Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-42658

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41922 by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025, whether all of the £100,000 will be disbursed to local authorities and if not, by whom will it be spent and what it will it be used for.

Question reference: S6O-05352

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to devise, and deliver to every school pupil, a programme that provides the opportunity to learn how to touch type.

Question reference: S6W-42628

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments in The Scotsman on 16 December 2025 from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance, UKHospitality Scotland, ukactive and the UK Cinema Association that, if Scotland does not follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises, it will be at odds with the vision of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group Implementation Plan to deliver the most competitive business rates regime.

Question reference: S6W-42626

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments in The Scotsman on 16 December 2025 from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance, UKHospitality Scotland, ukactive and the UK Cinema Association that Scotland should follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises.

Question reference: S6W-42627

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments in The Scotsman on 16 December 2025 from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance, UKHospitality Scotland, ukactive and the UK Cinema Association that, if Scotland does not follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises, it “would likely shift investment to other parts of the UK”.

Question reference: S6W-42467

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision taken in the UK Budget to provide a permanent business rate discount for retail and hospitality in England from April 2026, what discussions it has had with its Tax Advisory Group regarding the possible implications of this for retail investment in Scotland.

The Tax Advisory Group (TAG)’s most recent meeting took place on 21 October 2025, prior to the UK Government’s budget on 26 November 2025. The group’s final meeting of this Parliament is expected to take place in early 2026.

The minutes for TAG meetings are published at Tax Advisory Group - gov.scot

Ministers regularly discuss matters of importance including budget priorities and the views of stakeholders in the run-up to the Scottish Budget. As is normal, decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will be set out in the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42466

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision taken in the UK Budget to provide a permanent business rate discount for retail and hospitality in England from April 2026, what discussions it has had with its Retail Industry Leadership Group regarding the possible implications of this for retail investment in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-42253

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communication its ministers have had with Scottish Enterprise regarding the provision of financial support for the Offshore Solutions Group in relation to its proposal to develop the Moray FLOW-Park; whether Scottish Enterprise advised its ministers of any intention to provide financial support, and whether it will publish any correspondence with Scottish Enterprise on these matters.

The decision to offer grant funding for Phase 2 of Offshore Solutions Group’s Temporary Storage – Floating Offshore Wind (TS-FLOW) project in 2024, to undertake site investigations and design work, was taken by Scottish Enterprise following analysis of the business plan for the project. Scottish Enterprise operates independently of the Scottish Government and is responsible for funding decisions within its delegated authority. This includes providing early-stage support to strategically significant and innovative businesses to help them assess the feasibility and deliverability of their proposals.

Scottish Enterprise has not had direct communication with Ministers in respect of this financial support. Following due diligence by Scottish Enterprise and an assessment of the project’s strategic alignment with the Scottish Government’s investment objectives, the grant was supported by the Scottish Government in 2025 with £1.83m as part of our strategic investment in supply chain and ports infrastructure for offshore wind.

Any applications for marine licences by the developer following exploratory work would be subject to the required regulatory processes, which includes formal public consultation. No applications for marine licences have been submitted.

Question reference: S6W-42252

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communication its ministers have had with Crown Estate Scotland regarding the provision of financial support for the Offshore Solutions Group in relation to its proposal to develop the Moray FLOW-Park; whether Crown Estate Scotland advised its ministers of any intention to provide financial support, and whether it will publish any correspondence with Crown Estate Scotland on these matters.

There has been no communication between Scottish Ministers and Crown Estate Scotland regarding the provision of financial support for the Offshore Solutions Group (OSG) in relation to OSG's development of a proposal for a floating offshore wind (FLOW) park in the Moray Firth.

Crown Estate Scotland’s delegated authority for financial and other operational matters are set out in its Framework Document, agreed with the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-42251

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding (a) it has and (b) any Scottish public agencies have provided to the Offshore Solutions Group, which is developing the Moray FLOW-Park, in each year since the company was founded in 2020.

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