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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-43728

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 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.

Question reference: S6W-43670

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 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.

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: S6W-43661

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 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: Answer expected on 25 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-43662

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that publicly available guidance and policy statements on Ramsar site protections are up to date.

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.

Question reference: S6W-43507

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 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated in 2025-26 to support local authorities to develop Good Food Nation plans, and when local authorities will be formally notified of their individual allocations.

Question reference: S6W-43431

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41364 by Ivan McKee on 28 October 2025, what estimate it has made of the total future electricity demand resulting from expected AI and data centre developments in Scotland, in light of its joint commissioning of a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) for Great Britain, and how this estimate is being communicated to any local authorities that will be responsible for consenting large-scale, energy-intensive infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has not made its own assessment of the total future electricity demand resulting from expected AI and data centre developments in Scotland.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) recognised in its 2025 Future Energy Scenarios, that up to a fifth of Great Britain’s future data centre demand could be based in Scotland.

While the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) for Great Britain is still under development, NESO recognises that engaging with local stakeholders, including Scottish Local Authorities, is critical to the success of the plan. The Scottish Government is aware of NESO’s engagement with COSLA, and you may wish to contact NESO directly at box.SSEP@neso.energy for any further detail.

Following publication of the SSEP, it is anticipated that NESO’s Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP) for Scotland will provide further insight into the forecast future electricity demand from data centres.

Question reference: S6W-43432

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41364 by Ivan McKee on 28 October 2025, whether it received the full regional dataset underpinning the National Energy System Operator’s modelling of data centre demand in its 2025 Future Energy Scenarios, including the location-specific scenarios that were not published in the public report, and whether it will make the Scotland-level figures available to the Parliament.