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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.

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Question reference: S6W-39833

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on its National Strategy for Economic Transformation, what its response is to reported comments by tech entrepreneur, financier and co-founder of Arm, Hermann Hauser, that there are three litmus tests for tech takeovers, whether control of the technology is still in the UK, whether there is access from other countries, and, if not, whether the UK seller has guaranteed, unfettered, secure access, and that, if the answer to all three is no, then the "danger is of becoming a new vassal state to these tech giants… of a new kind of colonialism”.

Question reference: S6W-39733

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent Kaldor's growth laws are considered in its policies for economic growth and industrial development.

Kaldor’s growth laws align with the Scottish Government’s economic and industrial strategies through emphasis on sectoral growth as a driver for overall economic progress. The National Strategy for Economic Transformation outlines a ten-year plan to build a fair, green and growing economy, focusing on entrepreneurship, new markets, productivity, skills and equitable opportunities. The Green Industrial Strategy, published in 2024, identifies wind, carbon capture, professional and financial services, hydrogen, and clean industries as priority sectors, with targeted investment in these areas to maximise benefits from the global move to net zero.

Furthermore, the 2025 Programme for Government sets out investment in priority sectors such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Question reference: S6W-39713

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that 9,515 tonnes in 2024 was the lowest volume of freight handled at Glasgow Prestwick Airport since 1997, what action it is taking to promote the growth of air freight traffic at the airport.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a commercial basis and at arm's length from Scottish Ministers. The airport's management have been working hard to develop new commercial opportunities, which is evidenced by the launch of scheduled freight services between GPA and China earlier this summer.

These new services provide fast, direct access to the growing Chinese market for premium Scottish food and beverage products.

My officials are in regular contact with GPA and have received trading updates which show considerable growth in GPA's revenues as a result of GPA's success in securing new freight services.

Question reference: S6W-39653

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that the Scottish Prison Service commission the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, or a similar organisation, to carry out an options appraisal and feasibility study for the adaptive reuse of the historic buildings at HMP Barlinnie when the site is no longer that of an operational prison after HMP Glasgow is operational.

Question reference: S6W-39238

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what the current 10 largest private firms in Glasgow are, broken down by (a) employee headcount and (b) turnover.

Scottish Government analysts have access to the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. The IDBR includes address information, turnover and employment data for businesses operating in Scotland.

We cannot share information from the IDBR on individual businesses. All data on the IDBR are treated as restricted commercial and are protected by specific legislation. The disclosure of data relating to individual undertakings without consent is prohibited under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

The IDBR can only be used for valid statistical research purposes and the confidentiality of the data has to be preserved in outputs and publications. This includes, for example, the Scottish Government Business in Scotland publication, the latest edition of which can be found at: Businesses in Scotland: 2024 - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-39783

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that SEPA's indicative pay offer does not meet the Scottish Government minimum increase policy of 3%, and by what date SEPA will confirm its proposed pay increase for 2025.

We are aware that SEPA pay negotiations with Unison, continue with regular, engagement and dialogue.

SEPA’s initial informal offer was for a split pay offer of 2% for 9 months and 3% for 3 months for 2025-26. With further years to be determined once the Scottish Government pay award was known. SEPA agreed with Unison to wait for the Scottish Government pay offer before making any formal offer.

SEPA have informed Unison they wished to implement an interim payment from 1 April 2025 to alleviate any financial hardship whilst pay negotiations continue, Unison rejected this suggestion.

The 2025-26 Public Sector Pay Policy sets out the framework for pay increases for staff pay remits and applies to public sector employers including SEPA. Public sector employers are expected to explore fair and sustainable pay levels in dialogue with trade unions considering associated funding options and living within available budget.

Question reference: S6W-39654

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide enhanced funding to Glasgow City Council, in addition to the baseline local authority budget allocation for local road maintenance, to offset the annual cost deficit for managing the Clyde Tunnel, in light of it consuming approximately 10% the local authority's roads budget.

The 2025-26 budget provided local government in Scotland with record funding of over £15.1 billion, one of the largest increases in funding in recent times and a real terms increase of 5.5 per cent.

In 2025-26, Glasgow City Council will receive over £1.7 billion to support day to day services, which equates to an extra £86.5 million or an additional 5.3% compared to 2024-25.

However, the Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on road maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Question reference: S6W-39655

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland will adopt the Clyde Tunnel as a national trunk road asset, such as the Kingston and Erskine bridges, due to the reported strategic regional nature of the tunnel to the West of Scotland trunk road network and the reported disproportionately higher cost to operate and maintain it borne by Glasgow City Council relative to the budget typically required for a standard non-trunk road.

It is the Scottish Government’s assessment that the Clyde Tunnel does not sufficiently meet the criteria to be incorporated into the strategic motorway and trunk road network and is currently appropriately classified in the hierarchy of Scotland’s roads as a principal “A” class road. Principal A Class roads are best managed locally rather than centrally and function as main roads which distribute traffic to and from the strategic trunk road network.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

Question reference: S6W-39656

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will facilitate and promote the adoption of the Clyde Tunnel as a regional transport asset by the Glasgow City Region local authorities, and co-funded via Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, or a new special purpose body, to restore the combined regional authority approach to trunk road infrastructure in the area that existed via Strathclyde Roads from 1975 to 1996.

This matter is not currently under consideration by the Scottish Government. Any proposal to alter road responsibilities would raise a number of propriety and legal considerations, including the statutory basis for such a change. As the designated roads authority for the Clyde Tunnel, it would be for Glasgow City Council to take the lead in developing any proposal. This would involve engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that all implications including legal, operational, and strategic, are fully explored as part of a robust and transparent process.

Question reference: S6W-39657

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussion (a) it and (b)Transport Scotland has had with Glasgow City Council regarding the potential installation of a numberplate recognition camera toll system to charge for daily use of the Clyde Tunnel for vehicles registered outside of the local authority's boundary.