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-39834

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support Bruntwood SciTech investment to alternative sites in Glasgow, in light of the withdrawal from its Met Tower city centre innovation hub and laboratory development in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-39835

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent the permanent closure of Ballantine Castings Ltd, in light of reports that it is Scotland's last architectural ironworks.

Question reference: S6W-39731

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce an equivalent to the UK Government's Procurement Policy Note 002: The Social Value Model in Scotland.

the Scottish Government is updating guidance on Employment, Skills and Training within the Sustainable Procurement Tools, there are no current plans to issue a new Policy Note on social impact.

Scotland has been delivering social value through procurement for many years, embedding our commitment within legislation over ten years ago with a requirement to include economic, social, and environmental wellbeing in procurement decisions. For contracts valued at £4 million or more, public bodies must consider including community benefits and justify their exclusion if not appropriate. Legislation also requires that awards are not based on price alone, but on the best balance of cost and quality, which includes a commitment to sustainable outcomes.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 6/2020 reaffirms these requirements, outlining how social impact should be considered in public procurement. In addition to scored social impact questions, it highlights other practical ways to achieve social and economic outcomes, such as:

While Including social requirements in specifications,
Dividing contracts into lots to facilitate access for SMEs and third sector organisations,
Reserving contracts for supported businesses.

The effectiveness of this approach, which includes extensive training and support to implement these policies, is evidenced in the 2023 report Scotland’s Journey of Achieving Sustainable Procurement Outcomes (2002–2022) and in annual procurement activity reports.

Question reference: S6W-39550

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what protocols and policies it currently has in place to prevent the abandonment and dereliction of state-owned property that is declared surplus, particularly those properties that are designated as listed or otherwise of architectural heritage value.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual requires public bodies to regularly review their assets. Any assets which are deemed to be surplus should be disposed of as soon as possible and within 3 years, whilst residential property should be disposed of within 6 months of becoming vacant. Depending on each circumstance, disposals can be carried out via:

sale on the open market to achieve the best possible price
sale below market value if wider community benefits can be achieved
transferred to another Scottish Public Body via the trawl process. This process aims to optimise the use of public assets, generate value, and support community or economic development.

These standard principles also apply to historic buildings which includes buildings that are listed, a scheduled ancient monument or if the building is in a conservation area.

Question reference: S6W-39512

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many drones are currently in operation with (a) Police Scotland and (b) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Police Scotland has 10 drones currently in operation.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) does not currently operate any drones. However, there is a strategic intent to develop a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capability, which includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sub-surface drones, and ground-based robotic systems. This work is at a concept development stage and is being led by an internal team to explore future operational use.

Question reference: S6W-39513

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many trained drone pilots are currently employed by (a) Police Scotland and (b) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

There are currently 14 trained drone operators in Police Scotland, all of whom are police officers.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) currently has one qualified drone pilot who holds a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) licence. While that pilot is fully trained, the Service does not currently have an operational drone capability. Other SFRS personnel may hold personal drone qualifications independently, but these are not recognised in an official capacity for Service operations.

Question reference: S6W-39340

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected timeline is for the conclusion of NatureScot's review of the Scotland's Great Trails brand and purpose.

Question reference: S6W-39783

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that SEPA's indicative pay offer does not meet the Scottish Government minimum increase policy of 3%, and by what date SEPA will confirm its proposed pay increase for 2025.

Question reference: S6W-39732

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many Petroineos workers who were made redundant as a result of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery have, to date, subsequently been offered new employment by Ineos and other firms operating within the Grangemouth petrochemical industrial cluster.

Question reference: S6W-39737

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that any intellectual property created in Scotland is exploited in Scotland.