Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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: 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: S6O-05292

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Scottish Land & Estates report, Repopulating Rural Scotland, including how the recommendations align with its current strategies to address rural depopulation.

Question reference: S6O-05239

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers to be an acceptable risk of harm as defined in the Scottish Prison Service policy on the admission of transgender women to women’s prisons.

Question reference: S6O-05171

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the demand for neurodevelopmental assessments and treatment for children and adults, what its assessment is of the recommendations by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, such as its four-tiered service model for assessment and intervention.

Question reference: S6O-05120

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to communities to promote cohesion and develop sustainable support networks for refugees and asylum seekers, to help ensure their full participation in civic and community life.

Question reference: S6W-41571

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what further measures it is putting in place to ensure that workers are at the heart of Grangemouth’s Just Transition.

I am pleased to announce today the launch of the Grangemouth Jobs Prioritisation Scheme, which prioritises those workers who have been made redundant as a direct consequence of the cessation of refining at Grangemouth for the new jobs which will be created through the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund. The First Minister will make a further announcement on this scheme in his keynote speech at the Just Transition Summit this morning. The FM will also announce Scottish Government’s intention to renew the Just Transition Commission for the next Parliamentary term.

This pilot scheme will ensure that eligible workers will be guaranteed an interview for the new jobs, provided they meet the minimum job criteria, which are being created as a direct consequence of the support provided via Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Question reference: S6O-05079

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns raised by the Scottish Music Industry Association about delays in and sufficiency of funding awards, how it will ensure that the additional £20 million allocated to Creative Scotland for its Multi-Year Funding Programme in 2025-26 effectively supports the growing number of music-specific organisations.

Question reference: S6W-40693

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported calls from the Scottish Retail Consortium and Scottish Tourism Alliance for the UK Government, in its upcoming Budget, to restore tax-free shopping for overseas visitors as a means of supporting Scotland’s retail, tourism and hospitality sectors.

The Scottish Government opposed the abolition of tax-free shopping when it was announced in 2020 and consistently called for the previous UK Government to listen to the industry and reconsider their position on the issue.

The Scottish Government recognises how vital tourism is to our economy. It creates jobs, sustains communities and contributes significantly to the economy and enables visitors and residents alike to experience the incredible offer we have here in Scotland. Many EU countries continue to offer tax-free shopping for non-EU visitors, which make them a more attractive tourist destination. Scotland’s vibrant retail sector is put at a disadvantage as a result.

We call on this UK Government to ensure they are listening to these consistent industry calls regarding the reinstatement of VAT free shopping.

Ultimately, the Scottish Government believes that all tax powers should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that we can provide the support that Scottish retailers and tourism businesses need.

Question reference: S6W-40650

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any delays in the granting of a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificate from Disclosure Scotland, and what percentage of applications currently meet the 14-day service level agreement.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

As of the week commencing 15 September, 94.9% of PVG applications were completed within 14 days. This meets the service level agreement of 90% completed within 14 days, with average processing times for PVG applications at 7.5 days.

Between April and August 2025, Disclosure Scotland experienced a significant rise in applications and customer enquiries following the implementation of the Disclosure Act and new digital functionality. To manage this, we temporarily onboarded agency staff to help reduce processing times, increase processing capacity and improve customer service levels.

A proportion of disclosure applications naturally take longer than 14 days where Disclosure Scotland are awaiting information from third parties in the vetting process. This is why the target is 90%, to allow for these delays which are caused by additional safeguarding enquires with third party agencies or to establish identity with certainty. The application surge meant that a higher volume of applications than normal required this step. Disclosure Scotland has improved communication with third-party organisations involved in the vetting process to expedite the return of required information and we continue to work closely with our partners to minimise delays.

Disclosure Scotland will also be improving our website and social media communications to provide regular updates to applicants and stakeholders regarding expected timescales, to improve transparency and manage expectations.

Question reference: S6O-04937

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it will assess the contribution of Scotland’s performing arts organisations in advance of the next Budget.