Hansard

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

12 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 (Implementation)

On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer. In the portfolio question time that we have just had, the fact that two Scottish National Party members had withdrawn questions meant that other members did not have a chance to question the Government. One question was about the ...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

22 Nov 2023

Portfolio Question Time · Scottish National Investment Bank (Wellbeing Economy)

Yes. On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer. Do supplementary questions not have to have some relevance to the initial question that was asked? The initial question was about an advisory board for the Scottish National Investment Bank, and Mr Stewart’s supplementary qu...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

11 Jan 2022

Fiscal Framework (Independent Report)

I will go back to the question of risks. From reading the report, it seems that the risks for Scotland and the risks for Wales are completely different. I am trying to understand that. Is it down to differing appetites for risk between the two Governments? Is it essentially a ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Jan 2022

Local Government Funding

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am still a councillor at Aberdeen City Council. Throughout the pandemic, our local authorities have been on the front line of providing essential services to our communities. They have gone...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Mar 2022

First Minister’s Question Time · Gas Prices

Fergus Ewing MSP has said that voluntarily ceasing exploration in the North Sea would increase Scotland’s carbon footprint by making it more reliant on fossil fuels from other countries. Alyn Smith has said that whether North Sea oil and gas production should be extended amid ...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

01 Nov 2022

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

I have a question for Mark Taylor. Even at this early stage, do you feel that all the risks have been accurately identified and quantified? I am thinking of things such as VAT, over which we still have large question marks. Do you feel that enough work has been done on that, s...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

25 Apr 2023

Effective Scottish Government Decision Making

I have a question about the recording of ministerial decisions. This is perhaps a question for you, Alex, given your experience. Is there a robust process or system in place so that when ministers approve something, a record of that decision is kept and could perhaps be looked...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

22 Nov 2023

Portfolio Question Time · Scottish National Investment Bank (Wellbeing Economy)

What does that have to do with my question?

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

28 Nov 2023

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

My first question is for Melissa. You mentioned Amazon’s response. I have a question about the bill’s proposals to restrict disposal of unsold goods. Do you agree with them? How far should that be aligned with the requirement on businesses to report on waste and surpluses?

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

05 Mar 2024

Topical Question Time · Budget (Children’s Homelessness)

She is not answering the question.

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

27 Mar 2024

Urgent Question · Ferguson Marine (Chief Executive)

This question was asked earlier, but I could perhaps ask again. Has David Tydeman been forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of his pay-off from Ferguson Marine? Yes or no?

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

21 May 2024

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Thank you, convener. I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests: I was a local councillor at the start of this session of Parliament. I will move amendment 201 and speak to the other amendments in the group and specifically 202, 203 and 204, which are ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Oct 2024

Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I thank the convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee for keeping all committee members together during the production of the report. I especially thank the clerks for this excellent report, which was turned around quickly to give us the opportunity to discuss i...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

05 Nov 2024

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Still on the topic of the community right to buy process, I have a question that follows on from Mark Ruskell’s question. Are the pre-notification and registration provisions unnecessarily complex and difficult to navigate? Are they likely to act as a deterrent to communities?...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

05 Nov 2024

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

My next question ties back to Mark Ruskell’s previous question. Let us say, for example, that a landowner with a large estate has a cottage that he is looking to sell. Would that sale be delayed by the whole process? Would it be right to delay it? How do we get around that?

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

28 Nov 2024

General Question Time · Forensic Pathologists

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I am surprised that the Lord Advocate, who is responsible for the service, is not here to answer the question. I believe that there are now no forensic pathologists employed in the north-east, which means that agency pathologists...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

12 Dec 2024

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Under the Parliament’s standing orders, written questions about the operation of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths are answerable only by the law officers, as are oral questions on those matters in all but e...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

27 May 2025

Subordinate Legislation

I admit that, at the start of today, I was not planning on contributing to this debate, but, as the morning has gone on, it seems that more and more unknowns about the scheme have been discussed, and they probably need to be addressed. We have heard that there has been no con...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

04 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Fatal Accident Inquiries (Statutory Grounds)

The question concerned deaths outside of custody settings. In 2019, Aberdeen father and good Samaritan Alan Geddes was murdered by a man who had been released from prison just hours earlier. In 2023, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland released its damning report, which...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Sep 2025

First Minister’s Question Time · Journalism (Job Losses)

I have a follow-up to the question about STV. It is good to hear the First Minister give his support on the issue, because one of the big consequences will be far less local news that is relevant to the north and the north-east. Does the First Minister agree that the proposed ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Sep 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Textile Waste (Recycling and Repurposing)

On a point of order. Presiding Officer. Can you offer me guidance on how I can get an answer to my very simple question: when will the Government release its energy strategy? On 17 occasions in the past year and a half, I have asked ministers to bring forward a timeline. If th...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

06 Jan 2026

Draft Climate Change Plan

I would like to dig into that further, but there is no time for that. My next question is about energy from waste. Are the assumptions that are made in the plan about energy from waste credible and achievable? I am thinking of, for example, carbon capture and storage, so perh...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

31 Aug 2021

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy

I have a question about the NDR pool, which now stands at a deficit of £192 million. What impact will that have on businesses as we move forward through the pandemic? I guess that the money will have to be repaid back into the pool.

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

02 Sep 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · Covid Vaccine Trials (Proof of Vaccination QR Codes)

I, along with 400 others in the north-east of Scotland, am taking part in the Novavax Covid vaccine trial. The NHS Inform website has no record of all those volunteers being vaccinated, therefore we cannot download proof of vaccination or a QR code. Will the First Minister joi...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

07 Sep 2021

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2022-23: Public Finances and the Impact of Covid-19

My next question is for Adam Stachura. You mention older workers in your submission. There is a risk that many of these older workers might not come back to work once furlough ends. Do you think that the Government can do more to ensure that those workers are welcomed back int...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

07 Sep 2021

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2022-23: Public Finances and the Impact of Covid-19

I have another question for Adam Stachura. I am contacted quite a lot about the difficulty that people have in getting a doctor’s appointment, and I often hear that, when they get one, it has to be online. Has that been a problem for elderly people, and could the Government do...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

09 Sep 2021

Mineworkers Pension Scheme

I agree the with committees at Westminster, and I often see differences between the Westminster committees and those here. The findings are there and that is commendable. The minister has also said that her door is open and that she will talk with the trustees, as Christine Gr...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

09 Sep 2021

Portfolio Question Time

  6. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its co-operation agreement with the Scottish Green Party, whether it will provide an update on its position on maintaining the monarch as the head of state in an independent Scotland. (S6O-00120)

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

09 Sep 2021

Portfolio Question Time

Does the cabinet secretary agree with the First Minister’s adviser Mark Blyth that “unwinding centuries of economic integration could prove devastating to businesses” in the short, medium and long terms? Would he further agree with me that Scotland is best placed to succeed ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

15 Sep 2021

Portfolio Question Time · ATMs (Use and Accessibility)

An alternative to ATMs for many has been to withdraw cash from their local post office, but we have seen a large number of post office closures. How will the Government ensure that our vulnerable and elderly can access their cash without being short changed by extortionate fees?

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

14 Sep 2021

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2022-23: Public Finances and the Impact of Covid-19

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am still a member of Aberdeen City Council, which is a member of COSLA. I go back to the question that Michelle Thomson asked about capital concession regulations. Granting that approach does not appear to p...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

14 Sep 2021

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2022-23: Public Finances and the Impact of Covid-19

I have a final question on that point. Do we have any idea how much that change would mean for councils if it were made?

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

14 Sep 2021

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2022-23: Public Finances and the Impact of Covid-19

I have a question on tax policies for growth. Are the right policies in place on non-domestic rates and corporation tax or should we consider something else?

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

21 Sep 2021

Covid-19 Update

I have been contacted by a student who attends the University of Dundee. She attends the library on campus and has to wear a face mask, even though she is more than 1m away from others. She then leaves the library and goes to the student union—still on campus—with the same peo...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

21 Sep 2021

National Performance Framework

Before I ask my final question, I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I am still a councillor. On the issue of linking budget to outcomes, there are ring-fenced funds that go to local government to prioritise some of the outcomes...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

22 Sep 2021

Portfolio Question Time

  8. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a member of Aberdeen City Council. To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains supportive of Opportunity North East’s ambition of establishing an energy transition zone a...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

22 Sep 2021

Portfolio Question Time

It is clear that, when it comes to energy transition and net zero, the Scottish National Party is the junior partner in this coalition of chaos. Support for the oil and gas business has gone, support for dualling the A96 has gone and there is no firm support for the energy tra...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

28 Sep 2021

Covid-19 (Impact on Public Finances)

That is good. You answered the question that I was going to ask next, which was on following the pandemic pound. Will organisations such as Creative Scotland be part of that work?

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

06 Oct 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Employment Gap (Monitoring)

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am still a member of Aberdeen City Council. Aberdeen City Council’s Conservative-Labour Administration has launched Abz Works, which will help people into much-needed jobs, training and educ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

28 Oct 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · Covid-19 Vaccination (Trial Participants)

As the First Minister knows, I am—along with many other Scots—taking part in the Novavax vaccine trial. It is now more than two weeks since triallists in other parts of the United Kingdom were contacted and offered an alternative vaccine; however, in Scotland there has been si...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

09 Nov 2021

Subordinate Legislation

My first question follows on from one of the convener’s questions on the £40 million extra for local government. I think that you said that that was just being given to local government for it to spend as it wishes. Last week or the week before, a pay settlement was proposed—I...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

09 Nov 2021

Subordinate Legislation

My next question concerns education and skills. I refer to page 43 of the papers.

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

09 Nov 2021

Subordinate Legislation

My last question is about health and social care. There have been a large amount of Barnett consequentials—I think that a total of £700 million is shown—and there is an extra £24.5 million from the Home Office. It seems that not all of that money is being spent on health and s...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

11 Nov 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · A96 (Dualling)

At the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 31 August, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy gave the following commitment: “The A9 is still going to be dualled, and the A96 is referred to in the co-operation agreement in terms of the priorities for the ...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Nov 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · Oil and Gas Jobs (North East Scotland)

On Tuesday, the First Minister turned her back on 100,000 oil and gas workers, many of whom are in the north-east. Yesterday, the Scottish National Party turned its back on its commitment to fully dual the A96. Can the First Minister explain to the people of the north-east why...

2. Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Nov 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Rural Economy (North East Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the rural economy in the north-east. (S6O-00389)

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

18 Nov 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Rural Economy (North East Scotland)

Non-delivery of the reaching 100 per cent—R100—broadband programme in the north-east and rural Scotland is seriously hindering businesses, communities and the delivery of national health service care while increasing rural inequalities. It recently emerged in The Press and Jou...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

18 Nov 2021

Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Agenda

What needs to be addressed is the amount of planning applications that are drawn back to the Scottish Government, overturning local democracy. The SNP wants to centralise power at every opportunity. Furthermore, the UK Government has protected the funding of the Scottish Gove...

2. Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Nov 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Recovery (Aberdeen Cultural Sector)

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support the cultural sector in Aberdeen to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. (S6O-00439)

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

25 Nov 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Recovery (Aberdeen Cultural Sector)

A quick search shows that the following venues received Scottish Government funding towards their refurbishment projects: the Scottish national gallery in Edinburgh, the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, the Scottish national portrait gallery in Edinburgh and the Burrell col...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

07 Dec 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

My question follows on pretty well from what Michelle Thomson said. It is good to hear that the net zero capital spending plans are in the forecast. However, I have a concern about oil and gas, and the capital plans that are under pressure not to be spent as we move forward. I...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

08 Dec 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Recovery (North-east Scotland)

Something that can make a huge impact on the north-east’s recovery is free port status for Aberdeen and Peterhead. Will the cabinet secretary stop playing petty politics with thousands of jobs and engage with the United Kingdom Government’s free port programme?

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

08 Dec 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Recovery (North-east Scotland)

That is rubbish.

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

15 Dec 2021

Economy (North-east Scotland)

Those were shocking statements, which call into question his ability to serve as a Government minister.

5. Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

16 Dec 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · Local Government Funding Settlement 2022-23

I refer members to my entry in the register of interests, which shows that I am a councillor on Aberdeen City Council. To ask the First Minister what discussions she has had with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities regarding the local government funding settlement fo...

Douglas Lumsden Con Chamber

16 Dec 2021

First Minister’s Question Time · Local Government Funding Settlement 2022-23

It is obvious to us all that the First Minister has now turned her back not only on the oil and gas industry, meaning that thousands of jobs will be lost, but on local government. COSLA has shown that it is clear from a like-for-like comparison between years that a savage cut ...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

14 Dec 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

I turn to another question. There was no mention of council tax in your report. Is there a concern that the council tax cap being removed would bring an overall burden to the taxpayer—that it would increase our overall level of tax—and that that could have a damaging impact on...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

21 Dec 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Perhaps I can get clarification about that afterwards because, as I said, there are no figures for previous years. If that money is coming in, it must be allocated out. I just could not see in the budget where it was being allocated to, which is straight out to local authoriti...

Douglas Lumsden Con Committee

21 Dec 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

I have one last question, which is about the A96. We have heard plans about dualling the road between Inverness and Nairn. Is there still a commitment to fully dual the A96 by 2030?

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

13 Jan 2022

First Minister’s Question Time · Airports (Support)

At the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee this week, we heard that 400 jobs had been lost at Aberdeen airport since the start of the pandemic. Can the First Minister outline what support the Scottish Government will give to our airports, or is that industry another in...