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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-05477

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with communities, developers and other stakeholders regarding wide loads and any increased traffic movements on the A86, A889, A82 and A87 linked to the Skye Reinforcement Project and the Glen Mor workers’ camp at Fort Augustus.

Question reference: S6O-05406

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether local authorities should increase council tax, reduce public services, or a mixture of both, to meet any gaps in local government funding as a result of the draft Budget.

Question reference: S6O-05381

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure transport links remain open during incidents of severe weather.

Question reference: S6W-42050

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has undertaken and (b) will undertake an analysis to determine the total (i) number of civil servant hours spent on and (ii) cost of administering the Future Farming Investment Scheme to date.

Question reference: S6W-42041

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether AI has been used in any way to process applications to the Future Farming Investment Scheme.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6O-05097 on 5 November 2025 and S6W-41741 on 21 November 2025.

The claims that an AI based system was used to assess applications are not correct. Applications were assessed through a standardised framework that cross checked application data against the Single Application Form (SAF) and other system held data to ensure consistency, transparency, and audit defensibility.

Assessment work was led by the Agricultural Development Team, supported by staff from across the RPID area office network, which is experienced in delivering Scottish Government Grant Schemes. Independent validation was undertaken by a Project Board, which also included RPID Area Office representatives, as well as being reviewed by Internal Audit representatives.

All answers to Oral 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/official-report

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-42048

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue the Future Farming Investment Scheme in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42049

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to allow previously successful applicants to the Future Farming Investment Scheme to apply again in 2026, should the scheme continue.

Question reference: S6W-42040

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all ineligible applications received for the Future Farming Investment Scheme to date, broken down by the (a) reason for ineligibility and (b) local area office, and stating how many such applications there were in each category, and what percentage of the total number of applications received this represents.

Question reference: S6W-42029

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the weighting for each category, and the priority used, to determine applications to the Future Farming Investment Scheme.

With over 19,000 capital investments applied for we do not intend to publish a breakdown of the weighting or scoring used for each capital item.

The application assessment involved three stages. Firstly, checks were carried out to confirm business eligibility and the accuracy of the information provided against existing business information held by RPID.

The proposed investments were then assessed for clarity of description and scored against their alignment with the scheme’s objectives and public benefit. Applications that were vague, incomplete, or inconsistent with RPID records were not considered.

Finally, a funding request score ensured the limited budget was shared fairly by rewarding realistic and proportionate requests, with safeguards in place so that new entrants, young farmers, small businesses, and tenants were not disadvantaged. This ensured that funding was directed to the strongest proposals offering the greatest overall benefit in terms of delivering the schemes objectives.

Question reference: S6W-42042

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether computers have been used in any way to process applications to the Future Farming Investment Scheme.

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