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-37803

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the publication of its medium-term financial framework for the Health and Social Care portfolio, in light of the recommendations made by Audit Scotland in the NHS in Scotland 2024 report.

Question reference: S6W-37804

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations made by Audit Scotland in the NHS in Scotland 2024 report, whether it has plans to publish clear and transparent annual progress reports on the work to reform NHS services.

Question reference: S6W-37802

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S6W-37468 by Jenni Minto on 19 May 2025, whether any work has taken place internally on potentially extending restrictions to smoke-free places, and, if so, what restrictions are currently being considered.

As noted in my answer to S6W-37468 the Scottish Government are taking forward work as part of our Tobacco and Vapes Framework to review the impact and potential implementation of further place based restrictions alongside a review of the implementation of restrictions on hospital grounds.

ASH Scotland are carrying out that review, with engagement having been undertaken with a broad range of stakeholders across Scotland including academics, trading standards, environmental health and NHS facilities managers.

The report will be published later this year and I look forward to receiving it. I will consider the recommendations on next steps, alongside other evidence as part of identifying options for consultation.

Question reference: S6W-37781

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to expand the deployment of solar panels across the NHS Scotland estate.

The NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 includes a target to deliver a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its buildings compared to a 1990 baseline by 2030 and net-zero emissions from its estate by 2040. To support this, the Scottish Government is working with NHS Scotland Health Boards to implement a range of energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures, including onsite and offsite renewable energy systems such as solar panels.

The current funding approach for NHS Scotland decarbonisation involves leveraging both public capital and private investment as funding options for renewable energy schemes and to consider partnerships with suppliers through Power Purchase Agreements. Capital funding from the Scottish Government may also be made available for onsite arrays, although NHS Boards are expected to consider renewable energy and energy efficiency measures as part of their planning.

Question reference: S6W-37805

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has communicated lessons learned from the process of negotiating the end of private finance initiative contracts to NHS boards, as per the recommendations in the NHS in Scotland 2024 report by Audit Scotland.

The challenges that PFI contracts present at their expiry are understood within the NHS and a programme of work is underway to support Health Boards to manage them.

NHS Scotland Assure and the Scottish Futures Trust have a joint Specialist Support Team to assist Health Boards with management of their PPP contracts.

End of contract is a major focus of the team’s work with a role dedicated to this work since 2021.

This includes handback readiness reviews of contracts expiring in 7 to 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-37760

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Scotland's Railway should utilise surplus steel, in light of reports that there is several million pounds worth of surplus steel from the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme in long-term storage at Bridgeton Yard.

Question reference: S6W-37339

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the SPCB) 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-37439

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 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.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to update planning guidance for local authorities on unlisted buildings and building preservation notices. Section 3 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 already sets out that a planning authority may serve a building preservation notice if it appears to them that an unlisted building is of special architectural or historic interest and is in danger of demolition or of alteration in such a way as to affect its character as a building of such interest. It also sets out that the planning authority will request Historic Environment Scotland to consider listing the building that is subject to a building preservation notice.

Question reference: S6W-37590

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 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.

The Scottish Government has been clear that it does not support the development of new nuclear under current technologies. Small modular reactors, whilst innovative in size and location, present the same environmental issues as traditional nuclear power stations.

The Scottish Government supports investment in renewables, which is both safer and considerably more cost effective than the production of electricity using nuclear fission.

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to drive the deployment of renewable energy in Scotland by leveraging private investment, building our supply chain and securing green jobs. This commitment includes our investment of up to £500 million over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-04731

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work Social Security Scotland is undertaking to improve its communication with applicants for Child Disability Payment.