Hansard

Michelle Thomson SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland

I am pleased to hear about the Government’s plans, especially its provision of additional capital investment to help businesses to expand and attract further investment, which will ultimately ensure that the sector remains a powerhouse for Scotland’s economy, but I want to add...

4. Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland

To ask the Scottish Government how the £9 million being invested in the food and drink processing scheme Scotland will help businesses to increase productivity, improve efficiency, and invest in new equipment and technology. (S6O-05696)

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

This will be my last speech in this chamber, and I am proud that it is in a debate on this bill—one where we are all free to be colleagues acting on behalf of our fellow Scots, regardless of our view or our vote at decision time.I will begin my remarks by considering the philo...

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill

I will start my short remarks by popping in the intervention that I hoped to make on Willie Rennie. I hope that he will join me in my calls for an adjustment to the fiscal framework to remove the ridiculous limits on the Scottish Government’s capital borrowing powers, because ...

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill

Will the member take an intervention?

Michelle Thomson SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

As a point of accuracy, surely Michael Marra recognises that it is complete nonsense to use population share to arrive at a figure of £30 million.

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I rise to speak to amendments 8, 10 and 15 in regard to a crucial part of the residential housing market: first-time buyers. At stage 2—I stand by this—I noted“the vital role of first-time buyers in keeping the housing market viable”and said that they“drive demand and create a...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

That might be another thing that is worth reporting on. Thank you.10:15

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

I keep saying that this is my last wee question, but this one is.I imagine that there is a link with staff morale. I genuinely appreciate and understand that it will be difficult for your staff to work on such complex calculations in a situation that has been foisted on them w...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

It would be helpful if you reported on that to our successor committee when you provide the next update. I agree with the commentary that the base data that we have so far is quite slight. I would like to see more and, if it were me, I would like to be able to monitor and trac...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

What sort of statistics are you talking about?

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

If you are correcting it, that is still reactive. You could be writing long-form articles about your approach, acknowledging the situation up front. To me, a key way of starting the process of restoring trust is, for example, what you have done in writing to us today—in other ...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

There are lots of other papers apart from The Herald. Other papers will pick up the stories, and they tend to hunt in a pack. Are you managing the media proactively rather than reactively, which is how you have managed it in that example about accurate reporting?

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

That covers the question, but you are getting an absolute pasting in the media—there is a continuing run of articles. How are you managing that as a constituent grouping that could get some key messages out?

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

My questions are on a similar theme to my colleague Liz Smith’s questions. In the conclusion of the letter that you sent to us, you said:“We recognise transparency must accompany delivery if confidence in the Agency is to be restored”.That goes back to the themes of confidence...

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I must admit that I am struggling to understand the member’s point about a decision being made through the courts. The Montgomery ruling, which goes back to 2015, set out quite clearly what doctors must do. Why would it be a decision for the courts when that is already set out...

Michelle Thomson SNP Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Cashback for Communities

Does the minister agree that work in early prevention and a focus on improving young people’s wellbeing is critical to reducing both the risk of offending and reoffending, which, in turn, benefits our communities?

4. Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Cashback for Communities

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the cashback for communities programme as it enters phase 7. (S6O-05622)

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Chamber

10 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am listening intently to all the views that are being expressed, but I am not clear what specific remedies Mr Marra is suggesting.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Okay. Thank you.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Actually, what I am suggesting is that none of this would have happened if the Government had been able to take cognisance of balancing rights and not make it about competing rights and, of course, critically, if the Government had not allowed the wholesale roll-out of self-id...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

But do you not think that you should consider that? This is all costing the public purse. As I think I have suggested before, if this was your money, I bet you would not be doing this, but this is public money. People are looking at this and going, “Well, this is costing the p...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

What assessment are you making in relation to further court cases coming forward? Obviously, we have a court case in train at the moment in relation to men in women’s prisons, but, as I understand it, other court cases are being developed. There was a section 35 order in relat...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

What I am referring to, just so you have it for your records in case you want to follow it up, is a letter from For Women Scotland dated 3 March, which references specifically—and I quote—“extensive engagement with trans organisations”as well as“additional roundtable meetings ...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

I am aware, because it is in the public realm via an FOI, that those groups with whom you have consulted in developing this guidance have only—I am reluctant to characterise the debate in this way—been on one side of it. In other words, they are groups that give voice to the c...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Clearly, though, you do not need to wait for that. That has been made very clear.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

What you are telling me is largely the same holding response that I got last time. You are saying, “We are doing lots of stuff”, but I have no sight of said lots of stuff. As I see it, this is a matter of the rule of law, and I am left to wonder why we are not obeying the rule...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Confidence in transparency is generally not helped by a lack of confidence in someone obeying the rule of law. It is nearly a year since the Supreme Court judgment on 16 April 2025 in For Women Scotland Ltd v the Scottish ministers. Whether it is raised in the debating chamber...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Before Lesley comes in, I want to say that am pleased to hear that you are meeting the Information Commissioner tomorrow morning. However, that letter was sent on 2 February, which was 36 days ago. You are telling me that you are mindful of the matter, and we all understand th...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Yes, but I am talking specifically, rather than generally. Specifically, it is unheard of for the Scottish Information Commissioner to comment using terms such as “disjointed” and “chaotic”. He is talking directly. There have been a variety of threads, as you know, on the issu...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

I will carry on because I want to cover a couple of themes, the next of which is transparency. You are accountable for ensuring transparency in the civil service, as well as for acting personally and making decisions transparently. You will be aware of increasing concerns abou...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

I hope that you are successful in achieving the mooted £1.5 billion saving, because it certainly shows the audacity to pursue change that I want to see. However, I notice that you have not mentioned anything more about risk appetite or cognitive diversity in your senior leader...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Good morning. I want to follow up on what the convener was asking about in relation to the public sector reform programme. To be a success, it will require a culture change in the leadership team. Can you outline what that means to you and how confident you are that you can de...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

Thanks.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

Yes—you have changed some of the Scottish Government rules.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

My last wee question is about an issue that I have brought up previously. There are quite limiting rules for SNIB in relation to its ability to recycle financial returns from successful investments into new deals. The Economy and Fair Work Committee has already written to the ...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

The terms of reference.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

Following on from that—I am doing a bit of an overview of this parliamentary session—one of the issues that we have touched on habitually is that, to understand growth, we need to have the data, but there are missing data sets. The Fiscal Commission also raised that issue. I p...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

It is ironic that the restrictions that are placed on the Scottish Government via the fiscal framework are passed on to public sector organisations.

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

I completely agree, because if what is needed in the face of such uncertainty is growth, the fiscal framework—or, more specifically, its limitations, particularly the lack of borrowing powers for capital, which is quite fundamental—restricts the Scottish Government’s ability t...

Michelle Thomson SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

I can see that the global situation will be on the risk register, but I am talking about the plans themselves. I am sympathetic to the point about what the Government can and cannot put in the SSR, because the only thing that we can be certain about is that it will be wrong—th...

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP Committee

10 Mar 2026

Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

Good morning, cabinet secretary. I was glad to hear you reflect in your opening remarks on the issue in the middle east. As you fairly said, it will obviously impact in some way, although none of us is certain whether the shock will be over the short or the longer term. Intere...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Thank you. That concludes the public part of the meeting.09:46Meeting continued in private until 10:14.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

That is very useful.Thank you for your attendance today. That concludes questions from the committee, unless either of you wants to add any final comments.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

But that is a reactive response rather than being proactive, which is the point that I am getting at.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

The evidence session has deliberately been allowed to drift into areas of general concern about cybersecurity rather than focusing on just the LCM—I ask the cabinet secretary to indulge us on that, given that we are the Economy and Fair Work Committee.I have a final question. ...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Sarah, do you want to come in?

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

I just want to pick up on bottoming out on costs. Our primary interest today is the LCM, but there are going to be general increased costs to businesses as a result of the need to be uber-alert to cyber threats. Do you think that the bill and the way that any new Scottish Gove...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Do you want to ask any more questions?

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Stephen Kerr has a supplementary.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Thank you.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Before I bring in the next colleague, I want to ask one more question. Not that long ago, I was out with the Finance and Public Administration Committee in Lithuania, which runs its entire estate off client-server architecture. It has thousands upon thousands of cyberattacks. ...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Gordon MacDonald also has a supplementary.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

We have a supplementary question from Mr Stewart.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

I think that that is clearly understood.My follow-on question is on timescales. I know that there has been a carry-over motion in Westminster. Set against the backdrop of urgency—the legislation being required due to the increase in incidents and our inevitably going into diss...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

A lack of scrutiny.

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

I know that you might not want to be drawn on this, but what are your predictions of how this might pan out? In your framing, you have made it clear that the increasing incidence of cyberattacks is linked to geopolitics. However, the executive competence consideration is funda...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Thank you, cabinet secretary. I will open with the first question.You have set out some of the context. It appeared to me, in preparing for this evidence session, that the Scottish Government has not yet recommended consent in relation to a number of clauses and that how the b...

The Deputy Convener SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (UK Parliament Legislation)

Under agenda item 2, I welcome to the meeting the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance. She is accompanied by Scottish Government official Paul Chapman, who is head of public sector cyber resilience.I understand that you would like to make a short o...

The Deputy Convener (Michelle Thomson) SNP Committee

04 Mar 2026

Decision on Taking Business in Private

Good morning and welcome to the seventh meeting in 2026 of the Economy and Fair Work Committee. I will chair today’s meeting, because our convener, Daniel Johnson, has given his apologies. Lorna Slater has also given apologies.Our first agenda item is consideration of whether ...