Parliamentary questions
Daniel Johnson
1,103 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Jun 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government further to 2026 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to bring Transport Scotland “back into the Scottish Government, along with the other national transport bodies”, by what date it will publish its plans to do so, and what “other national bodies” are bein…
Answer · Stephen Flynn: These matters will be taken forward as part of the Government’s wider commitment to public sector reform and Parliament will be updated on any actions in the normal fashion.
22 May 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the SNP manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, whether it plans to hold a formal consultation on the proposal and, if so, whether it would be subject to a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.
Answer · Tom Arthur: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found athttps://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…
22 May 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the SNP manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with its Regulatory Review Group regarding the proposal.
Answer · Tom Arthur: I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00312 on 4 June 2026. 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/w…
22 May 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the SNP manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with its Retail Industry Leadership Group regarding the proposal.
Answer · Tom Arthur: At the Retail Industry Leadership Group (RILG) meeting on Tuesday 19 May, a commitment was made to engage meaningfully at the appropriate stage of the process.At the Regulatory Review Group (RRG) meeting on Tuesday 26 May, a commitment was made to engage mean…
22 May 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with the Scottish Retail Consortium regarding the proposal.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, and I, met with the Scottish Retail Consortium on 3 May. At that meeting, a commitment was made to engage meaningfully at the appropriate stage of the process.The Scottish Government routinely engages …
3 Mar 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) target and (b) current average processing time is for Social Security Scotland to recognise the legal authority of a power of attorney document when presented with it, and to permit and enable a person granted such a power of attorney to manage the Social Security Scotland b…
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland does not measure the average processing time for accepting a power of attorney, and does not have a target for this.There are four types of power of attorney that may be put in place in Scotland; however, only those that confer financ…
23 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Central Legal Office has made an assessment of the reliability of the electronic patient records system used by NHS Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: This is a matter for NHS Boards and Central Legal Office, the Scottish Government does not hold this information. I would encourage Mr Johnson to contact NHS National Services Scotland to request this information.
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the grant funding that it has provided to Scottish Canals has delivered in each of the last five years, and what it expects funding in 2026-27 will deliver.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Scottish Canals receives annual grant funding from the Scottish Government to support the delivery of its statutory duties, which include the safe operation, maintenance and stewardship of Scotland’s inland waterways and associated heritage assets. Over…
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to monitor the performance of Scottish Canals, in light of the Audit Scotland finding in June 2023 that it was "unable to provide public assurance over Scottish Canals’ financial position, how it spent public money allocated to it or its performance".
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Scottish Canals is sponsored by Transport Scotland and operates within a well-established governance and accountability framework that ensures robust oversight of its performance, delivery and use of public funds.This includes compliance with its Framework Do…
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it published its most recent assessment of the condition of Scotland's road network.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The most recent assessment of the condition of Scotland’s road network is contained in Chapter 4 of the 2024 National Transport Statistics document, which was last published in March 2025 (National Transport Statistics).
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of the condition of Scotland's trunk roads it has (a) made and (b) published since the discontinuation of the Performance Audit Group annual audit in 2021-22.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland conducts machine-based based surveys of the trunk road network each year using specialist vehicles to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strengt…
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will next commission a national audit on maintaining Scotland's road network.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: National Audits on road maintenance are the responsibility of Audit Scotland on behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland (for Scottish Government bodies) and the Accounts Commission (for Councils and local government). The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS)…
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updates on the (a) progress made and (b) costs associated with the major harbour development projects outlined in its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-26
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government remains committed to continued investment in new vessels and supporting infrastructure at our ports and harbours across the ferry network. Full detail on the Scottish Governments ambitious vessel renewal and port upgrade programmes was…
10 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updates on the (a) progress made and (b) costs associated with the procurement of replacement vessels for the passenger services outlined in its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-26.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43633 on 18 February 2025. 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-committ…
9 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total number of registered foster carers has been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.Local authorities and independent fostering agencies are responsible for foster care recruitment. The Care Inspectorate is the official body responsible for registering, inspecting, and publishi…
9 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will use the over £7 million of funding, set out in the draft Budget 2026-27, to support the implementation of improvements in neurodevelopmental assessments in 2026-27.
Answer · Tom Arthur: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43303 on 5 February 2026. 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-committe…
28 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Cities Outlook 2026 report and the performance of Scottish cities.
27 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to minimise the risk of delays in the consenting appeals process for critical grid infrastructure.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of timely consenting decisions in delivering transmission infrastructure for Scotland’s net zero ambitions. Working in partnership with industry and communities, we remain committed to our ambition to ac…
27 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that it is on track to deliver the timely consent decisions for the critical grid upgrades that are needed to unlock Scotland’s offshore wind potential.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43341 on 10 February 2026. 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-committ…
20 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees within the devolved civil service are currently on a development programme for underperformance.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government’s performance management policy and procedure provide a structured, supportive framework to help staff maintain effective performance. Under these arrangements, line managers are responsible for dealing with any concerns about pe…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500 million committed to the offshore wind supply chain over five years has been allocated to date.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Over the past two years, we have made £200 million of capital funding available and allocated £100 million, leveraging up to £370 million of private investment, with the potential to support over 2,000 jobs. Delays to progress on key UK-leve…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Just Transition Fund has been spent to date.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The following table provides a summary of the spend to date for each the Just Transition Projects. The 2025-26 figures include spend for the year to date, with further spend anticipated before the end of the financial year.FundRecipient / OrganisationProjectD…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by how much the capital budget for colleges will increase in 2026-27.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: In 2026-27 the proposed Budget increases core funding into the college sector by £70m, with an additional £61.4 million in resource funding and an extra £8.2 million in capital funding. For clarity, those figures do not include college speci…
14 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the new Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline means for a replacement eye hospital for Edinburgh.
11 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) NHS Lothian, (b) the City of Edinburgh Council and (c) housing developers regarding ensuring that new housing developments in the south of Edinburgh are supported by adequate GP provision, in light of reports that Edinburgh is short of more than 10,00…
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Lothian and Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership are responsible for planning primary medical services provision in Edinburgh and making appropriate provision for new housing developments.
3 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40488 by Ivan McKee on 2 October 2025, and in light of the publication of the Sustainable Digital Public Services Delivery Plan 2025-2028, whether it will provide an update on the number of self-sufficient information and communications technology (…
Answer · Ivan McKee: The detailed information requested is currently being collated from those bodies that fall within the responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament&rs…
20 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with the UK Government regarding the additional capital costs for the Dunard Centre project in Edinburgh through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government maintains regular communication with the United Kingdom Government regarding the Dunard Centre, as joint funders of the project through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. On the additional capital costs for the pro…
20 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what appraisal it has made of the options available to secure the provision of other suitable music venues in Edinburgh, in light of the rise in the costs of the Dunard Centre project in the city.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government supports music venues through Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding which has increased by £20 million, providing a major boost to Scotland’s cultural sector. This investment provides stability for organisations to p…
20 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the additional £20 million capital costs it has committed to the construction of the Dunard Centre in Edinburgh will be accounted for, and what impact this will have on its wider funding for culture.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The additional £20 million pledge from the Scottish Government towards the construction of the Dunard Centre, Edinburgh’s first purpose-built concert hall in 100 years, will be factored into the upcoming spending review and is not set to impact wi…
20 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has received regarding potential further increases in construction costs for the Dunard Centre project in Edinburgh, and what assessment it has made of whether there is ongoing public support, in light of the operational costs.
Answer · Kate Forbes: As part of the due diligence required for the additional £20 million pledge, the Scottish Government continues to work with IMPACT Scotland to ensure all cost mitigation measures have been taken to reduce the risk of further increases in construction co…