Asked by: McNeill, Pauline (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, should be retained as a cultural asset, and what steps it is taking to ensure this.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic
My clear preference, communicated to Creative Scotland, is for the former Centre for Contemporary Arts building to re-open as an important asset for Glasgow and Scotland’s culture and creative sector, and that as soon as possible.
Creative Scotland’s call for expressions of interest in operating the building closed on 12 August, with priority consideration being given to those which best align with the aim of ensuring the building continues to operate as a key asset in Scotland’s culture sector.
I am assured by Creative Scotland that the ongoing cultural value of the building is the key consideration in its consideration and I continue to closely monitor the situation.
Asked by: McNeill, Pauline (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Creative Scotland regarding the sale of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic
I am in regular contact with Creative Scotland on this matter and have been crystal clear that the former Centre for Contemporary Arts building should re-open as an important asset for Glasgow and Scotland’s culture and creative sector as soon as possible. I am assured by Creative Scotland that the ongoing cultural value of the building is the key consideration in it’s process of seeking expressions of interest to see the empty building back open and operating.
Asked by: McNeill, Pauline (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed to the sale of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic
The Scottish Government has not agreed to the sale of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. An Expression of Interest process has been undertaken by Creative Scotland.
Asked by: Linden, David (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the outcomes of Police Scotland's Operation Armour in Aberdeen, which targeted the illegal use of personal light electric vehicles (PLEVs), such as e-bikes and e-scooters, and associated antisocial behaviour and criminality, including the number of vehicles seized; what information it has regarding (a) the number and nature of charges brought and subsequent (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions, and (b) any changes in reported antisocial behaviour attributable to the operation; what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding the potential roll-out of the operation beyond Aberdeen, including through a national framework or funded programme for targeted enforcement against such behaviour, what assessment it has made of any links between the activities targeted by the operation and other criminality, including the supply of illegal drugs and breaches of bail conditions, and what plans it has to review the adequacy of the legislation covering PLEVs, in light of the experience of Operation Armour and similar operations.
Answered by Oswald, Kirsten - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The Scottish Government welcomes initiatives from Police Scotland to target antisocial behaviour and strengthen enforcement of law in this area.
Police Scotland have confirmed the following were seized during Operation Armour: 5 SurRon style electric motorcycles; 19 adapted e-bikes; 15 electric scooters; 5 petrol motorcycles; 1 van; and 1 car. Additionally, drugs and cash were also seized. In total, 50 people were charged with various road traffic offences, which include Dangerous Driving, Disqualified Driving, driving an unregistered vehicle without a licence, driving an unregistered vehicle without insurance, driving on footpaths and not wearing a crash helmet. Four people were also charged with drug supply during the operation.
Legislation regarding PLEVs is reserved to the UK Government.
Asked by: MacDougall, Julie (Reform UK - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the recent wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park, for what reason it (a) made a request for vehicles from the Ministry of Defence, specifically water bombing helicopters, that the Ministry does not possess, and (b) turned down an offer from the Ministry of Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters as part of efforts to combat the fire.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Justice
As part of the response to the significant wildfire in the Cairngorms two commercially hired helicopters were in use for water bombing the fire. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) assessed that additional aerial support to drop water on the fire could aid the response. The Scottish Government sought to explore every available avenue of support and that included requesting military assistance in the form of aerial support to drop water on the fire from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supplement the existing aerial resources that were in place. The response was that the MoD did not currently possess aerial firefighting assets stationed within the UK.
The MOD did offer Chinook helicopters for the movement of people, troops and logistical support. However, the Scottish Government received assurance from SFRS that it had sufficient firefighters and volunteers along with logistical support to deal with the fire and therefore the offer of this other military support was not taken up.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what compensation will be offered to businesses that had retained firefighters on-call during the wildfire at Cairngorms National Park, which started in July 2026.
Answered by Oswald, Kirsten - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The Scottish Government recognises and greatly values the commitment of on-call firefighters and the flexibility of their primary employers in allowing them time off to provide the essential fire and rescue cover across Scotland. On-call firefighters are expected to obtain their employer's agreement to be released, where appropriate, for operational duties. On-call firefighters have contracts of employment with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and receive an annual retainer fee together with additional payments for incident attendance, training and other approved activities. These payments are made directly to the firefighter rather than to their primary employer. Businesses which employ on-call firefighters do not receive compensation when employees are released from their primary employment to respond to operational incidents.
Asked by: Campbell, Michelle (Scottish National Party - Renfrewshire North and Cardonald)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for each local authority, (a) how many businesses received non-domestic rates relief and (b) the total value of relief awarded, in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.
Answered by None
The requested information can be found in Table 4 of both the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2024 and the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.
The figures in these publication are based on Billing System Snapshots, an annual property-level data return provided to the Scottish Government by councils. Values of reliefs are estimates based on the reliefs in place on the snapshot date. The values of reliefs reported are the total values of reliefs, funded by both the Scottish Government and by councils.
Outturn values of reliefs, including a breakdown by council area, are published in Non-domestic rates income statistics.
Asked by: McLennan, Paul (Scottish National Party - East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the land area that would be required to accommodate 5.4GW of ground-mounted solar capacity by 2035, based on an illustrative scenario in which 60% of Solar Energy Scotland’s 9GW ambition is delivered through ground-mounted solar, and, if so, what (a) land area, in hectares, and (b) percentage of Scotland’s total land area this would represent.
Answered by Gethins, Stephen - Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Energy
The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the growth of solar generation as part of Scotland's future energy mix and will continue to undertake analysis as required to improve our understanding of how solar deployment can best contribute to Scotland's renewable energy ambitions. Our analysis to date has not included modelling of individual industry-led ambitions.
Asked by: Dijkstra-Downie, Sanne (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Northern)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards establishing a publicly owned national energy company, as first announced in 2017, and whether it remains committed to creating such a company.
Answered by Gethins, Stephen - Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Energy
Public investment in Scotland has previously been explored in the context of a publicly owned energy retail company supplying energy to households. Initial exploration of the retail company proposal, including the outline business case, highlighted key barriers to the Scottish Government advancing public investment, particularly around devolved and reserved responsibilities.
The Scottish Government is committed to maximising the public benefits of the energy transition and continues to explore opportunities to invest in energy-related projects, technology and infrastructure within devolved competence.
Asked by: Linden, David (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing measures adopted elsewhere in Europe to reduce the prevalence of illegally modified e-bikes in Scotland, such as restrictions on the sale of speed-limiter tuning kits.
Answered by Oswald, Kirsten - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The Scottish Government is committed to working alongside all of our partners to tackle the antisocial and criminal use of vehicles, including e-bikes. Officials regularly consider actions taken in other jurisdictions to tackle common issues.
Any new restrictions would need to be compatible with the limitations posed by the Scotland Act (such as the reservation of internet services) and the Internal Market Act.