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-02963

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which companies have been considered ineligible for grant funding since the First Minister's statement to Parliament on 3 September 2025, in which he stated that the Scottish Government would “pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country”.

Scottish Enterprise has previously advised that 13 organisations had been identified as ineligible for support under the policy.

Records relating to applications for support are held by the relevant delivery body. Where those records are held by a public body, decisions regarding the publication or disclosure of information are operational matters for that organisation.

However, I have requested that officials ask delivery bodies to provide the Scottish Government with the same information released by Scottish Enterprise, and I will come back to Ross Greer MSP in due course.

Question reference: S7F-00043

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7W-02826

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026, how many times legal advice has been sought to determine the legality of excluding a bidder from a procurement process on the basis that the goods or produce supplied by that bidder were produced in illegal settlements.

Question reference: S7W-02827

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026, which companies have been excluded from a public procurement exercise on the basis of their involvement in the procurement of assets from illegal settlements.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026 sets out the options available to public sector buyers in relation to bidders which may be engaged in grave professional misconduct, including human rights violations. Companies cannot be pre-emptively excluded from procurement exercises, this can only occur when a company has requested to participate or has submitted a tender.

Procurement legislation is intended to ensure not only that contracting authorities are able to exclude unsuitable bidders, but that such companies are discouraged from bidding in the first place.

The Scottish Government has not excluded any companies on the basis of their involvement in the exploitation of assets from illegal settlements.

We do not hold information on whether other contracting authorities have excluded bidders on this basis. It is for each autonomous contracting authority to ensure that it complies with its own procurement policies and associated legal obligations. Decisions about whether to exclude a bidder from any given procurement process must be made on a case-by-case basis, and it is for the contracting authority concerned to carry out this process.

Question reference: S7W-02828

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2026, how many contracts have been awarded via public procurement to companies listed in the UN database of companies engaged in listed activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), since October 2024.

Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) is Scotland’s national procurement portal for public sector contracting opportunities. All regulated contracts must be advertised on PCS and award notices must be recorded on the site. It also holds data on contracts voluntarily recorded by contracting authorities across Scotland.

A search of PCS data indicates that, since October 2024, no public procurement contracts recorded on PCS have been awarded to a company listed in the UN database of companies engaged in listed activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The search was based on matching the company names recorded on PCS with those appearing exactly as listed in the UN database.

Question reference: S7W-02379

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43897 by Angus Robertson on 4 March 2026, whether it will set out in detail what progress it has made over the past five months in actively exploring options to ensure that listed places of worship in Scotland are not disproportionately affected by the withdrawal of UK-wide VAT relief.

Question reference: S7W-02243

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the answer to question S7W-01397 by Jenny Gilruth on 3 August 2026, regarding the selection of financial institutions to advise on and support its forthcoming bond-issuance scheme and motion S6M-18686, does not make reference to either Barclays Bank or motion S6M-18686, and whether it will now address the relevant point raised in the initial question.

The question S7W-01397 made no specific reference to Barclays Bank, and the answer set out that nine banks had been appointed to a framework to support delivery of its bond programme – with HSBC, Bank of America, NatWest, and RBC appointed as joint bookrunners for the inaugural bond issuance.

The procurement process was assessed against the relevant procurement requirements, including the applicable exclusion grounds and selection criteria.

Motion S6M-18686 calls for a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions in relation to Israel and companies considered in certain activities. Following the vote on that motion, the Scottish Government announced in September 2025 a comprehensive package of economic and humanitarian measures, within the limits of the Scottish Government’s devolved powers. Support for defence companies involved in Israel halted - gov.scot

In February 2026, Scottish Procurement Policy Note (SPPN) 3/2026 updated guidance on the consideration of human rights and grave professional misconduct in procurement procedures. The guidance reiterates the Scottish Ministers’ view that the exploitation of assets in illegally occupied territories may constitute grave professional misconduct and could provide grounds for exclusion. However, any decision to exclude a supplier must be made on a case-by-case basis, based on all relevant evidence and in accordance with procurement law.

Question reference: S7W-02353

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 24 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to question S6W-35719, what engagement has taken place in the last two years in the Bearsden and Milngavie area with "Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships, Housing Developers and the wider Business community to understand current and future markets which may inform varying the frequency of rail services."

Question reference: S7W-02576

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland about the distinction between e-bikes, illegal motorised vehicles, and standard bicycles and whether guidance is required to support the separate recording of incidents involving e-bikes and standard bicycles, and to avoid the inappropriate seizure of legally compliant vehicles.

Question reference: S7W-02575

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to review the policy on repeated Adult Disability Payment (ADP) reassessments for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), in light of the condition being permanent and progressive in nature.