Chamber and committees

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

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 287 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5F-04107

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 May 2020

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is ensuring the security of supply of PPE for all frontline workers responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Question reference: S5O-04242

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much coastal communities in the north east have received in Crown Estate revenues since the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019 came into force.

Question reference: S5F-04025

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2020

To ask the First Minister how important the Scottish Government considers the agricultural sector is to the country's economy, society and international reputation.

Question reference: S5O-04126

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Scottish 4G Infill programme in Aberdeenshire.

Question reference: S5O-04114

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve the rates of testing for cervical cancer.

Question reference: S5O-04013

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on Scotland-based armed forces personnel and their families, what its response is to any UK involvement with US military action against Iran.

Question reference: S5O-03962

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how transitional rates relief would be affected if business rate powers were devolved to local government.

Question reference: S5W-26740

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the consultation arrangements for the draft Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy and draft Offshore Wind Policy Statement.

We intend to commence consultation on both the draft Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (“the draft Sectoral Marine Plan”) and the draft Offshore Wind Policy Statement later today, in line with the commitment we set out in the Programme for Government.

Both consultations will run for a period of 14 weeks, from today until 25 March 2020.

The public and stakeholders will be able to access all related documentation and provide comments via the Scottish Government consultation hub (Citizen Space) here:

Draft Sectoral Marine Plan - https://consult.gov.scot/marine-scotland/draft-sectoral-marine-plan-for-offshore-wind/
Offshore Wind Policy Statement - https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/draft-offshore-wind-policy-statement/

Once adopted, the Sectoral Marine Plan will provide the spatial framework for future seabed leasing for commercial-scale offshore wind in Scottish Waters. Scotland has an excellent reputation for offshore wind expertise and is recognised as having one of the best wind regimes anywhere in the World in which to deploy projects. The draft Sectoral Marine Plan identifies 17 draft Plan Options, including sites suitable for the deployment of floating and fixed technologies, capable of generating up to 10 GW of electricity, in this plan alone. The publication of the draft Sectoral Marine Plan will enable Crown Estate Scotland to launch its first cycle of seabed leasing, named ScotWind, in the near future.

The Scottish Government are seeking views on the draft Plan Options identified and the conclusions of the supporting Sustainability Appraisal over the coming weeks. We encourage all parties to engage with the consultation process to help inform the final plan.

In addition, the Scottish Government is launching a consultation on the draft Offshore Wind Policy Statement (“OWPS”). The draft OWPS sets out our ambitions for the future of offshore wind in Scotland, in the context of our recent net zero by 2045 commitment. It will outline the huge potential for this technology, particularly floating offshore wind, out to 2045 and assess the significant economic opportunity of future commercial scale deployment.

The Scottish Government is seeking views on the draft OWPS over the coming weeks to help better understand the role of offshore wind in meeting our net zero by 2045 commitment, and to inform our final policy position on other aspects of future offshore wind development in Scotland.

A series of public events will be held across Scotland in early 2020 to raise awareness of and facilitate consultation on the draft Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy and further information can be found at the website listed above.

Question reference: S5T-01928

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the outcome of COP25.

Question reference: S5W-26572

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports businesses, and what information it has regarding the number of businesses currently in operation compared with previous years.

The Scottish Government supports businesses across Scotland through a wide range of interventions delivered through our enterprise and skills agencies. In addition, our Economic Action Plan sets out how we will achieve a more joined-up approach so that businesses can access the right information, advice and support at the right time. This includes through the development of an online single entry point which will allow a business to access products and services from our enterprise and skills agencies, as well as Business Gateway. We also support small businesses through offering the most generous package of rates relief in the UK, including through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

According to Businesses in Scotland 2019 , published in November, there were an estimated 356,550 private sector businesses operating in Scotland as at March 2019, the highest point in the series (which goes back to 2000) and an increase of 2.8% (9,755 businesses) on 2018.