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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-43661

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it proposes to update its Ramsar sites and nature reserves webpage by substituting a link to its updated policy, dated 9 July 2025, on the protection of Ramsar sites, and, if so, when.

Question reference: S6W-43663

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it proposes to delete its superseded guidance on its webpage, Implementation of Scottish Government policy on protecting Ramsar sites, dated 22 January 2019, and, if so, when.

Question reference: S6W-43728

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds regarding the presence of contaminants in farmed salmon produced in Scotland, including (a) microplastics, (b) heavy metals, (c) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and (d) antibiotic residues.

Local authorities are responsible for food safety sampling to ensure food producers comply with food safety legislation, however, it is the responsibility of food businesses to demonstrate the safety of their products. Sampling data is recorded centrally by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) on the Scottish Food Sampling Database to find data, spot trends and guide sampling and interventions.

The Scottish Government does not hold any data on microplastics in farmed salmon. There are currently no regulatory standards for microplastics in food and animal feed and methods for measuring microplastics in these matrices have not yet been standardised and harmonised.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), an agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is responsible for the analysis of chemical contaminants in salmon and organises the testing of salmon samples for heavy metals, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances and antibiotic residues. Details of the testing outputs can be found on the VMD's webpage.

Question reference: S6W-43670

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact that the reported proposed reduction to the telecare emergency response team in Argyll and Bute will have on residents.

The responsibility for telecare provisions lies with local authority responder services. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold this information. However, the Scottish Government recognises the value of telecare services in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and has contributed more than £4m towards the national programme of securing the analogue to digital migration for telecare, the procurement of the Shared Alarm Receiving Centre, and the associated data and innovation programme.

Question reference: S6W-43608

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the provisions in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 to ban glue traps, what measures it will put in place to ensure that online retailers do not circumvent the ban by continuing to ship traps to customers in Scotland.

Section 2 of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 makes it an offence for a person to supply or offer for sale a glue trap, or to knowingly cause or permit an unauthorised person to do so.

These offences are liable on summary conviction to a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment, or a £40,000 fine, or both, or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine (or both).

These offences and associated penalties will be fully communicated to the sector and retailers ahead of a ban coming into force.

Question reference: S6W-43606

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the number of birds and other non-target species that have been trapped or died in glue traps since the introduction of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

Question reference: S6W-43607

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards implementing a ban on the sale of glue traps, in light of the UK Parliament's completion of the process for applying the UK Internal Market Act's market access principles for the sale of such traps.

In order to ban the supply, and not just the use, of glue traps, the Scottish Government required an exclusion from the Market Access Principles under the Internal Market Act 2020 (“the IMA”).

The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 (Exclusions from Market Access Principles: Glue Traps) Regulations 2025 was made on 29 January 2026 under section 10(2) of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. However, the regulations do not come in to effect until 20 February 2026.

We will be communicating to stakeholders and industry our plans to bring into force the ban on use, sale and possession of glue traps in Scotland once the regulations to implement the exclusion from the IMA have come in to effect.

Question reference: S6W-43566

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Home Office regarding its plans for Cameron barracks in Inverness, including clarifications on the expected duration of use, operational arrangements and impacts on local services, and whether it will provide details of any representations it has made.

I met Alex Norris, UK Minister for Border Security and Asylum, on 4 November and 15 December 2025 to seek clarity on Home Office plans to use Cameron Barracks as asylum accommodation.

The Scottish Government has pressed for clear and timely communication with delivery partners, including a timeline for arrivals, public information for the local community, and assurances that any additional costs incurred by NHS Highland and The Highland Council will be met by the UK Government.

An Operational Working Group has been established by the Home Office, involving the Scottish Government, NHS Highland, The Highland Council, and Police Scotland.

Despite repeated requests, the Home Office has not provided a timeline for arrivals, nor confirmed that a final decision on the use of the site has been taken.

Question reference: S6W-43511

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated in 2025-26 to NHS boards to support the development of Good Food Nation plans.

Question reference: S6O-05541

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting apprenticeships for care experienced young people, particularly in rural and island areas.