Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 46621 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-42531

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the safety of oil and gas workers in the central and northern North Sea with the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-42535

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled any possible consequences for local (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors in the event of visitor numbers declining due to reduced accommodation capacity as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6W-42523

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what policy, criteria and decision-making processes have governed the automatic rollover of Equality and Human Rights Fund awards in the last five years, and whether an automatic rollover will be implemented again for the next funding year.

Question reference: S6W-42534

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that all eligible recipients of the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will receive payments in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-42538

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will assess any potential knock-on effects on local supply chains, including (a) housekeeping, (b) tradespeople and (c) food producers, should a proportion of self-catering businesses become unviable as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6W-42536

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential effect of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties' accommodation availability during peak and shoulder seasons in (a) rural and (b) island areas.

Question reference: S6W-42549

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on hosting the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ.

Question reference: S6W-42518

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Wales.

I attended the 44^th British-Irish Council meeting held in the Vale Resort, Cardiff, Wales on 5 December.

The summit was hosted by the First Minister of Wales and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The Prime Minister attended, as did the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The theme of this year’s summit was a creative future: unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these islands.

The main summit plenary provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of Scotland’s creative industries as well as outline the Scottish Government support extended to our creative sector.

During the main plenary discussion on latest political developments, I took the opportunity to restate the Scottish Government’s ongoing concerns over the intolerable situation in Gaza.

I also welcomed the UK government’s headline agreement with the European Union, while making clear that further progress was required to address trade barriers and promote freedom of movement.

Ahead of the main summit I held bilateral meetings with the Tánaiste and Irish Trade Minister (Helen McEntee).

We discussed the close relationship between Scotland and Ireland; whisky tariffs and the United Kingdom’s new approach to the European Union.

I also held a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister, during which I raised the impact of the UK Budget on Scotland’s oil and gas and renewables sectors and pressed for immediate action on the Energy Profits Levy.

I also discussed the future key economic infrastructure including Grangemouth and Mossmorran, and pressed for an update on UK-US Trade negotiations including the tariff on whisky.

Finally, I welcomed the recent UK Government announcement on the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, noting that this would allow the Scottish Government to further deliver on our commitment to address child poverty.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: www.britishirishcouncil.org/resources/

44th British-Irish Council Summit

Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

5 December 2025

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 44th Summit meeting today, Friday 5 December 2025, hosted by the Welsh Government in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

The theme of the Summit was A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands. The meeting was chaired by the Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS, Prif Weinidog Cymru (First Minister), Welsh Government.

A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands.

The Summit plenary focussed on Member Administrations’ respective screen sectors. Leaders discussed the importance of the sector to the Creative Industries, both culturally and economically, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, and efforts by administrations to support the industry and those working within it.

Latest Political Developments

Council members reflected on significant recent developments within their administrations and discussed a number of domestic and international topics of mutual interest.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the Government of Guernsey in summer 2026.

BIC Secretariat

5 December 2025

Plenary Participants

Government of Guernsey
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez	Chief Minister

Government of Ireland
Micheál Martin TD	Taoiseach
Simon Harris TD	Tánaiste and Minister for Finance
Helen McEntee TD	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Defence

Isle of Man Government
Hon Alfred Cannan MHK	Chief Minister

Government of Jersey
Deputy Lyndon Farnham	Chief Minister

Northern Ireland Executive
Michelle O’Neill MLA	First Minister
Emma Little-Pengelly MLA	Deputy First Minister

Scottish Government
Rt Hon John Swinney MSP	First Minister

UK Government
Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP	Prime Minister
Rt Hon Darren Jones MP	Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations

Welsh Government
Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS	Prif Weinidog Cymru/First Minister
Jack Sargeant MS	Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Rebecca Evans MS	Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

Question reference: S6W-42496

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the money allocated in the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund is being used to support the acceleration of new employment and industrial opportunities across the industrial complex.

This morning, I will visit the site of MiAlgae’s new bio-reactor project Grangemouth, which will see omega-3 being produced and sold at scale. The construction of the new plant at Grangemouth is being made possible as a direct result of up to £3 million in grant funding being allocated by the Scottish and UK Governments, with £1.5 million coming from the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Subject to final negotiations and confirmation of public funding conditions, we are also allocating up to £6.23 million from the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund to Celtic Renewables to support pre-construction costs associated with its at scale ABE bio-refinery project at Grangemouth.

A further additional £595,000 from the Fund to be utilised by Scottish Enterprise to progress essential enabling activities that will make progress towards Grangemouth’s transition.

I look forward to providing a fuller update to Parliament later today on the progress being made by this Government to support Grangemouth’s Just Transition to Net Zero.

Question reference: S6W-42527

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kate Forbes on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a final update regarding Scottish Enterprise’s improvements to its human rights due diligence procedures, as outlined to Parliament by the Deputy First Minister on 25 June 2025.

Following a parliamentary debate on 26 February, a Motion (S6M-16571) was passed calling on Scottish Enterprise to review its human rights due diligence checks.

I updated Parliament (S6W-38968) on Scottish Enterprise’s review on 25 June. I confirmed that Scottish Enterprise had identified opportunities for improvements, which it committed to rolling out incrementally, over 2025-26.

I committed to providing a further update to Parliament, once Scottish Enterprise had developed its revised and detailed operational guidance, and asked that Scottish Government officials be kept abreast of that work.

On 28 November, Scottish Government officials received a formal update from Scottish Enterprise confirming that its updated human rights due diligence policy and procedure had been substantially finalised. Operationalisation of the revised human rights due diligence checks will now begin, on a phased basis. During the period of early implementation, these checks will be subject to further refinement. Scottish Enterprise outlined further detail of its improvements, which includes provisions to ensure human rights due diligence checks effectively address and adapt to emerging risks associated with customer relationships through:

An increase in the frequency of human rights due diligence checks, to every 12 months to maintain ongoing vigilance and responsiveness.
Removal of previous exemptions and broadening of the scope of human rights due diligence checks.
Enhanced online screening, supplemented by follow-up engagement with customers as necessary.
Introduction of targeted customer checks, including the requirement for a customer statement specifically addressing items and activities governed by the UK Strategic Export Controls regime.

Scottish Enterprise has indicated that work is continuing on the development of a new digital platform for customer onboarding, which is to be rolled out in 2026. This will provide a more comprehensive customer journey and workflow for managing and recording customer interactions and due diligence checks, including human rights due diligence checks.

Scottish Enterprise’s letter also confirmed that its internal Senior Review Group, established following its review, is now fully constituted and meeting weekly. The Group will provide strategic input and support operational decision-making.

I thank Scottish Enterprise for its work on developing these enhanced procedures, and towards implementing them fully in 2026.