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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

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Question reference: S6O-05455

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what implications the recent announcement of next steps for its £1.5 billion bonds programme will have for the financing of major capital projects across Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05435

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on improving accommodation standards in relation to legislation that currently exists in Scotland for seasonal agricultural workers.

Question reference: S6O-05393

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with the UK Government to ensure that the consultation on combinable crops will deliver for Scotland's arable farmers.

Question reference: S6O-05383

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding transport solutions to support the current and future development of Blindwells, East Lothian.

Question reference: S6O-05303

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland on its proposal, The future of provision for neurodevelopmental conditions.

Question reference: S6F-04511

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 December 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's latest engagement with the UK Government regarding any impact on poverty levels in Scotland of the freeze to Local Housing Allowance.

Question reference: S6W-42017

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will lay the proposal for the first Children’s Rights Scheme before the Scottish Parliament.

I am pleased to announce that today, World Children’s Day, I have laid before Parliament, Scotland’s first ever Children’s Rights Scheme. The proposal for the Scheme is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/proposal-first-childrens-rights-scheme/

Section 14 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (the Act) requires Scottish Ministers to make such a Scheme setting out the arrangements they have made, or propose to make, to ensure they comply with the compatibility duty under section 6 of the Act and to secure better or further effect of the rights of children. Section 15 provides for the proposed Scheme to be laid before the Scottish Parliament, which I have duly done.

Engagement on a draft Scheme was undertaken with children and young people; the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland; the Scottish Human Rights Commission; and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights).

World Children’s Day is UNICEF’s global day of action for children, marking the adoption, by United Nations General Assembly, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The Scottish Government is proud to mark this by setting out to Parliament and to the people of Scotland what we are already doing, and planning to do, to help to ensure that children’s rights are at the heart of everything we do. The Scheme builds on last year’s incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law within the limits of our devolved competence.

Question reference: S6W-38923

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline its plans for ensuring that island biosecurity, which is a commitment under the National Islands Plan and Goal 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, continues to be addressed throughout the island network when the current Biosecurity for Scotland project draws to a close in March 2026.

The Biosecurity for Scotland project is currently leading a series of co-design workshops to develop a plan for a long-term biosecurity programme and discussions are taking place around securing funding for this work beyond March 2026. The project has received over £350,000 from the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.

In addition, work is underway on developing a Scottish Plan for Invasive Non-native Species Prevention, Surveillance and Control which we aim to publish later this year. In developing our plan we will be considering what measures we need to put in place to ensure the continued biosecurity of Scotland’s islands. In particular we recognise that it is vital that Scotland’s globally important seabird populations are protected from invasive mammalian predators such as rats and mice. Discussions are underway with NatureScot and stakeholders to ensure the new National Islands Plan features tangible actions in support of our islands’ biosecurity, including in relation to invasive non-native species.

Question reference: S6O-03874

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2024
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2028

To ask the Scottish Government test.

Question reference: S6W-15916

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that any bids that it receives for National Park status cover contiguous or overlapping areas, whether the Scottish Ministers will be able to consider combining those bids into one larger National Park.

The Scottish Government has committed to designating at least one new National Park in Scotland during this parliamentary session provided relevant legal conditions can be met. In the Spring we will publish a draft evaluation framework with proposed selection criteria before opening the nominations process for new National Parks later this year.

We are aware of several areas which are interested in National Park status, including some which have well established campaigns. Through the nominations process, we will ask interested parties to register their interest and submit a nomination. We intend to make support available to local groups and organisations wishing to submit a nomination, for example to help arrange and host local discussions and workshops.

All proposals for New National Parks that are received will be assessed against the criteria set out in the evaluation framework and a report will be prepared. A panel of experts will then review the evaluation report and will provide advice to Scottish Ministers on which nomination or nominations should be considered for National Park designation. In theory it would be possible for the panel to recommend that overlapping or contiguous areas are considered.

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