working in general practice in rural and island Boards.

The Scottish Government funds the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care which focuses on recruitment and retention, education and training, research and evaluation, leadership and good practice.

We will publish a Remote and Rural Workforce Recruitment Strategy by the end of 2024.

Question reference: S6W-27543

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the rationale is for the figure of 1,000 hectares as the threshold for a public interest test for the purpose of sale or transfer of land in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Mairi Gougeon: The transfer test will provide an opportunity for Scottish Ministers to consider potential transfers of landholdings over 1000 hectares. Potentially, this could lead to some landholdings being lotted into smaller parts, if that may help local communities.

In setting the appropriate thresholds for these proposals, I have considered both the policy aims of the proposals and the risk of disproportionate impacts following from these additional requirements, particularly in relation to smaller businesses.

The size threshold for the transfer test requires to be set at a level at which there could plausibly be concentration of landownership in the relevant area with impacts on land availability and supply. When land is transferred at scale this can restrict who can purchase land due to the size and value. This can contribute to the supply of land being insufficient in particular areas, which can be detrimental to the sustainability of those communities.

The Scottish Land Commission, in its discussion paper on Legislative proposals to address the impact of Scotland’s concentration of land ownership, said that when considering at what scale of landholding for transfer such a test should apply to, suggested that “the aim should be to establish a threshold that would ensure that family farms and small businesses would not fall in scope, but that modest estates that could pose risks would. It may be reasonable to expect that, for example, holdings over 10,000ha would always be in scope, while those under 1,000ha would always be exempt.”

This advice has been taken into account, alongside other Scottish Land Commission research, data on land transactions and land ownership in Scotland, the consultation on the Bill and stakeholder engagement, in determining the 1000-hectare size threshold for this proposal.

Question reference: S6W-27596

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been reported to it in relation to potential breaches of section 7.3 of the Scottish Ministerial Code by (a) ministers and (b) special advisers in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-27595

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints of breaches of section 7.3 of the Scottish Ministerial Code by (a) ministers and (b) special advisers have been upheld in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-27553

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to re-examine the installation of a fixed link between Cowal and the Isle of Bute, as originally proposed in the option appraisal for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Question reference: S6W-27555

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to re-examine the installation of a fixed link between the Isle of Jura and the mainland, as originally proposed in the option appraisal for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Question reference: S6W-27556

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to re-examine the installation of a fixed link between the Isle of Jura and Isle of Islay, as originally proposed in the option appraisal for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Question reference: S6W-27557

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to re-examine the installation of a fixed link between the Cowal and Inverclyde, as originally proposed in the option appraisal for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Question reference: S6O-03515

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held any recent discussions with SSEN Transmission, in light of reported concerns by communities in the Highlands and Islands region regarding electricity transmission proposals.

Policy and regulation of energy networks in the UK, including their operation, maintenance and resilience, are reserved to the UK Government.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with stakeholders, including network companies, across the energy industry. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy and I last met with SSEN, alongside SPEN and ESO, on 21 March to discuss the ESO’s ‘Beyond 2030’ network recommendations for connection and delivery of clean power to homes and businesses across GB, where we stressed the need for meaningful and early engagement with communities.

Question reference: S6O-03541

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held any discussions with stakeholders regarding the future of hyperbaric treatment services on the west coast.