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-29171

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 3 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work on inclusive communication, following the closure of its consultation on a Scottish Specific Duty on inclusive communication.

I issued a letter to stakeholders providing an update on the Scottish Government’s work on inclusive communication on 14 August 2024. Due to restrictions in relation to legislative competence, the decision has been made to enhance public authorities' inclusive communication through guidance, tools, and training.

A scoping exercise will identify existing resources and gaps, with new materials to be developed in collaboration with partners and informed by lived experience of using diverse communication tools and approaches. Ministerial powers will be used to require public authorities to consider inclusive communication when fulfilling their equality duties, ensuring more consistent practices.

Question reference: S6W-28800

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the feasibility study conducted by (a) Aberdeen and (b) Glasgow airport on establishing a multi-modal hydrogen innovation hub to be published, and what it expects the next steps in this process will be.

In May 2023, Glasgow Airport Ltd. were awarded a grant of £150,000 from the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS) to test the feasibility of a hydrogen production, storage and distribution hub at Glasgow Airport. Work on the project, which involves a consortium of partners based in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, began in summer 2023.

It is anticipated that final reports from this and other HIS projects will be published by the end of 2024.

The project did not involve Aberdeen Airport. However, the Scottish Government has helped to fund the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, a strategic programme that aims to accelerate the hydrogen economy in the city, with an initial focus on the use of hydrogen for road transport. The outputs from the study will help to build the evidence base to help support other hydrogen hubs to develop in Scotland.

Separately, hydrogen production and potential demand across Scotland’s geography is explored in reports, such as ‘Hydrogen demand in Scotland: a mapping of industrial and transport applications’ which can be found at: and a detailed report focussing specifically on the distillery sector which can be found

Question reference: S6W-28799

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what factors led it to choose Aberdeen and Glasgow airports as possible locations for a multi-modal hydrogen innovation hub.

Launched in 2022, the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS) is supporting projects under the themes of renewable hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and distribution, and integration of hydrogen into our energy system. All applications for HIS funding were subject to a thorough assessment against a range of criteria, including alignment with our Hydrogen Action Plan.

Glasgow Airport Ltd. applied for funding to support a study to test the feasibility of a hydrogen production, storage and distribution hub at the airport. The application demonstrated several positive aspects, such as use of local wastewater treatment effluent as feedstock to produce hydrogen via electrolysis, deployment of novel storage and distribution technologies, and the intent to explore scalability and replicability. A HIS grant of £150,000 was awarded in May 2023: work began in summer 2023, with the project involving a consortium of partners.

The project did not involve Aberdeen Airport. However, the Scottish Government has separately, via the Energy Transition Fund, helped to fund the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, a strategic programme that aims to accelerate the hydrogen economy in the city with an initial focus on the use of hydrogen for road transport.

Question reference: S6T-02058

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported public safety and environmental concerns arising from the fire at Linwood industrial estate on 23 June.

Question reference: S6F-03260

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what assurances the Scottish Government can provide to the arts and culture sector to ensure confidence, in light of the reported issues with the sponsorship of cultural events.

Question reference: S6W-27460

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14445 by Neil Gray on 7 February 2023, whether it will provide updated information on how many public libraries have closed in each year since 2009, based on the latest information available.

Further to the answer provided to question S6W-14445, according to information gathered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) in financial year 2022-23, 8 out of 474 public libraries closed in Scotland.

The data for the total number of libraries in Scotland provided by SLIC for financial year 2022-23, relates solely to static library venues and does not include mobile library services.

Information for financial year 2023-2024 is not yet available.

Question reference: S6O-03395

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government action it is taking to support Scotland’s islands and their economies.

Question reference: S6W-26838

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all funding streams that are being used, or could be used, to fund anti-racist education initiatives.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to embedding anti-racism in education. As part of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme for financial year 2023-24 the Scottish Government provided the following funding streams aimed at providing anti-racist education. Funding streams for 24-25 will be published in due course.

Funding Streams:

Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP) funding stream
Curriculum workstream of the AREP
School Library Improvement Fund
Holocaust Educational Trust “Lessons from Auschwitz project”
Vision Schools Scotland
STUC Unions into Schools project

Question reference: S6O-03316

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy meant by her reported comments to the Ferguson Marine workforce on 9 April 2024, that the Scottish Government will “stand with you long into the future”.

Question reference: S6O-03227

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the BBC Scotland Disclosure programme, Surviving Domestic Abuse, which was broadcast on 11 March.