Chamber and committees

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: S7W-04394

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Scottish Enterprise, Scottish universities or other relevant agencies have had with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) regarding potential foreign direct investment projects in Scotland's advanced packaging ecosystem, including in relation to the National Advanced Semiconductor Packaging and Integration Centre (NASPIC) in the Glasgow City Region.

Question reference: S7W-04395

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to leverage Scotland's Critical Technologies Supercluster to attract global tier-1 semiconductor manufacturers to establish dedicated research, development and design bases in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-04396

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for specific capital grant funding or joint venture frameworks to support the expansion of domestic open-foundry capabilities for compound semiconductors, including silicon carbide, and to integrate domestic manufacturing into the global supply chains of companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Question reference: S7W-03946

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being undertaken to ensure that freelance creative workers who have contracts with the public sector are paid promptly and within agreed timescales.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the prompt payment of freelance creative workers and all other suppliers, and to promoting fair payment practices throughout public sector supply chains.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires public bodies with an estimated annual regulated procurement spend of £5 million or more to set out in their procurement strategies how they will ensure payment of valid invoices within 30 days throughout their supply chains. Public bodies must also report annually on the effectiveness of these arrangements.

In addition, Scottish Procurement Policy Note (SPPN) 02/2022 sets out how contracting authorities should assess bidders' previous payment performance and seek commitments from suppliers to pay sub-contractors within 30 days as part of the procurement process.

The Scottish Government continues to lead by example, with a target of paying valid invoices within 10 days of receipt. During 2025-2026, 86.6% of valid invoices were paid within 10 days and 96.1% within 30 days.

Together, these measures support prompt payment for suppliers across all sectors, whether they contract directly with a Scottish public body or as part of the supply chain for a public contract, including provision for valid invoices to be paid within 30 days.

Question reference: S7W-04232

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to Scotland's national parks, (a) what research has been carried out regarding the reported rise in e-bike usage and (b) what assessment it has made of whether the current rules regarding e-bikes are sufficient to protect walkers and hikers on walking paths.

Question reference: S7W-04051

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total value is of the additional financial support that it has offered to provide to Glasgow City Council to fund three years of pay protection until April 2030 for the approximately 11% of non-teaching staff facing salary reductions under the local authority's new pay and grading system, whether this funding is ring-fenced, and from which budget line or fiscal resource it will be drawn.

Question reference: S7W-03615

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 7 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the March 2026 Union Street fire in Glasgow, what consideration it has given to amending the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997 to create a discrete use class (sui generis) for the retail of vapes, lithium-ion batteries and other highly combustible materials, so that changes to and from such uses are subject to specific planning controls, and to ensure that local authorities have appropriate planning oversight of such premises.

Question reference: S7W-04024

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to test the market for developing the airspace above the large surface car park at Glasgow Sheriff Court, which could generate income for the state and support the regeneration of Laurieston in line with the plan recently approved by Glasgow City Council.

Question reference: S7W-04042

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it was informed in advance of Police Scotland accepting a mutual aid request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding the public order operation on the Garvaghy Road in Craigavon on 27 September 2026.

Question reference: S7W-03455

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any Glasgow-built NBL MAN L12V18/21A V12 diesel generators are still installed as emergency standby generators in hospitals across the NHS Scotland estate.