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-43555

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered investing any revenues it collects from the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to the maritime sector to support the provision of infrastructure for Onshore Power Supply projects at Scottish ports.

Question reference: S6W-43556

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of how the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to the maritime sector will impact on the competitiveness of Scottish ports that currently attract cruise ship calls.

Question reference: S6W-43554

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered ringfencing any funds raised from the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to the maritime sector in order to support maritime decarbonisation projects.

Question reference: S6W-43522

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the current pilot scheme that provides free bus travel for people who are seeking asylum and live in Scotland using the National Entitlement Card (NEC) will be extended beyond 31 March 2026.

Question reference: S6W-43521

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what early discussions it has had with the newly appointed Traffic Commissioner for Scotland on their position and approach to supporting regional transport partnerships, such as Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, to implement regional bus franchises.

Question reference: S6W-43284

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of both Scottish projects in the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 7 (AR7) securing strike prices above the current wholesale price of electricity, what its position is on whether electricity bills for households and businesses would be significantly lower in an independent Scotland, and on what evidence its position is based.

Question reference: S6W-43316

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask Historic Environment Scotland to engage with the interim liquidator of Ballantine Castings Ltd, Johnston Carmichael LLP, to ensure that the foundry's proprietary pattern archive of around 250,000 designs, ranging from manhole covers and bollards to ornate railings and lampposts, is safeguarded for the nation.

Scottish Government officials asked Historic Environment Scotland about Ballantine Castings Ltd and whether it had engaged on this issue.

I understand Historic Environment Scotland used its powers under the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2015 to carry out a rapid emergency photographic survey of the Ballantine Castings site shortly after liquidation proceedings began. It was essential to act quickly and capture the historically significant combination of buildings, patterns, machinery and equipment within one of Scotland’s last traditional foundry sites, before the next steps of the liquidation process were undertaken. These images will soon be made available to the public via www.trove.scot

Historic Environment Scotland also worked pro-actively with other national and local cultural heritage bodies at pace to secure what they can. Challenges around asbestos have complicated some aspects.

The Scottish Government is pleased to learn that the Ballast Trust has already secured the bulk of the business and archive records from the site in collaboration with other heritage bodies including Historic Environment Scotland, and with financial support from the National Archives Records at Risk fund.

Question reference: S6W-43210

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the programme to build three Fleet Solid Support (FFS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is facing early disruption due to a cash flow shortage at Liberty Steel Dalzell in Motherwell, which has left the company unable to purchase steel slab to start production, despite the order to supply 34,000 tonnes of rolled steel plates for the FSS programme, and whether it will engage with Sir David Murray about his reported interest in acquiring the Dalzell Plate Mill with government support.

Question reference: S6W-43494

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on the removal or preservation of historic river barriers, including weirs, fish ladders and dams, and their potential for adaptive reuse in flood prevention or energy generation schemes.

Question reference: S6W-43181

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42791 by Mairi Gougeon on 13 January 2026, (a) what its position is on whether (i) national security encompasses a wider scope than the matters reserved by Schedule 5, Section 9 of the Scotland Act 1998 and (ii) the recent Strategic Defence Review, in particular chapter 6 (Home Defence and Resilience: A Whole-of-Society Approach) and chapter 7.2 (Maritime Domain), affords significant scope for the Scottish Government to exempt its procurement of vessels under the provision of Section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, and (b) whether it will agree to discuss this matter with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Defence.

National security and defence are matters reserved to the UK Parliament under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, (noting the exception of civil defence). The concept of national security does not extend devolved competence beyond those reserved matters. The Strategic Defence Review is a UK Government policy document and does not alter the statutory division of responsibilities set out in the devolution settlement. As such, including in relation to maritime matters and resilience, it does not provide additional scope for the Scottish Government to rely on the national security exemption set out in Section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 when procuring vessels for devolved purposes. As explained in the answer to question S6W-42791, marine protection vessels and marine research vessels reflect the operational needs of the Marine Directorate, are built and operated to merchant-vessel standards and fulfil functions related to fishing and environmental protection. The national security exemption within the Subsidy Control Act is intended to apply only in exceptional circumstances where this is necessary for the protection of UK national security, and its use does not affect the underlying reservation of defence and national security matters. The Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government on subsidy control matters through established intergovernmental mechanisms.