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-38918

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what new investment has been secured as a result of the Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum.

Scotland is a highly attractive destination for investors, including in offshore wind where we offer extensive natural resources, a deep history of engineering excellence, strong supply chain capability, excellent port infrastructure, and a stable policy environment backed by long-term government support.

The Scottish Government’s strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is intended to unlock £1.5 billion in private investment to support market certainty and create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy.

The Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum was a key milestone in realising these ambitions. Almost £150 million has been invested in 18 months, leveraging £670 million in private investment and supporting 5,000 jobs. Specifically, investments at Nigg, Montrose and Kishorn were announced at or soon after the event.

GOSWIF has driven targeted follow-up engagement by the First Minister, myself, officials, and Team Scotland partners both in Scotland and internationally. This includes active discussions with developers, ports, and supply chain companies to progress the opportunities highlighted at the Forum, supporting a strong pipeline of future investment announcements.

As highlighted in the recent EY Attractiveness Survey (Scotland) 2025, Scotland has cemented its reputation as the top UK foreign direct investment (FDI) location outside of London – for the tenth year in a row. These latest results are an endorsement of Scotland’s proposition as a destination for global investment despite geopolitical uncertainties.

Along with our Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank, we continue to work with the sector to ensure that the right infrastructure, facilities, skills and supply chains are in place to deliver our offshore wind objectives and maximise the economic benefits for Scotland and our communities.

Question reference: S6W-39410

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken on each of the recommendations in the Audit Scotland report, Tackling digital exclusion, published in August 2024.

Question reference: S6W-38959

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33389 by Neil Gray on 24 January 2025, whether it will provide an update on the business case for a new pre-hospital emergency critical care replacement service for the east of Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-04790

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Strategic Defence Review's emphasis on a "whole society" approach to national security, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding work to contribute to a comprehensive national resilience strategy.

Question reference: S6W-37615

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 3 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recently published, Allegations in Foster Care Toolkit, by the Fostering Network, what its position is on what impact the investigation of unsubstantiated allegations will have on retaining and attracting foster carers.

The Scottish Government recognises the serious impact that the investigation of unsubstantiated allegations can have on foster carers, including the retention of existing carers and the willingness of others to consider fostering.

In our recent consultation on the Future of Foster Care, we asked for views on how allegations are currently managed, including whether national guidance should be updated and what more can be done to ensure investigations are handled fairly and quickly. We are currently analysing responses, and we will set out next steps in due course, informed by the views of foster carers and others in the sector.

Question reference: S6W-36625

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the current budget is for the Green Jobs Workforce Academy.

Question reference: S6W-36619

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken since the publication of its Green Industrial Strategy to (a) raise the profile of green job opportunities and (b) support people to retrain to take up any such opportunities.

Scotland is leading the way in the green jobs revolution. The PwC Green Jobs Barometer shows that 5.6% of all job adverts in Scotland in 2024 were for jobs that have a positive impact on the environment, meaning Scotland is once again first place among the 12 UK nations and regions in the overall Green Jobs Barometer.

The Scottish Government is supporting people to progress rewarding careers, making people aware of the range of potential pathways and informed by up-to-date information about the likely labour market trends and potential economic outcomes. This approach includes improving information on the wide variety of green job opportunities available across Scotland. For example;

Skills Development Scotland have published a publication to support understanding of the many opportunities ScotWind offers, and;
Developing the Young Workforce includes an employer-led programme called , which raises the awareness of the roles and skills required for green jobs.

In terms of supporting people to retrain, the Scottish Government has been working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce which can benefit from opportunities across the energy system. We are taking action to make this happen. In its first three years, the Just Transition Fund (JTF) allocated a total of £9.7m to support a package of skills interventions for the North East and Moray. This included £3.7 million to support the industry-led development of the Energy Skills Passport, which was launched in January. Additional capital allocated to the JTF in 2025-26 will enable us to build on what has been delivered to date, continuing our support for workers, businesses and communities.

Question reference: S6W-36624

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff are currently employed to support the Green Jobs Workforce Academy.

Question reference: S6W-36620

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates are currently employed in renewable energy supply chains in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-36627

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Green Jobs Workforce Academy website is still updated and maintained, and when it was last updated.