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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-39754

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Forestry and Land Scotland conducted any value for money assessments before proceeding with the purchase of the Glen Prosen estate; if so, what the outcome was of any such assessments, and what impact they had on the decision to purchase the estate.

Question reference: S6O-04887

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding solutions to the housing emergency.

Question reference: S6W-39687

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned into the effects of nitazenes and their prevalence in Scotland.

No specific research has been commissioned into the effects of nitazenes and their prevalence in Scotland. However we do draw on the international evidence base through our public health surveillance system. Since the first detection of these substances in Scotland in 2021, Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) have worked closely to monitor the prevalence of these substances and to provide regular updates and alerts to those using drugs and those working in drug treatment services.

PHS publishes on a quarterly basis, accessible, up-to-date information on services, harms and emerging drug trends, via the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) early warning system. This includes a range of information relating to nitazenes and can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/population-health/improving-scotlands-health/drugs/surveillance/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar.

Question reference: S6W-39688

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many community safety or outreach patrols it funded in 2024-25 to support drug users.

Scottish Government provide funding to local areas to allocate as appropriate based on local need. Decisions about the need for community safety or outreach patrols will be for local areas to take.

Details of 2024-25 ADP funding and activity are set out in the annual funding letter which you can access here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/alcohol-drug-partnership-adp-letters-2024-25/

In addition, details of the National Drugs Mission funds, administered by the Corra Foundation support a range of projects are also available here: https://www.corra.scot/funding/grant-holder-data/

Question reference: S6W-39745

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Scotland’s economic growth in the last two years has been attributable to (a) public and (b) private sector activity.

Question reference: S6W-39743

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the figures by KPMG, which reported that there was a 31% fall in job vacancies in Scotland in the three months to May 2025.

Question reference: S6W-39749

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Scotland has higher rates of long-term sickness and disability relative to the UK average, and what analysis it has made of any economic cost of this.

Question reference: S6W-39746

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response it to reports of a recent trend of businesses increasingly relocating production from Scotland to other parts of the UK.

Question reference: S6W-39759

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support retraining for any oil and gas workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the energy transition.

Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workers must be at the heart of a just energy transition, and the Scottish Government is supporting the workforce with the powers available to us.

In its first two years our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray has allocated £9.7m to support a package of skills interventions, including development of the Energy Transition Skills Hub in Aberdeen, a pilot scheme with the National Energy Skills Accelerator to determine the skills required for an energy transition and support for the industry-led development of an Energy Skills Passport. More widely, we will invest a further £8.5m of capital funding through the Fund this year, on projects with a focus on jobs, skills and economic opportunities to continue to support our transition in the region.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with the UK Government, has recently launched a new Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund to help support offshore workers transition to roles in sustainable energy sectors.

We have also funded, alongside the UK Government, a targeted Skills intervention for workers facing redundancy as a result of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery. While the scheme is still ongoing, workers are already successfully progressing into good quality jobs, including in low-carbon industries.

In the unfortunate event of any employees facing redundancy, the Scottish Government will also always offer and provide support through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment, PACE. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals are affected by redundancy are out of work.

Question reference: S6W-40105

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a breakdown of how the £25 million Grangemouth Just Transition Fund will be spent over the 2025-26 financial year, and which organisations will be recipients of any funding.