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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.

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Question reference: S6W-34583

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research published by the James Hutton Institute, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Forest Research, examining the efficacy of tree planting on carbon capture.

Question reference: S6W-33974

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how people in the NHS Highland area who are impacted by Huntington’s disease can access support from (a) general psychiatry and (b) community mental health teams.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that individuals impacted by Huntington’s disease, including those in the NHS Highland area, can access the mental health support they need.

This includes access to community mental health teams and psychiatry by referral through their GP or a Huntington’s specialist. Clinical leads and Huntington’s disease specialists, supported by the Scottish Huntington’s Association network, coordinate physical and mental health care and provide clear pathways to mental health services, including psychiatry.

We have published Core Mental Health Quality Standards which aim to ensure equitable access to mental health services, through clear referral processes, reduced barriers, and prioritisation of those most in need, which could include those with Huntington’s.

Question reference: S6W-33952

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many VisitScotland development managers were in post each December since 2018, and where each was located.

The following table captures current roles and locations and indicates whether the role has been in place since 2018:

Job Title	Contracted work base (current role-holder)	Role in place since 2018
Destination Development Director - Central/North-East – Including Tay Cities	Perth	Yes
Destination Development Director – Highlands & Islands	Inverness	Yes
Destination Development Director – South	Glasgow	Yes
Regional Director - Argyll & the Isles	Oban	Yes
Regional Director - Glasgow City	Glasgow	Yes
Regional Director - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire & Moray Speyside	Aberdeen	Yes
Regional Director - Edinburgh & Lothians	Perth	Yes
Regional Director - Ayrshire & Forth Valley	Glasgow	Yes
Island Manager – Shetland	Lerwick	Yes
Island Manager - Orkney	Kirkwall	Yes
Island Manager – Outer Hebrides	Stornoway	Yes

Over time exact job titles and responsibilities have evolved. VisitScotland’s system does not allow point in time reporting required to share information for each December since 2018.

Question reference: S6W-33949

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average spend was of recreational visitors to the Highlands and Islands in each year since 2018.

Average spend (£) of overnight visitors to Highlands and Islands by year, 2018-2023
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Domestic Visitors	260	252	-	-	247	247
International Visitors	495	418	-	-	658	640
Overall average	309	281	-	-	303	328

Number of overnight visitors to Highlands and Islands by year, 2018-2023 (000s)
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Domestic Overnight	1,997	2,805	-	-	2,461	2,124
International	525	591	-	-	393	555
Total Overnight	2,522	3,396	-	-	2,854	2,679

Highlands and Islands includes the following local authorities: Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles (aka Outer Hebrides / Eilean Siar).
Average spend figures are shown in pounds. These figures are nominal and have not been adjusted for inflation.
There is a break in the time series in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID19 pandemic so there is no data available for these years.
The source for domestic overnight figures is the Great Britain Tourism Survey.
The source for international figures is the International Passenger Survey.

Question reference: S6W-33951

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many VisitScotland destination development directors were in post each December since 2018, and where each was located.

The following table captures current roles and locations and indicates whether the role has been in place since 2018:

Job Title	Contracted work base (current role-holder)	Role in place since 2018
Destination Development Director - Central/North-East – Including Tay Cities	Perth	Yes
Destination Development Director – Highlands & Islands	Inverness	Yes
Destination Development Director – South	Glasgow	Yes
Regional Director - Argyll & the Isles	Oban	Yes
Regional Director - Glasgow City	Glasgow	Yes
Regional Director - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire & Moray Speyside	Aberdeen	Yes
Regional Director - Edinburgh & Lothians	Perth	Yes
Regional Director - Ayrshire & Forth Valley	Glasgow	Yes
Island Manager – Shetland	Lerwick	Yes
Island Manager - Orkney	Kirkwall	Yes
Island Manager – Outer Hebrides	Stornoway	Yes

Over time exact job titles and responsibilities have evolved. VisitScotland’s system does not allow point in time reporting required to share information for each December since 2018.

Question reference: S6W-33954

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many recreational visitors travelled to the Highlands and Islands in each year since 2018.

Number of overnight visitors to Highlands and Islands by year, 2018-2023 (000s)
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Domestic Visitors	1,997	2,805	-	-	2,461	2,124
International Visitors	525	591	-	-	393	555
Total overnight	2,522	3,396	-	-	2,854	2,679

Highlands and Islands includes the following local authorities: Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles (aka Outer Hebrides / Eilean Siar).
There is a break in the time series in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID19 pandemic so there is no data available for these years.
The source for domestic overnight figures is the Great Britain Tourism Survey.
The source for international figures is the International Passenger Survey.

Question reference: S6W-33950

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what experience each VisitScotland board member has in relation to their role in the organisation, and where each is located.

Question reference: S6W-33953

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff VisitScotland had each December since 2018, broken down by county that they were employed in.

VisitScotland’s system does not allow point in time reporting required to share location-specific information for staff for each December since 2018.

VisitScotland’s staff numbers at the end of each financial year are reported in its annual accounts as follows:

Date	FTE
31-03-2018	559
31-03-2019	525
31-03-2020	518
31-03-2021	497
31-03-2022	542
31-03-2023	492
31-03-2024	438

VisitScotland does not capture staff locations by local authority area. Information on staff locations by iCentre or Regional Economic Partnership area is provided below. This information is only available for the current date.

iCentre staff:

iCentre	FTE
Aviemore	2.9
Ballater	2.6
Brodick	0.6
Craignure	3.4
Fort William	3.8
Glasgow	7
Inverness	4.2
Kirkwall	3
Portree	3.8
Rothesay	6.3

Office-based staff:

Region (based on Regional Economic Partnerships)	% Spread of staff
North-East	3.3
Ayrshire	0.61
Edinburgh & South-East	55.45
Forth Valley	4.55
Glasgow	13.94
Highlands & Islands	11.23
South of Scotland	3.94
Tay Cities	6.97

Since the pandemic, VisitScotland has operated a hybrid working policy. For the majority of job vacancies, VisitScotland makes it clear in advertising that roles can be based in any part of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-33975

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recourse is open to people impacted by Huntington’s disease in the NHS Highland area who have been refused statutory mental health care due to their condition, and how this compares with the rest of the country.

NHS Health Boards must ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, has equitable access to mental health care.

If a patient is dissatisfied with their care or access to services, they should first raise their concerns with their local Health Board. If unsatisfied with the response, they can also escalate the matter to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) for an independent review.

We acknowledge that Highland has some of the highest rates of Huntington disease, we do not hold information to compare this to the rest of the country.

Question reference: S6W-33973

Current Status: Withdrawn