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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-43111

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made of any implications of assigning Electricity Act 1989 consent decisions to a ministerial portfolio that is primarily responsible for public finance.

Question reference: S6W-43115

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to manage any potential conflicts of interest where a single ministerial portfolio has responsibility for both infrastructure financing and infrastructure consent decisions.

The Scottish Ministerial Code outlines the general principle that Ministers should take particular care to avoid conflicts of interest when dealing with planning matters, including the granting of energy consents.

Mechanisms are available to preserve the integrity of decisions from challenge on grounds of prejudice, whereby the Planning Minister or any other Minister involved in the decision-making process can debar themselves from any involvement in the case.

Question reference: S6W-43116

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance, instructions or internal protocols that govern Electricity Act 1989 consent decisions have been revised following the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance on 18 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43114

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Minister for Public Finance has any role in decisions on funding, financing or financial guarantees for electricity transmission infrastructure projects that are also subject to Electricity Act 1989 consents.

Question reference: S6W-43118

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the criteria used to assess Electricity Act 1989 consent applications have changed following the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance and, if so, what changes have been made.

The decision-making process is undertaken in accordance with the Electricity Act 1989, and other applicable regulations pertaining to applications depending on the specific details of each case. Recommendations are made in accordance with regulatory requirements, taking into account all material considerations, including the benefits of the development, the impacts, and accordance with relevant policy.

Question reference: S6W-43124

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Electricity Act 1989 consent applications were live when responsibility transferred to the Minister for Public Finance on 18 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42660

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will list how many times in each of the last five years each minister has taken a flight where a frequent flyer or other travel loyalty scheme account number was used, broken down by the (a) date of travel, (b) (i) departure and (ii) arrival airport, (c) airline used, (d) class of travel, (e) booking channel used and (f) total cost to the public purse, and what information it has on how many frequent flyer points were (A) accrued and (B) redeemed, including for what purpose points were redeemed.

The Scottish Government Travel Management system does not record personal membership or usage of travel loyalty schemes. SG guidance for staff, including Ministers, states that any such schemes should be used sparingly and not for personal gain. All ministerial travel is arranged by civil servants through the Scottish Government travel management system. All Ministerial air travel and associated costs are proactively published to the SG website

Question reference: S6W-42654

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42412 by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025, whether it will confirm by what date the proactive release covering all ministerial engagements and expenses for November 2025 will be published, and whether this will include the information that was requested on what information it has regarding the total cost to it of the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy’s travel to attend the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, broken down by (i) travel, (ii) accommodation, (iii) subsistence and (iv) any other associated costs.

Question reference: S6W-42529

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42085 by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2025, what information it has regarding the dates that the teams involved in Let’s Do Net Zero discussed the Heroes of Net Zero communications campaign, whether formal or informal minutes, notes or other records were taken of those discussions and, if so, whether it will publish these, and what criteria and processes were applied in deciding not to take the suggestion forward in 2025.

Question reference: S6O-05347

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to manage and reduce damage and repair costs in schools.