The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6F-02316

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-20214

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the organisations that received funding from the Hate Crime Security Fund in 2021-22, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-20576

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review legislation regarding stalking.

Question reference: S6W-20446

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how regularly it meets with sportscotland to receive updates on its efforts to tackle racism in Scottish cricket.

I have met with sport scotland and Cricket Scotland on a number of occasions to discuss progress against the Changing the Boundaries report and will be meeting the interim CEO on 21 September.

The issue is also regularly discussed at monthly meetings between myself and sport scotland’s Chair and Chief Executive.

In addition, Scottish Government officials meet on a fortnightly basis specifically to discuss the work resulting for the Changing the Boundaries report as well as the issue of racism more widely.

Question reference: S6W-20784

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation on exports, and particularly its "contribution to innovation and science", as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, in the countries that gave Scotland the lowest score, such as India.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on "contribution to innovation and science", and would like to draw the members attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

Scottish Government-funded initiatives such as the Scotland Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE) Fund, have helped to build connections and grow our reputation in research and innovation with key priority countries, such as India.

SAPHIRE is now in its third year and has supported 29 partnerships with ASEAN nations, including Australia, India, Japan, Pakistan, and South Korea, across all disciplines, including key Scottish Government priorities from Net Zero to Health. SAPHIRE has launched its fourth cohort in 2023–24, and eligibility has expanded to New Zealand.

Question reference: S6W-20781

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will be subscribing to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM in 2023, and on what date it will publish the survey’s results.

The Scottish Government has subscribed to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index? (NBI) survey since 2008 and biennially since 2010.

The Scottish Government has used the NBI to assess and monitor how Scotland is perceived around the world. Data from the NBI is used to update one of the Scottish Government’s 81 National Performance Framework (NPF) indicators on ‘Scotland’s reputation’.

The NBI examines the image of 60 nations by looking at a country’s reputation along six dimensions of national competence: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism, Immigration and Investment. Together these provide an overall indication of a nation’s reputation.

The data supplied through the NBI should be viewed as a snapshot of people’s attitudes and perceptions of Scotland, which is useful in helping us understand more about Scotland’s international reputation. By subscribing biennially, Scotland can track its reputation in the long term. This data can also be used to compare Scotland’s reputation with that of other countries and to monitor how Scotland sees itself. We do not set target rankings.

The most recent NBI publication reports on findings from the 2022 data. Scotland is expected to be included in the sample of the 60 measured countries in 2023, as it is every year; however, we did not subscribe to the survey in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20782

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation regarding exports, as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, and by what date it aims to move Scotland into the top 20 countries surveyed for exports.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on exports and would like to draw the member’s attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

A Trading Nation (ATN) is our national export growth strategy, which takes an evidence-based approach to maximising our efforts in priority markets and sectors that can yield the greatest opportunities for trade and help us achieve our target of an increase in Scotland’s GDP from 20% to 25% over ten years. As well as targeting the economic benefits of export growth, ATN aligns with the key guiding principles of our Vision for Trade strategy. The Vision for Trade focuses on specific actions we are taking to achieve broader economic, social, and environmental ambitions by ensuring that the decisions we make in terms of where, how, and who we trade with align with those key principles and will enhance our global trade reputation.

Question reference: S6W-20427

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether energy performance certificates are an accurate and credible measure of a building's energy efficiency.

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides basic information about the energy efficiency of a building. EPC assessments are conducted by qualified Domestic Energy Assessors who must be members of an Approved Organisation. An EPC assessment for existing buildings is a non-intrusive survey and assumptions are required based on the age and characteristics of the building. The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is the underlying methodology used for EPCs and is owned by the UK Government. There are well-recognised limitations to the current methodology and assessment process and we are working with the UK Government to ensure planned updates to SAP across the UK help improve the accuracy of EPCs.

By their nature, EPCs are intended to reflect, and allow comparison of, the building assessed, rather than the way its occupants use it. For this reason, the calculations are based on standard patterns of occupancy and use. For example, this means that the cost figures in a domestic EPC are not bespoke to the current occupants.

Earlier this year, the statutory advisers on climate policy to governments throughout the UK, the Climate Change Committee, wrote to the Scottish Government setting out a series of recommendations for the reform on EPCs, noting that the current energy efficiency rating on EPCs is a measure of energy costs, not energy efficiency. In response to this advice, the Scottish Government published a consultation on EPC reform on 25 July 2023. This seeks stakeholder views on proposals to reform the current metrics to provide more holistic information about the efficiency of a home that is relevant to current and potential owners and occupiers.

Question reference: S6W-20790

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it can provide to firms making a contract inflation claim for the construction of social housing that are not being supported by the housing association responsible for the development.

Question reference: S6W-20783

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation regarding its "contribution to innovation and science", as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, which ranked Scotland 26th out of 60 countries surveyed, and what the target ranking is for the next survey.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on "contribution to innovation and science", and would like to draw the members attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

Scotland’s world-class university research and its key outputs of new knowledge and insights are fundamental to green economic recovery and growth. The most recent Research Excellence Framework found that there is world-leading (4*) research in every one of our universities in Scotland, and almost 90% of its impact was judged as outstanding or very considerable.

Scotland's National Innovation Strategy sets out a vision for Scotland to become one of the most innovative small countries in the world over the next decade.

Scotland’s research sector is highly regarded in the international community, with publications related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals research being cited twice as often as the global average and over half of this research carried out with international partners.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

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Question reference: S6F-02316

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Question reference: S6W-20214

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Question reference: S6W-20576

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Question reference: S6W-20446

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