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-00550

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address recruitment and retention challenges within the Trading Standards workforce.

Trading standards officers are appointed by local authorities. Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) is the national team for trading standards in Scotland and is funded by UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT). Workforce planning is an operational matter for individual local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) as employers.

Scottish Ministers have asked Consumer Scotland to develop recommendations that will inform Scottish Government’s continued support for local authorities in delivering effective, well resourced, trading standards services that deliver positive outcomes for people and communities.

Question reference: S7W-00543

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication in June 2019 of the research paper, The Regulation of electricians in Scotland, whether it has commenced work on any of the four recommended steps detailed in the report's section 6, "Business Case".

Scottish Government agrees that anyone carrying out electrical work should be appropriately qualified. However, the regulation of electricians is complex.

The Scotland Act reserves the regulation of the sale of goods and services and consumer protection to the UK Parliament. This means that Scottish Parliament may not have the devolved competence to legislate in this area.

Scottish Government has previously considered the regulation of electricians further to the advice of the Electricians Working Group. However, there are no plans to re-establish the group or legislate at this time. We will keep our position under review and continue in the meantime to invest in consumer advice and advocacy services.

We would urge consumers to always use trusted websites when contracting a tradesperson to carry out work, including:

Trading Standards Trusted Trader website: Learn about Trading Standards Trusted Trader

Electrical Safety First website: Electricians Scotland | Electrical Safety First

Electrical Competent Person website: Home

SELECT website Home

Question reference: S7W-00544

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the regulation campaign by Scotland's Electrical Trade Association (SELECT), whether it has considered action to regulate the electrical industry.

Question reference: S7W-00549

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the scale of illicit trade, including counterfeit goods and illegal tobacco.

There is no robust assessment of illicit trade, which encompasses a wide range of crime threats and also covers devolved and reserved matters. The National Crime Agency has assessed that SOC offenders use high street businesses to support criminality, distribute illicit goods, engage in illegal working or launder funds. This can undermine legitimate businesses, damage consumer confidence and harm local investment. The Scottish Government is engaging with the UK Government and others to disrupt high street criminality.

Question reference: S7W-00554

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding, beyond the £3 million currently committed, will be required to deliver a fully operational ferry service from Rosyth to Europe.

Question reference: S7W-00553

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the £3 million investment for a ferry link to Europe in Rosyth to be released and fully committed.

Question reference: S7W-00556

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations are expected to receive the proposed £3 million funding for the Rosyth to Europe ferry link, and what discussions it has had with those organisations to date.

Question reference: S7W-00555

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any conditions attached to the proposed £3 million commitment for the Rosyth to Europe ferry link.

Question reference: S7W-00551

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the sale of illegal disposable vapes in high street premises, including those that do not comply with safety or nicotine content regulations.

The Scottish Government supports strong alliances to tackle the availability of illicit vapes. This includes working with The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) and across the 4-nations as part of the Cross Government Vape Enforcement Committee, which is led by the UK Department of Business and Trade.

Local Government have a responsibility to ensure local budget decisions deliver local and national priorities, including enforcement of existing legislation sales, illicit tobacco and vapes, and the single use vape ban.

In 2025-2026, Scottish Government made available an additional £300,000 to local authorities to support implementation of the ban on single use vapes, including storage and responsible disposal of any single use vapes seized. Local authorities now also have powers to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £800 for anyone found to be selling or supplying single-use vapes.

Question reference: S7O-00039

Asked by: David Barratt, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being done to ensure that regulatory and consenting frameworks support the deployment of low-carbon heat recovery technologies from rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.