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-03615

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 7 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the March 2026 Union Street fire in Glasgow, what consideration it has given to amending the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997 to create a discrete use class (sui generis) for the retail of vapes, lithium-ion batteries and other highly combustible materials, so that changes to and from such uses are subject to specific planning controls, and to ensure that local authorities have appropriate planning oversight of such premises.

Question reference: S7W-04051

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the total value is of the additional financial support that it has offered to provide to Glasgow City Council to fund three years of pay protection until April 2030 for the approximately 11% of non-teaching staff facing salary reductions under the local authority's new pay and grading system, whether this funding is ring-fenced, and from which budget line or fiscal resource it will be drawn.

Question reference: S7W-04042

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it was informed in advance of Police Scotland accepting a mutual aid request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding the public order operation on the Garvaghy Road in Craigavon on 27 September 2026.

Question reference: S7W-04024

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to test the market for developing the airspace above the large surface car park at Glasgow Sheriff Court, which could generate income for the state and support the regeneration of Laurieston in line with the plan recently approved by Glasgow City Council.

Question reference: S7W-03455

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any Glasgow-built NBL MAN L12V18/21A V12 diesel generators are still installed as emergency standby generators in hospitals across the NHS Scotland estate.

Question reference: S7W-03946

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being undertaken to ensure that freelance creative workers who have contracts with the public sector are paid promptly and within agreed timescales.

Question reference: S7W-03456

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether Ferguson Marine has ordered a new panel line from Pemamek and, if so, when it will be (a) installed and (b) commissioned for steel fabrication at the shipyard.

Question reference: S7W-03050

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what specific statutory powers it would rely upon to prevent the construction of a small modular reactor (SMR) or advanced modular reactor (AMR) with a generating capacity of less than 50MW, in light of such installations not requiring consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 from Scottish Ministers and being ordinarily determined by the local planning authority.

Question reference: S7W-03433

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution that Scotland’s civil nuclear sector could make to developing the next generation of skilled workers, including through apprenticeships and opportunities for young people.

The Scottish Government has not made a specific assessment of the sector’s future role in skills development.

We recognise that apprenticeships play a vital role in giving young people a pathway into a rewarding career and providing a way for employers to invest in their workforce and we are committed to expanding our modern and graduate apprenticeship offer.

Engineering and energy-related frameworks accounted for 7.5% of new apprenticeship starts and 15.7% of all Modern Apprenticeships in training during 2025–26.

The Scottish Government provided around £198 million to support around 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeships (MA), 5,000 new Foundation Apprenticeships and 1,500 new Graduate Apprenticeships in 2024-25. We have also committed to supporting more than 150,000 apprenticeship opportunities over the course of this Parliament and to introducing an Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant.

Question reference: S7W-03435

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for new nuclear development at Torness to increase employment beyond the 851 civil nuclear jobs currently supported at the site.