Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
18 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Vaping Shops (Licensing)
I thank the minister for that answer, but the register is clearly not working. There is no mechanism to remove shops from the register, and The Ferret discovered that the shop that went on fire in Glasgow was not even on it. It is vital that we have a robust licensing system that is accompanied by sufficient funding for councils so that their trading standards departments have the resources to crack down on bad actors.
In the light of that, why does the minister believe that we do not need a licensing system at a national level, which would be similar to those that cover premises that sell alcohol? What funding can the Government give local authorities to ensure that the legislation has teeth?
In the same item of business
1. Gillian Mackay (Central Scotland) (Green)
Green
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a licensing system for local authorities to address the growing number of vaping shops. (S6O-05656)
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
Scotland is the only country in the United Kingdom with a tobacco and vapes retail register. All businesses, regardless of size, need to be registered in ord...
Gillian Mackay
Green
I thank the minister for that answer, but the register is clearly not working. There is no mechanism to remove shops from the register, and The Ferret discov...
Ivan McKee
SNP
As I indicated, there are significant sanctions for non-compliance with the requirement to register such businesses. There are fines of up to £20,000 and pos...
Pam Gosal (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I declare an interest as a former trading standards officer.We are all devastated by the fire that took place on 8 March on Union Street in Glasgow, yet it t...
Ivan McKee
SNP
As I indicated, it is the responsibility of local authorities to take forward enforcement measures, and it is also their responsibility to provide the resour...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
In light of the fire in Glasgow, will the minister consider looking at the planning use classes in Scotland? They allowed the retail unit that went on fire t...
Ivan McKee
SNP
I do not know whether doing so quickly would be appropriate, because we would need to go through a proper process to understand any changes that we chose to ...