Michael Matheson is off sick from parliament as MSPs on the standards committee consider a report into his iPad expenses, it is being reported.

His sickness absence emerged after SNP whips asked opponents not to take advantage of him not being in Holyrood during key votes.

Officials working for George Adam, the Scottish Government’s business manager, asked the Scottish Conservatives to “pair” with Mr Matheson for all this week’s votes and to consider doing so again next week.

They said that this was because Mr Matheson was “unwell and unable to work”. He has been absent for six weeks since quitting his ministerial post over his £11,000 iPad data roaming charge scandal.

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Pairing is an informal agreement where an MSP from one party abstains from voting when a member of the other party is absent because of other commitments, such as an official visit or illness. The Conservatives declined the request.

The Scottish Government asked for the pairing as the parliament’s standards committee prepared to consider a report into Matheson’s conduct. the Times reported today.

The committee will meet today to “consider its approach to a report from the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body”, which found that Mr Matheson had twice breached the Scottish Parliament’s code of conduct and upheld the three complaints that were made against him.

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“It came as a surprise to receive this request since Matheson has been absent from parliament for so long,” a Conservative source told The Times.

The Tories have stepped up pressure on Mr Matheson to quit as an MSP after a near-four-month investigation over the data bill racked up on a family Christmas holiday in Morocco in 2022. He later said that his sons had been using the iPad to watch football.

The expense for Mr Matheson’s parliamentary iPad was initially met by the Scottish Parliament, after he told officials the device was used only for constituency and parliamentary work. However, he eventually paid the money back after details of the bill were revealed last November.

The full report, which includes a finding that he misled Alison Johnstone, the presiding officer, over his expenses claim, will not be published until the standards committee has concluded its work.

The committee will recommend a punishment, which includes the potential for Mr Matheson’s “rights and privileges” as an MSP to be withdrawn for as long as it deems appropriate.

Its sanction recommendation will be put to the whole parliament, meaning a majority of MSPs must agree for it to be passed.

Senior Scottish government figures have said that they will accept the findings of the committee rather than force a division and try to overturn any punishment.

Although Mr Matheson can be suspended and have other financial privileges withdrawn, such as his ability to claim expenses, there is no equivalent to the Westminster facility that allows constituents to force a recall petition and remove an MP from office.

The SNP also have the option of withdrawing the whip from Mr Matheson in Holyrood for a period.

Former rural affairs secretary Fergus Ewing had the whip removed last month for a week after he supported a no confidence motion in the Scottish Greens minister Lorna Slater in June.

Last weekend First Minister Humza Yousaf defended Mr Matheson, who was his closest friend in government, saying he was a “decent person” who had made a “mistake”.

The SNP was asked to comment.