Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-35263

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans Scottish Enterprise has to reconvene the Aerospace, Defence, Marine and Space Industry Leadership Group.

The Aerospace, Defence, Marine & Security Industry Leadership Group (ADMS ILG) was a partnership of key public and private sector players and last met in 2018.

Two bodies have since succeeded that entity; the Aerospace and Defence Industry Leadership Group (ADILG) has its origins in the ministerial-chaired Aerospace Response Group (ARG) that was established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following agreement by members at an ARG meeting on 15 March 2021, the ARG transitioned from a government-convened body into the new, industry-led body which absorbed the remaining work of the ARG. Secretariat is provided by ADS Scotland and it continues to meet regularly with public sector partners attending at the invitation of the group.

The Scottish Space Leadership Council, meanwhile, had its origins as an ADMS ILG working group, but opted to move away from the ADMS ILG and has evolved to become an independent organisation - Space Scotland - that serves the Scottish Space eco-system and meets on a quarterly basis.

Question reference: S6O-04440

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the housing secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding what work can be done to repurpose empty commercial and other proprieties for affordable housing in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6W-34464

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the SPCB) on 5 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will make the necessary arrangements for MSPs to be able to participate in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

A scheme was developed in 2017 in conjunction with the Armed Forces in Scotland to enable Members to visit defence bases in Scotland to help Members better understand the range of social and welfare issues relevant to armed forces personnel, and their families, within their community. These visits are open to all Members and are arranged through the different service secretariats based in Scotland.

It was agreed that this scheme would be a better fit for the Parliament than the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme that operates in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and there are no plans to review the scheme at this time.

Since 2017, many Members have taken part in the Armed Forces Visits Programme, visiting defence bases across Scotland. In 2018 and 2024, the Scottish Parliament hosted a reciprocal inward visit for representatives from the armed services in Scotland, providing them with an opportunity to meet and shadow Members. There have been a number of outward visits this session and parliamentary officials are currently liaising with the Armed Forces to arrange the next series of outward visits before the end of 2025.

In addition, the Presiding Officer and Clerk/Chief Executive regularly arrange events at the Scottish Parliament for the armed forces to brief Members on current issues and parliamentary officials are currently looking to arrange another event in a few months.

Question reference: S6W-34465

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 5 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will liaise with Police Scotland and the British Transport Police to establish an equivalent scheme to the Police Service Parliamentary Scheme for MSPs.

Question reference: S6W-34809

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Peel Ports regarding the potential development of a cruise ship berth on the upper Clyde.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with Peel Ports regarding a potential development of a cruise ship berth on the Upper Clyde. Transport Scotland officials communicate with ports, including Clydeport, on a wide range of issues including development opportunities. Ports are deemed to be commercial businesses, and decisions on how best to utilise their resources are the responsibility of the port authority.

Question reference: S6W-35024

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will calculate the gross national income (GNI) generated by Scotch whisky to establish what value of dividends and retained earnings of producers is accrued by residents in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has developed statistics on primary income flows and gross national income (GNI) for Scotland.

The GNI estimates produced by the Scottish Government are classified as official statistics in development and are reported at the level of totals for the whole economy. It is not possible to produce breakdowns of these statistics for specific industries, such as the whisky industry.

Question reference: S6W-35025

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will investigate any impact, sector concentration and risk profile of private equity acquisitions of Scottish companies and assets, in light of reported warnings from the Bank of England over the past year regarding the stability of private equity-backed companies and the potential ripple effect it could have on the wider economy.

Question reference: S6W-35029

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has commissioned a structural engineer that is registered on the Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers (CARE) to assess the structural condition of the Caerlee Mill at Innerleithen, and its viability for retention and conversion in whole or part.

Question reference: S6W-35023

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will develop a plan to increase Scottish ownership of the Scotch whisky industry, in light of reports that nearly 70% of malt whisky distilleries are ultimately owned by companies outside Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34498

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Childsmile programme in the financial year 2023-24, whether it will provide the (a) total cost of the programme and (b) estimated cost per child per annum.

In response to part a) of the question, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26265 on 15 April 2024, in which I detailed the total cost of the Childsmile programme in the five financial years between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

In response to part b) of the question, Scottish Government does not hold this information.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

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