Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-20825

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Scotland’s rail (a) track, (b) vehicle kilometres and (c) freight journeys are electrified.

In Scotland 40.7% single-track railway kilometres are electrified.

The Scottish Government does not hold vehicle kilometres information centrally, however some 76% of passenger journeys are made by electric train.

The volume, route and traction type for rail freight varies considerably from year to year. It is estimated that in the financial year 2022 to 2023, 50% of rail freight moved in Scotland was electrically hauled.

A considerable constraint on increasing this proportion is the number of freight terminals and ports at the other end of rail freight journeys in England that remain unelectrified.

Question reference: S6W-20816

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has carried out since 2021 to identify potential second-life stationary storage applications for electric vehicle batteries.

Research published in 2020 (commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland in partnership with Transport Scotland and Scottish Enterprise) assessed the current and future use of batteries in Scotland across the entire length of the battery supply chain, from manufacturing to predicted quantities available at end of life. This research is published and is available here: Battery use in Scotland now and in the future | Zero Waste Scotland.

More recently the Scottish Government commissioned further research with Zero Waste Scotland to identify what practical actions Scotland could take to encourage and benefit from a circular economy - encouraging the reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. This research will be published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-20817

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of any meetings that it has held with original equipment manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries in the past three years to explore opportunities to site manufacturing and/or reprocessing facilities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20796

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total tonnage is of waste resulting from the decommissioning of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines that has been sent to landfill sites between 2014 and 2022.

Question reference: S6W-20745

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the Corra Foundation has distributed to third sector organisations since 1 June 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20837

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Police Scotland, (b) local authorities and (c) Transport Scotland regarding road safety on the North Coast 500 route, and whether it will provide an update on what actions have been taken to address the reported excessive speed and dangerous driving on the route.

Transport Scotland are in regular discussions with a range of operational partners, including Police Scotland and local road authorities, to explore ways to enhance road safety in the north of Scotland. This includes discussion through the Road Safety Framework Local Partnership Forum which last met on 15 June 2023.

Over the summer months additional and targeted safety camera and police officer resources have been deployed across the road network, including the North Coast 500, to encourage good driver behaviour and enhanced levels of speed limit compliance.

Question reference: S6W-20799

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many companies owning (a) onshore wind turbines in Scotland and (b) offshore wind turbines in Scottish waters were registered in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) overseas between 2014 and 2022.

Question reference: S6W-20656

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund in each year since its creation, also broken down by local authority area.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat fund has awarded grant for the retrofit of 11,662 homes since its creation in August 2020 and March 31st 2023. The breakdown across financial years and by local authority can be found in the following table:

Local Authority Area	FY 20-21	FY 21-22	FY 22-23	Total
Local Authority Area	FY 20-21	FY 21-22	FY 22-23	Total
Aberdeenshire Council		143	306	449
Angus Council		26	212	238
Argyll and Bute			159	159
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	208		129	337
Dumfries and Galloway	101	397	326	824
Dundee			466	466
East Ayrshire			79	79
East Renfrewshire				0
Edinburgh		56	60	116
Falkirk Council	28		100	128
Fife Council				0
Glasgow City Council	322		7,260	7,582
Highland Council		2	59	61
Inverclyde			90	90
Midlothian			100	100
Moray and Aberdeenshire	61			61
Moray Council	254			254
North Lanarkshire Council		20	249	269
Orkney Islands Council				0
Perth and Kinross		0	111	111
Scottish Borders		36	141	177
Shetland Islands			8	8
Stirling Council	30			30
West Dunbartonshire		26	72	98
West Lothian			25	25
Grand Total	1,004	706	9,952	11,662

Question reference: S6W-20643

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address reported concerns of NHS clinicians that there will be a skills depletion within any neonatal units downgraded from level 3.

The report from the Perinatal Sub-Group on the outcome of the options appraisal process identified skills maintenance as a key concern for those units no longer categorised as a NICU.

This is based on the expectation that small and sick babies will continue to be delivered unexpectedly out with Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU’s) and require stabilisation and transfer.

Local Neonatal Units (LNU’s) will continue to deliver intensive care and care for babies from 27+0 weeks that need stabilisation and treatment, so both nursing staff and medical staff will continue to have experience in delivering these aspects of intensive care.

The Scottish Government will work with the Scottish Perinatal Network and NHS Education for Scotland to take forward a number of actions to ensure that appropriate learning and development opportunities are available for staff impacted by the changes.

Question reference: S6W-20787

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the HGV speed limit on the A75 to 50mph.

Transport Scotland is undertaking a National Speed Management Review to support a range of policies that help our Government’s national outcomes and indicators. These include related policy drivers such as better road safety and health outcomes, promotion of active travel, climate change mitigation, place making and economic growth.

The review covers comprehensive analysis of all types of speed management policies and initiatives in Scotland as well as a review of what has been introduced in other countries throughout the world.

The process will also include a stakeholder and public consultation later this year to consider their views of whether any changes to speed limit policies, including HGV speed limits and speed management measures should be introduced as part of our speed management plan.