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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-35074

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Aberdeen to central belt 2026 enhancement project will be completed by December 2026.

The Aberdeen – Central Belt 2026 Enhancement Project is now known as the Aberdeen – Central Belt Service Improvement Project.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32369 on 8 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-35075

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the average journey time reduction between Aberdeen and (a) Edinburgh of 20 minutes and (b) Glasgow of nine minutes, as set out by the Aberdeen to central belt 2026 enhancement project, will be delivered by December 2026.

Question reference: S6W-35073

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the increase in freight capacity will be on the Aberdeen-Edinburgh/Glasgow railway lines under the Aberdeen to central belt 2026 enhancement project.

Question reference: S6W-34971

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33259 by Gillian Martin on 11 February 2025, in light of the question focussing on the Scottish Government's policies and strategy, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what assessment it has made of investment and activity levels in the North Sea resulting from a “presumption against new exploration for oil and gas", as set out in its Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and whether it plans to remove language around a “presumption against” to encourage investment in the North Sea; if no such assessment has been made, either before or since publishing the draft strategy, whether it will confirm this, and whether it has taken a decision to only develop strategy by reference to "recent developments in the UK Government’s energy policy and court decisions".

Question reference: S6W-34972

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33261 by Gillian Martin on 12 February 2025, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what (a) discussions and (b) meetings it has had with (i) expert organisations and (ii) the UK Government regarding the potential consequences for the UK’s future gas supply if the Jackdaw gas field was not to be developed for any reason, and whether it will publish the minutes of any such meetings, and, if no such discussions or meetings have taken place, whether it will confirm this.

Question reference: S6W-34864

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many operational frontline officers there were in each division of Police Scotland in each year from 2014 to date.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on how many operational frontline officers are deployed in divisions. Police workforce data collection are a matter for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland publish officer number data each quarter which includes information on the total number of officers in each policing division. These can be found on the Police Scotland website at: Police Scotland Officer Numbers - Police Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34861

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average net pay was, after deductions for tax, national insurance and pension, for each grade of frontline officer in Police Scotland for the financial year 2023-24, and what information it has on how this compared with the equivalent grades in forces in England.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Our police officers are the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of each rank, and I welcome the outcome of the police pay arbitration process, which means that police officers in Scotland will receive an uplift of 4.75%, backdated to 1 April 2024, in their March salaries.

This recognises the hard work and valuable contribution that police officers make, and reflects this Government’s continued commitment to investing in policing.

Question reference: S6W-34862

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many Police Scotland officers or staff were unavailable for deployment in each month of (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 due to sickness or other physical or mental ill health.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on officer and police staff absences due to sickness or other physical or mental ill health reasons. The recording of staffing absences are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Chief Constable’s commitment to police officers and staff wellbeing. Police Scotland provide access to a range of services including, a 24/7 employee assistance programme and direct access to occupational health services to support officers and police staff’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Question reference: S6W-34865

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the operational base level is for each division of Police Scotland, and how often Police Scotland has been unable to meet that level in each division in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-34487

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33262 by Gillian Martin on 24 January 2025, whether it will provide the information that was requested and confirm what information it holds on how many jobs in Scotland’s oil and gas sector, and its supply chain, have been lost since 1 January 2023, and, if no information is held on this, whether it will confirm this and, in light of the minister's comment that "the Scottish Government regularly engages with the offshore oil and gas industry on a range of topics, including workforce planning", whether in its next such discussion it will raise the matter regarding the number of jobs lost in the sector and how that data could be captured.

There is no obligation on private companies to inform the Scottish Government of redundancy figures, therefore this information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government will continue to engage regularly with both the oil and gas industry and the relevant trade unions, including in relation to workforce planning matters. We will also continue to monitor company announcements.

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