Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many micro-grants of £500 Business Gateway has provided in the last 12 months, broken down by (a) location of recipient and (b) what they were used for.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business
The Scottish Government provides direct funding for Business Gateway but does not hold information on how that funding is spent within each hub. Please contact Business Gateway on [email protected] if you would like to address this question to them directly.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36825 by Gillian Martin on 8 May 2025, whether local authorities will be permitted to use funds from the extended producer responsibility scheme to cover payments to emissions trading schemes.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
In line with the Verity House Agreement, funding resulting from extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) will not be ring-fenced or directed, unless there is a clear joint understanding to do so. However, the purpose of the funding, to pay for the cost of managing household packaging waste - is clearly set out in legislation.
Payments under pEPR will support the costs of effective and efficient collection systems for household packaging waste. This includes the costs of incineration. Payments will be adjusted in future years to account for additional costs that local authorities may face, including those incurred under the proposed expansion of the emissions trading scheme.
Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the last 12 months, and what percentage of any funding went to SMEs based outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business
The Scottish Government supports the full range of businesses primarily through its enterprise agencies, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. As such the allocation of this direct funding to the size of businesses is held by each agency along with the number of businesses supported outside the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Please email Scottish Government Enterprise Sponsorship team on [email protected] if you would like to contact the agencies directly.
Asked by: Harvie, Patrick (Scottish Green Party - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken, since the publication of the International Court of Justice's 19 July 2024 advisory opinion, to ensure that public bodies are enacting the Scottish Government's 2014 public procurement policy note in relation to discouraging trade and investment from illegal settlements.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Regulations implementing international obligations in relation to public procurement permit bidders to be excluded from tender exercises in certain circumstances. This includes when the bidder can be shown to have engaged in grave professional misconduct. The Scottish Government's long-standing view is that the exploitation of assets in illegal settlements is likely to be regarded as constituting grave professional misconduct for this purpose. Any decision to exclude a bidder from a procurement process must, however, be taken on a case-by-case basis by the contracting authority awarding the contract, and must be grounded in evidence. To that end, the Minister for Business wrote to public bodies in October 2024 to inform them that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) database of companies active in listed activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory had been updated, and that this should be considered as part of due diligence processes.
As I confirmed in response to S6O-04782 on 11 June 2025, I have asked officials to advise on what further work can be done to strengthen our approach here.
All answers to Oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at All answers to Oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Official Report: search what was said in Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve Scotland’s GDP growth rate, in light of reported figures stating that it has grown less than that of the rest of the UK.
Answered by Forbes, Kate - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
Scotland’s economy remains one of the best performing parts of the UK with GDP per person in Scotland growing by 10.3%, compared to 6.1% in the UK and productivity has grown at an average rate of 1.1% per year compared to the UK average of 0.4% since 2007. Despite figures in Quarter 1 of 2025 showing GDP to be lower in Scotland compared to the UK, the pace of growth increased from 0.1% in the last quarter of 2024 to 0.4%.
The Scottish Government published its National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) in 2022, setting out a ten year transformation plan with the objective of creating a fair, green and growing economy and establishing Scotland as a world-class entrepreneurial nation and ensuring that our businesses, industries, regions, communities and public services are more innovative and productive than they have ever been. This year’s Programme for Government sets out specific actions that we will take to grow the economy over the remainder of this parliamentary term.
However, reserved powers on crucial issues such as trade and migration, and the damage of Brexit, all impact Scotland’s economic growth and can create challenging conditions for Scottish businesses. With our limited powers, we are maximising opportunities for economic growth in Scotland.
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Tarbolton Moss landfill site, what mechanisms are being used to coordinate communications between SEPA, Scottish Government officials, and the local community, including the Tarbolton Tenants and Residents Association.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government has had regular communication with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regarding Tarbolton Moss, and remains open to engaging with the local community.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that (a) academic quality and (b) student experience are maintained in any universities that are undertaking major financial restructuring.
Answered by Dey, Graeme - Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans
In line with its statutory responsibilities, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has oversight of the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework, with responsibility for ensuring that all the component parts work effectively and coherently to provide assurance on academic standards and the quality of the student experience.
Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported decision not to fund the proposed submarine welding centre on the Clyde aligns with its commitment to supporting Scotland's shipbuilding industry and skilled workforce.
Answered by Forbes, Kate - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
We recognise the importance of the shipbuilding sector for Scotland’s economy including its strategic importance in shaping Scotland’s future workforce. That is why we are already undertaking a major programme of reform to the skills system to ensure that it meets Scotland’s needs, including investing up to £2 million to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow City Region, designed by the Clyde Maritime Cluster in partnership with Skills Development Scotland. We are also actively engaging with the UK Government on the development of its forthcoming Industrial Strategy and its planned review of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, emphasising Scotland's strengths in shipbuilding and maritime technology. However, the Scottish Government’s long-standing policy position is that neither the Government nor its agencies use public money to support the manufacture of munitions.
Asked by: Griffin, Mark (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent capital budget commitments it has made to tackle the housing emergency.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
To tackle the ongoing Housing Emergency, the Scottish Government is investing £768 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) for 2025-2026, a 38% increase compared to 2024-2025. Of this, £688 million is capital, which is a 44% increase compared with the previous year. This includes £40 million targeted towards acquisitions to support the local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures.
In addition are also investing an additional £4 million in the Ending Homelessness Together budget for 2025-2026 to help local authorities, frontline services and relevant partners prepare for new prevention measures and to help them to respond to the housing emergency by preventing homelessness before it occurs.
We have also announced a long-term commitment of £100 million for Mid-Market Rent – and with institutional investment we will grow that fund to at least £500 million to support the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role the Scottish Funding Council has played in scrutinising the University of Edinburgh’s financial strategy.
Answered by Dey, Graeme - Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has continued to monitor and assess the financial health (sustainability and viability) of universities, including Edinburgh, through regular engagement and analysis of financial returns, which universities are required to submit to SFC each academic year. SFC also considers universities’ individual circumstances and exposure to risk, capacity to respond to financial challenges and other relevant available information.
Financial sustainability of universities is a condition of grant set out in SFC’s Financial Memorandum with universities. As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for their own strategic and operational decision making, and are required to notify SFC if they identify material risks to their financial viability or sustainability.