Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
18 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Alexander Dennis Ltd (Support)
I am very thankful for Richard Leonard’s kind words; I was almost dreading that there was a “but” coming afterwards, but I am grateful for those comments.
Richard Leonard raises a very serious issue. I had a call with the GMB this morning—the intention was to discuss another issue, but we spent some time at the end of the call talking about the Volvo situation; I also had a very helpful letter from the GMB about that this morning. In that call, I committed to the GMB to engage thoroughly and quickly on this very serious issue, because I understand what the consequences will be for that community.
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The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic (Kate Forbes)
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Stephen Kerr
Con
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Kate Forbes
SNP
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Richard Leonard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I remind members of my voluntary register of trade union interests.Can I pay tribute to Kate Forbes, who, in my view, has been a breath of fresh air as an ac...
Kate Forbes
SNP
I am very thankful for Richard Leonard’s kind words; I was almost dreading that there was a “but” coming afterwards, but I am grateful for those comments.Ric...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I wish the Deputy First Minister well in her future journey. We actually crossed paths as children, apparently—the fact that we stayed in the same street giv...
Kate Forbes
SNP
The member makes a very interesting point, and I thank him, too, for his kind comments. It is an interesting approach, and we have looked carefully at all th...