Parliamentary questions
Tim Eagle
1,487 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of category (a) 1 and (b) 2 potholes on the trunk road network that were (i) reported and (ii) repaired, in each year since 2021, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland, through its four Trunk Road Operating Companies and five Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. The repair of pothole…
29 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Public Service Obligation contract with Loganair on services between Glasgow and Campbeltown includes a limit on the number of flights that can operate.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract for services between Glasgow and Campbeltown does not include a limit on the number of flights that can operate. As with any PSO, the specification sets out the number of flights for which subsidy will be paid. Thi…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many individual scholarships for foreign nationals it has funded in (a) higher and (b) further education in each year since 2016, broken down by each individual's country of origin.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of international higher education for students, staff and researchers. Our International Education Strategy, published in 2024, sets out the approach that we are taking to attract international students and incr…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to fund scholarships for foreign nationals in (a) higher and (b) further education in each year since 2016.
Answer · Graeme Dey: As scholarships in Scotland are primarily funded and managed by institutions themselves, the Scottish Government does not hold all the information that has been requested.The Scottish Government has however provided funding towards a number of scholarship pro…
22 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to launch a procurement process similar to Project Gigabit to cover the whole of the Highlands and Islands region.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is playing a key role in delivering Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland, alongside delivery of our own £600M+ Reaching 100% programme. As such, there are currently no plans to launch further procurements beyond those that ar…
17 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) Argyll and Bute Council, (b) Highland Council, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) Moray Council, (e) Orkney Islands Council and (f) Shetland Islands Council has received from the Play Park Renewal Programme in each year since 2021, and whether any funding was returne…
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: We have committed significant investment in the renewal of play parks, providing £35 million to Local Authority partners since September 2021. In 2025-26 we are providing a further £25 million to help accelerate Local Authorities’ plans and …
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS staff have been assigned to support parents who have experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian in each year since 2021.
Answer · Jenni Minto: This information is not held centrally. You may wish to contact NHS Highland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Grampian who may be able to provide this information.
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many parents have experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian in each year since 2021.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. In relation to pregnancy loss only miscarriages that require hospital inpatient or daycase treatment are recorded by NHS Boards, making accurate data collection impossible.The number of stillbir…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of parents who experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian have requested bereavement support in each year since 2021.
Answer · Jenni Minto: This information is not held centrally. You may wish to contact NHS Highland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Grampian who may be able to provide this information.
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all bereaved parents who request specialist psychological support following an instance of baby loss can access it.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The loss of a baby, no matter at what stage of pregnancy is a traumatic event that can have a profound impact on families. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that women and families who have experienced a pregnancy or baby loss receive the right…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average wait has been for psychological services for parents who have experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian in each year since 2021.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Information on average waiting times for psychological services specifically following (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth, and (c) neonatal death is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.Psychological services are delivered by NHS Boards. Boards repor…
14 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39073 by Jamie Hepburn on 14 July 2025, how many times it has consulted non-government organisations when answering written parliamentary questions in each year since May 2021, broken down by the (a) name of the organisation and (b) date that it con…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government does not have a central record of details of engagement with non-government organisations or of how every Parliamentary Question is handled.
14 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement of additional funding for National Treatment Centre Highland on 10 April 2025, what proportion of the additional funding will be used to support ophthalmic procedures, and how many additional cataract operations it anticipates will be delivered as a result.
Answer · Neil Gray: Approximately 61% of the additional funding for National Treatment Centre (NTC) Highland will be used to support ophthalmic procedures. NTC Highland have planned to deliver over 3,500 cataract procedures with this funding.
14 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement of additional funding for National Treatment Centre Highland on 10 April 2025, what assessment it has made regarding the additional funding allocated to support the introduction of combined cataract and trabecular bypass procedures.
Answer · Neil Gray: In 2025-26 all ophthalmic procedures at National Treatment Centres (NTCs) will be cataract surgery. NTCs will not provide glaucoma treatments such as trabecular bypasses.The treatment centres are focusing on delivering higher volume surgery in cataract only l…
8 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly limited access to the Islands Business Resilience Fund to eight islands, and whether it will consider extending this fund to businesses in all of Scotland's island communities.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has worked closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to develop and refine the eligibility criteria for the Islands Business Resilience Fund (IBRF) and identify how this targeted funding can reach those businesses which meet …
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund have (a) been approved and (b) not been approved in each year since it was established, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund is distributed as part of the General Revenue Grant to island local authorities which decide where, and how, funding will be directed based on their local knowledge and understanding of the impacts of the cost crisis on …
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to (a) public, (b) private, (c) third sector and (d) community organisations from the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund since it was established, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund (ICCEF) is distributed to island local authorities, which decide where funding will be directed based on their local knowledge and understanding of the impacts of the cost crisis on their island populations.The six islan…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in total to the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund in each year since it was established.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To date, £4,400,000 has been allocated to the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund since it was established in 2022-23. This can be broken down as follows:2022-2023£1.4 million2023-2024£1 million2024-2025£1 million2025-2026£1 milli…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many sheep being moved to Scotland have so far been given a pre-movement test as a precaution for bluetongue virus.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We have requested sheep movement data from APHA, but it has not as yet been received.
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government was assessment it has made of any impact on cross-border trade of measures introduced to prevent the bluetongue virus entering Scotland.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC) have undertaken studies into the levels of cross border trade between Scotland and England, with input from the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers Scotland (IAAS) to determi…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any potential threat of the bluetongue virus in Scotland, in light of the whole of England being made a bluetongue restricted zone on 1 July 2025.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Scottish Government have been in regular communication with both Defra and Welsh Government, including regular discussions between CVO’s since disease was identified as circulating in England in 2024, with meetings taking place at least twice a week sin…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it liaises with non-governmental organisations, including (a) those from the private sector, (b) industry bodies and (c) charities, when responding to written parliamentary questions.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Ministerial Code makes clear that it is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to the Parliament. Ministers and their officials will consider the best way of ensuring that they have information necessary to …
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding allocated from the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme went to growers based outside of Scotland in each year since it was established.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: While Producer Organisations (POs) that currently receive aid through the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme funded by the Scottish Government do have a number of members that are not based in Scotland, the scheme does not fund individual growers. Aid is provide…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will explore committing to extending the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme beyond 2026, as a result of the UK Spending Review 2025.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has committed to continuing the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme in Scotland. The Scheme is based on multi-annual funding and operational programmes submitted for approval can run for a maximum of three years. Applications for new opera…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies in the Highlands and Islands region to decarbonise their buildings since 2023, broken down by public body.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme (GPSEDS) acts as the main government-led capital funding mechanism to support leadership for decarbonisation of buildings owned by the public sector. A breakdown of GPSEDS funding received per pub…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to (a) the role of coal as a strategic reserve or transitional energy source and (b) whether a blanket policy of no support potentially risks undermining Scotland’s energy security during periods of volatility or supply disruption, in light of the pu…
Answer · Gillian Martin: We have undertaken a full policy development process in order to reach a finalised position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland, in line with statutory requirements. The first step in this process was the launch of a call for evidence which ran from…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was awarded to projects from the Transforming Cancer Care programme in each year since it was launched, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.Day-to-day management, including that of specific funding, of the Transforming Cancer Care Programme is managed by Macmillan Cancer Support. Scottish Government allocates overall funds to Macmillan C…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many successful applications were made to the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme in each year since it was established, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme is a legacy Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) EU Scheme. It has been delivered by the Rural Payments Agency on a UK-wide basis since its introduction. There have been a total of four producer organisations (POs), with headqu…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what definition it applies to its policy of no support for onshore conventional oil and gas extraction, and whether the policy allows for any limited exceptions where production could support local industry or employment, in light of the publication of its Onshore conventional oil and ga…
Answer · Gillian Martin: We have undertaken a full policy development process in order to reach a finalised position of no support for onshore conventional oil and gas extraction in Scotland, in line with statutory requirements. The policy position was subject to statutory and other …
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken a full carbon lifecycle assessment comparing the environmental impact of domestically extracted coal with that of imported coal, particularly for small-scale and specialist users such as the heritage and manufacturing sectors, in light of the publication of its …
Answer · Gillian Martin: We have undertaken a full policy development process in order to reach a finalised position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland, in line with statutory requirements. The first step in this process was the launch of a call for evidence which ran from…