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: S6W-37439

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update planning guidance for local authorities to ensure that, when building control is assessing demolition building warrants that are sought for unlisted buildings that may be of special architectural interest, it checks with planning officers and Historic Environment Scotland whether a building preservation notice should be issued by the local authority to allow the building to be assessed for designation as listed.

Question reference: S6W-37294

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the time limit for potential judicial review regarding planning consent in Scotland is 12 weeks, in light of it reportedly being six weeks in England.

The law underpinning judicial review of administrative action in Scotland is devolved and within the control of the Scottish Parliament. Judicial review functions are within the framework of Scots administrative law, with the power held by the Court of Session.

The time limit for judicial review is set out in the Court of Session Act 1988. The Act provides a three-month time limit for actions to be brought and where it is equitable to do so, allows the court to accept petitions out with this time limit.

The three-month time limit was introduced via the Court Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, following consultation, as this struck an appropriate balance of avoiding unnecessary delay whilst maintaining access to justice.

While the three-month time limit is the ‘standard’ period for bringing a judicial review, the 2014 Act allows for different periods to be set for particular cases. This is relevant as the time period for bringing a judicial review against any decision on any planning application or appeal determined by the Scottish Ministers is six weeks. This is set out in section 239 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

The substantive laws regarding the grounds of judicial review in Scotland are similar to those in England and Wales, however the Scottish Government will not express a view about the position in England and Wales.

Question reference: S6W-37339

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will approach third-party Scottish manufacturers, such as Scotcrest or ScotClans, to authorise them to use the Scottish Parliament Corporate Identity and tartan to retail bespoke parliamentary plaques, which MSPs could purchase at their own expense to use for presentational gift purposes, such as overseas visits, hosting dignitaries, retirements or sporting events.

Question reference: S6W-37591

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on its financial support of the Scottish Events Campus expansion project.

Question reference: S6W-37590

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to develop the Scottish supply chain for the subcontract design, manufacture and export of pressure vessels for small modular reactors globally.

Question reference: S6W-37592

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing for the renovation and restoration of the People’s Palace Museum and Winter Gardens at Glasgow Green.

Question reference: S6W-37340

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to hold a formal ceremony to mark the end of a century of oil refining at Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government’s priority is to ensure that those who are most impacted by the refinery closure receive support. We are providing support to the workforce, who are facing redundancy as a result of the refinery’s closure. We are providing a comprehensive retraining offer, which is delivered by Forth Valley College and is equipping workers right now with the skills to transition into in-demand industries. We are also focussed on supporting businesses to bring forward propositions that will help to secure a long term and sustainable future for the industrial cluster which will create the jobs and economic opportunities for years to come. The Project Willow study has identified nine projects that are viable alternatives to existing fossil-based operations. If brought to fruition, those projects could support 800 direct jobs at Grangemouth, along with others across the supply chain.

Question reference: S6W-37343

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask Historic Environment Scotland to assess the Grangemouth refinery complex for any elements worthy of designation as listed buildings, including the nine natural draught (hyperbolic) cooling towers that are situated between the oil refinery and wider petrochemicals complex, in light of them being the last cooling towers standing in Scotland.

Following the cessation of oil refining at Grangemouth, the Scottish Government is backing a proposal by Unite the Union for an asset review at Grangemouth. Understanding what existing assets could be repurposed is critical to securing the transition, therefore I have written to the UK Government expressing support and calling on them to do the same. My officials have initiated work on this however we will need the consent and support of Petroineos and the UK Government to achieve this, and would urge Paul Sweeney MSP to help with those calls to his colleagues in the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-37295

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local communities to hold their own commemorative events to mark VE and VJ Day.

The Scottish Government provided funding to support the efforts of Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland to commemorate the anniversary of VE Day through a concert at the Usher Hall on Tuesday evening. Titled Scotland’s Salute to VE Day 80, this was Scotland’s national commemorative event to mark this anniversary and told of the historic efforts which lead to victory in Europe 80 years ago.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government wrote to MSPs and Local Authorities to highlight the funding being made available from the UK Government to arts organisations across the UK from April to August of this year to share stories of towns, cities and villages during the Second World War, as well as the funding available from the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for grants to host community events, activities and exhibitions to help tell the stories of the Second World War at a local level. I subsequently wrote to local MSPs and Local Authority Veterans Champions to reemphasise this support.

Question reference: S6W-37275

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the £14.2 million investment programme at Ferguson Marine will commence.

The Scottish Budget: 2025-26 published on 4 December 2024 allocated £46.0 million of capital to Ferguson Marine for the financial year commencing 1 April 2025 (with details in Table 9.13: Ferguson Marine Spending Plans (Level 3).

This allocation is designed to cover capital spending associated with completion of the MV Glen Rosa and investment in yard capital equipment and infrastructure in the current financial year. Over the current and next financial years, 2025-26 and
2026-27, the Scottish Government is committed to invest up to £14.2 million in Ferguson Marine’s investment programme subject to standard commercial tests being met.

Work on Ferguson’s investment programme began in December 2024, with approved funding being directed towards addressing essential repairs and new equipment to enhance yard productivity.