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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-38440

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many dental practices registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland as independent clinics in 2024-25, and, of those, how many had previously been providers of general dental services with their local NHS boards.

Question reference: S6W-37652

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is undertaking any ongoing survey of local residents to capture their views regarding any changes in the community in relation to (a) drug-related litter, (b) instances of drug dealing and (c) street smoking or injecting, within the vicinity of the Thistle safer drug consumption facility.

The Thistle will undergo a comprehensive, independent evaluation, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and led by a collaboration of academic institutions, including the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, and other expert research partners.

The evaluation includes a specific focus on the impact of the Thistle on the wider community, this will be assessed using repeated community surveys to examine trends in community cohesion, wellbeing, and perceptions of safety/crime compared to control areas. Repeated focus groups with the local community will also explore how perceptions evolve as the intervention becomes embedded.

Ongoing engagement with local residents, businesses, and stakeholder forms an integral part of the pilot’s delivery. Capturing lived experience and local perceptions is essential to assessing the effectiveness of the facility and ensuring future policy and service development are informed by those most affected by this.

Question reference: S6W-38439

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) pharmacists and (b) pharmacy technicians have registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland as independent clinics since the coming into force of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (Independent Health Care) Modification Order 2024 on 19 June 2024.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government however Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) have advised that since pharmacists and pharmacy technicians were added to the definition of an independent clinic on 19 June 2024, four pharmacists led independent clinics are now registered with HIS and five are in the process of registration. There are no pharmacy technician led independent clinics registered or in the process of registration.

Question reference: S6W-38491

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase business research and development (R&D) spending in Scotland, in light of reported research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that shows that Scotland's business enterprise R&D intensity in 2022 was only 1.45% of GDP, while it was 2% in the UK overall and more than 2.6% in Sweden.

The Scottish Government recognises that while Scotland is ranked among the top OECD countries and top performing UK regions in Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) spend as a percentage of GDP, Scotland’s Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) spend as a share of GDP is below the OECD average. While Scotland outperforms the EU27 average, the Scottish Government published its National Innovation Strategy in 2023 to increase innovation levels across Scotland, including business R&D spending.

The ten year strategy sets out actions to make Scotland one of the most innovative small nations in the world and will use innovation as a productivity driver to grow the economy and create jobs in areas of strength such as: energy transition; health and life sciences; advanced manufacturing; and the application of data and digital technologies. Specifically, the strategy’s commercialisation programme will support our world-class universities to consistently and effectively convert cutting edge research and technologies into scaling companies.

Question reference: S6W-38490

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to (a) businesses and (b) public institutions to develop ideas and products through NASA's Technological Readiness Levels 4 to 6, commonly referred to within innovation circles as the "valley of death" due to the complexities of developing a product from the research stage to the development stage.

Scotland’s Innovation Strategy sets out actions to make Scotland one of the most innovative small nations in the world. We will use innovation as a productivity driver to grow the economy and create jobs in areas of strength.

Scotland’s Enterprise agencies; Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, support Scotland’s businesses to innovate and develop new products and services through several programmes including SMART:SCOTLAND grants.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has recently launched a competitive £2.9 million proof of concept fund to support researchers from Scotland’s universities develop innovative ideas into new products and services.

Question reference: S6W-38261

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm whether the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit's budget has been reduced by 3%, or just over £30,000.

Funding for the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit for 2025-26 has not been reduced. The Scottish Government grant to the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit has been increased from £1.17 million in 2024-25 to just over
£1.2 million for 2025-26. This represents an increase of £47000 (4%) on the Unit’s grant allocation in 2024-25, and is a £82000 (7%) increase on the Unit’s indicative grant allocation for 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-37647

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work to attract investment to Scotland, and in light of reports that MIPIM is the world’s leading property market event, what (a) the reasons are for it and (b) information it has on the reasons for Glasgow City Region not having an exhibition or events programme at MIPIM 2025, and what its position is on whether this could put Scotland and Glasgow at a competitive disadvantage in attracting investment, compared with other areas, such as Greater Manchester.

The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland an attractive destination for investors. Our Programme for Government committed to increasing private capital investment in Scotland through delivering a co-ordinated programme to attract investment in priority areas of net zero, housing, and infrastructure.

This programme of activity includes intensifying our targeted engagement with key investors, developing the ‘InvestScotland’ portal to showcase investment opportunities, and exploring more co-investment from public and private pension funds into Scottish projects and businesses.

It is a matter for Glasgow City Region to determine their engagement priorities.

Question reference: S6W-38152

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the development of short sea shipping lanes across Scotland and the British Isles, in an effort to shift freight off the roads.

Question reference: S6W-38263

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of (a) direct employment and (b) agency employment on current public sector construction contracts.

Question reference: S6W-38265

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that the population of Glasgow city will recover to one million people.

I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of NRS to respond. Her response is:

As of mid-2023 (30 June 2023), the population of Glasgow City council area was estimated at 631,970. National Records of Scotland (NRS) has produced mid-year population estimates for Scotland’s 32 council areas on a consistent basis dating back to 1981. During this period, Glasgow City’s population was highest in mid-1981 at 712,370.

According to the 2018-based subnational population projections, which project the population of council areas up to mid-2043, the population of Glasgow City is projected to rise, reaching 662,740 by mid-2043. New, 2022-based sub-national population projections are due to be published later this year.

Population estimates are also produced for settlements. Scotland’s Census 2022 estimated the population of the Greater Glasgow settlement at 1,023,870 as of March 2022. Settlements are defined as groups of adjacent, high-density postcodes. For example, the Greater Glasgow settlement is larger than Glasgow City and includes areas like Paisley and Cambuslang.