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: S7W-02138

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what expenditure has been incurred to date in developing the Scottish Government bond programme, broken down by category of spending.

Question reference: S7W-02141

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will determine which projects are funded through the sale of Scottish Government bonds.

Question reference: S7W-02130

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the total savings or additional costs arising from borrowing through Scottish Government bonds rather than through existing borrowing mechanisms over the next (a) five and (b) 10 years.

In November 2025 the Scottish Government published a summary Outline Business Case (OBC) assessing the case for the Bonds Programme. This provides an assessment of the range of total present value of additional costs in 2024-25 prices across different issuance options compared to borrowing via the NLF.

The Summary OBC can be accessed from Scottish Government bonds programme: outline business case summary - gov.scot

Question reference: S7W-02127

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported statement by S&P that its credit rating would likely be cut if it took "material steps towards independence from the UK".

All Credit Rating reports will cite factors that could influence a rating action.

Importantly, the Credit Rating results confirmed the Scottish Government as high investment grade, after assessing the credit fundamentals of the Scottish economy, the Scottish Government’s financial stewardship and the approach to debt management. These strengths remain.

In the event of fundamental constitutional change, the Scottish Government would be rated as a Sovereign Government, under a different methodology.

Question reference: S7W-02139

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding reported external assessments indicating that borrowing through the Scottish Government bond programme could cost £100 million more than borrowing through the National Loans Fund.

Question reference: S7W-02129

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) total setup and (b) ongoing costs of the Scottish Government bond programme are in relation to (i) banks, including Banco Santander, Barclays Bank Plc, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Bank Plc, Merrill Lynch International, NatWest Markets Plc, RBC Europe Limited and Standard Chartered Bank, (ii) lawyers, including Clifford Chance, (iii) advisers, including EY, (iv) ratings agencies, including Moody's and S&P, and (v) investor relations, in (A) past, (B) present and (C) future budget years.

Question reference: S7W-02134

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the annual costs of maintaining a Scottish Government bond programme, including investor engagement, reporting and compliance.

Question reference: S7W-02136

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has met with representatives of credit rating agencies regarding the issuance of bonds under the Scottish Government bond programme, and what factors those agencies identified as material to Scotland's creditworthiness.

Question reference: S7W-02142

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the final maturity date will be for bonds issued under its forthcoming Scottish Government bond programme.

Question reference: S7W-02137

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what financial advantages it considers the issuance of bonds under the Scottish Government bond programme will deliver without an increase in the total amount it is able to borrow under the Fiscal Framework.