Timeline for Hannah Mary Goodlad
#15 16 Sept
Confirmed her Direction covers live and new applications
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Scottish MSPs back data-centre planning pauseBackground
Hannah Mary Goodlad is a Scottish National Party MSP for Shetland Islands and Scotland's Minister for Public Finance. Her ministerial remit places her within the Scottish Government's financial decision-making.
Before entering Parliament, Goodlad worked for Equinor and its predecessor Statoil from 2014. She later led renewables portfolio and strategy work for the company's Asia Pacific region. That energy-sector experience gives her a professional background in investment and infrastructure questions alongside her parliamentary role.
Common Questions
Who is Scotland's Minister for Public Finance?
Why did Scotland not adopt a data-centre moratorium in September 2026?
Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad said a moratorium was "not necessary, not appropriate", arguing her existing planning Direction already covers applications in the system, and promised guidance by the end of 2026.Source: Lowdown update 715
How the World Sees Them
Google
fallen short of our own high standards
Willemijn Aerdts
because that is precisely where the bottlenecks are
Cho Kyoung-tae
They blocked direct LNG deals and told us to take power from the national grid, so raising the bar now makes no sense
Nscale
committed to both the Loughton project and the UK
Tina Kotek, Governor of Oregon
pause processing and issuance of air or water discharge permit applications
Jitin Prasada, junior minister for electronics and IT
We don't want to get into that.
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 24 September 2026. Editorial standards.