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-39784

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38881 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 July 2025, what actions Social Security Scotland (SSS) is exploring to strengthen its support for veterans and service members, and whether these will include the establishment of a network of armed forces and veterans champions in SSS.

Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering services with dignity, fairness and respect for all people, including veterans and service members. This includes activities to advance its equality outcome to improve the service and experiences of diverse clients, including veterans. Progress will be formally reported in the organisation’s Mainstreaming Equality Report in 2027.

Whilst there are no current plans establish a separate internal network of champions for veterans within Social Security Scotland, the organisation already works with the Scottish Government to engage established Veterans Champions Networks, including those based in local authorities across Scotland to address barriers when accessing services.

Social Security Scotland also ensures knowledge and practical skills are embedded for trauma informed approach when delivering services to clients. This enables clients, such as veterans, to receive better support.

Question reference: S6W-39715

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish Water owns the Glasgow Harbour Tunnel, or only the water main pipe within the tunnel.

Question reference: S6W-40068

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will specify the use of Scottish-grown and manufactured cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the building standards technical handbooks and supporting documents.

Question reference: S6W-39712

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission a new design options appraisal for the cancelled Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) project as a means of providing a direct heavy rail connection between Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Queen Street Station.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to investigate a new rail link connecting Edinburgh airport to the current Edinburgh to Glasgow rail line.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, published in 2022, did consider this but did not identify this as a priority for investment given the current opportunities that exist for air passengers travelling by rail from Glasgow and the west, to interchange with the Edinburgh Tram service to the airport.

The Government remains committed to supporting sustainable and integrated transport solutions that strengthen Scotland’s connectivity and economic resilience.

Question reference: S6W-39959

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the recent Strategic Defence Review, particularly those contained in chapter 6 (Home Defence and Resilience: A Whole-of-Society Approach) and chapter 7.2 (Maritime Domain), whether it will consider the potential designation of future vessels procured by Scottish Government-owned public corporations and executive agencies, including roll-on/roll-off ferries and marine protection and research vessels, as necessary for national security purposes and apply the exemption from the provisions under section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-39958

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39238 by Richard Lochhead on 18 August 2025, whether it will seek consent from firms to publish the name of their businesses in future publications and rankings, such as Businesses in Scotland, to improve the quality of analysis, in a similar manner to the annual published list of the 300 highest income charities on the Scottish Charity Register.

Question reference: S6W-39833

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on its National Strategy for Economic Transformation, what its response is to reported comments by tech entrepreneur, financier and co-founder of Arm, Hermann Hauser, that there are three litmus tests for tech takeovers, whether control of the technology is still in the UK, whether there is access from other countries, and, if not, whether the UK seller has guaranteed, unfettered, secure access, and that, if the answer to all three is no, then the "danger is of becoming a new vassal state to these tech giants… of a new kind of colonialism”.

Question reference: S6W-39653

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that the Scottish Prison Service commission the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, or a similar organisation, to carry out an options appraisal and feasibility study for the adaptive reuse of the historic buildings at HMP Barlinnie when the site is no longer that of an operational prison after HMP Glasgow is operational.

Question reference: S6W-39713

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that 9,515 tonnes in 2024 was the lowest volume of freight handled at Glasgow Prestwick Airport since 1997, what action it is taking to promote the growth of air freight traffic at the airport.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a commercial basis and at arm's length from Scottish Ministers. The airport's management have been working hard to develop new commercial opportunities, which is evidenced by the launch of scheduled freight services between GPA and China earlier this summer.

These new services provide fast, direct access to the growing Chinese market for premium Scottish food and beverage products.

My officials are in regular contact with GPA and have received trading updates which show considerable growth in GPA's revenues as a result of GPA's success in securing new freight services.

Question reference: S6W-39733

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent Kaldor's growth laws are considered in its policies for economic growth and industrial development.

Kaldor’s growth laws align with the Scottish Government’s economic and industrial strategies through emphasis on sectoral growth as a driver for overall economic progress. The National Strategy for Economic Transformation outlines a ten-year plan to build a fair, green and growing economy, focusing on entrepreneurship, new markets, productivity, skills and equitable opportunities. The Green Industrial Strategy, published in 2024, identifies wind, carbon capture, professional and financial services, hydrogen, and clean industries as priority sectors, with targeted investment in these areas to maximise benefits from the global move to net zero.

Furthermore, the 2025 Programme for Government sets out investment in priority sectors such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.