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-38756

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38261 by Angela Constance on 17 June 2025, what the change in budget in real terms is for 2025-26 once inflation has been taken into account.

The 2025-26 budget for the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) is £1.217 million, which represents a £47,000 uplift when compared to their 2024-25 budget, and a 1.3% real terms increase in funding. This increase will allow the SVRU to respond to emerging priorities, including violence among young people, investing in prevention and early intervention. This investment reflects our continued commitment to tackle violence and build safer communities for everyone.

Question reference: S6W-38871

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland's Railway will commission a project to extend mobile phone network coverage to the Cowlairs Tunnel.

Question reference: S6W-38859

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in the development of a national system of pre-scaler hubs to stimulate early-stage entrepreneurship.

The Scottish Government is stimulating early-stage entrepreneurship through a range of measures. In 2024, South of Scotland Enterprise led a £1.5m regional pilot of the pre-start approach set out in the recommendations of Ana Stewart and Mark Logan Pathways report. This work is widening access to entrepreneurship and supporting new businesses to start and grow. Discussions are underway on an extension of the South of Scotland Pre-Start pilot and expansion to other regions of Scotland.

In addition, as set out in the Programme for Government, and building on 2024’s Pathways and Entrepreneurial Education Funds, further rounds of competitive funding will support our entrepreneurial ecosystem to widen entrepreneurial participation and develop the conditions needed for entrepreneurs to thrive.

Question reference: S6W-38797

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will call in planning application 24/01680/FUL for the "erection of purpose-built student accommodation with ground floor food hall (Class 1A), food and drink (Class 3), public house and hot food takeaway (Sui generis), and assembly and leisure uses (Class 11) with associated landscaping, amenity, access and other ancillary works", which was reportedly granted by Glasgow City Council's Planning Applications Committee on 17 June 2025, in light of the objection raised by a statutory consultee, namely Historic Environment Scotland, due to the proposed development having a "significant adverse impact on the setting of A-listed Glasgow School of Art".

This application was notified to Scottish Ministers on 18 June 2025, as Glasgow City Council is minded to approve it against the advice of Historic Environment Scotland. Ministers have an initial 28-day period from the date of notification to consider whether to clear the application back to the Council or to call it in for their own determination. It would not be appropriate to comment further, while this matter is under consideration.

Question reference: S6W-38726

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of buses ordered to date under the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB 2) by (a) manufacturer and (b) place of manufacture.

Through the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) a consortium of companies was awarded £41.7 million capital from the Scottish Government to support the purchase of more than 250 vehicles and the installation of their supporting infrastructure.

ScotZEB 2 differs from previous rounds of support by extending the eligible vehicles to include zero-emission coaches. This programme is still in the delivery phase and the final totals of vehicles to be delivered are still subject to change. The consortium aims to deliver at least 252 vehicles by March 2026. The following table sets out the manufacturer. The Scottish Government does not collect data on the locations in which vehicles are manufactured.

Manufacturer	Number of Vehicles
Alexander Dennis	44
Yutong	171
Volvo	28
EVM	3
Wrightbus	4

Question reference: S6W-38725

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of buses ordered under the first phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB 1) by (a) manufacturer and (b) place of manufacture.

Through the first phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) operating companies were awarded £62 million capital from the Scottish Government to buy 273 zero emission vehicles and their charging infrastructure. The following table sets out the manufacturer. The Scottish Government does not collect data on the locations in which vehicles are manufactured.

Manufacturer	Number of Vehicles
Alexander Dennis	109
Yutong	116
Volvo	25
EVM	6
Mellor	3
Wrightbus	10
Switch Mobility	4

Question reference: S6W-39046

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Part 5, section 126, subsection (1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 should be amended in order to insert an exemption to House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) licensing requirements for properties managed by co-operatives, in order to provide housing co-operatives in Scotland parity with their counterparts in England, which are already exempt from HMO licensing.

Question reference: S6W-39044

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) university training placements for dental therapists there currently are across Scotland in total and (b) students are currently studying dental therapy.

Question reference: S6W-39043

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many dental therapists work in (a) Scotland in total and (b) general dental practices that offer NHS services, as of 2025.

Question reference: S6W-38858

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to develop and align private sector incubators within the national entrepreneurial infrastructure.

The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening Scotland’s national entrepreneurial infrastructure. As part of this, we have procured CodeBase to deliver the Techscaler programme, which supports the creation and growth of tech startups across the country. Through this initiative, CodeBase collaborates with a range of ecosystem stakeholders, including private sector incubators, to ensure alignment and integration within the wider entrepreneurial landscape.

In addition, our Ecosystem Fund provides targeted support to organisations that contribute to a thriving startup environment. This includes funding for projects that enhance connectivity, capability, and access to resources for entrepreneurs, thereby reinforcing the role of private sector incubators within the national ecosystem.