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-05959

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any correspondence that it has had with (a) SEPA, (b) Health and Safety Executive and (c) Fife Council regarding reported ongoing health and safety concerns at Shell’s natural gas liquids plant and ExxonMobil's ethylene plant at Mossmorran.

It is for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as independent regulator, to regulate facilities like the Mossmorran Complex in order to provide assurance that operators are managing the risks created during their activities. The HSE liaises regularly with SEPA and Fife Council with regards to management of the site. The Scottish Government, as a matter of course, liaises regularly with SEPA, which is one of the public partners, including also NHS Fife and Public Health Scotland, in relation to the management and regulation of the Mossmorran complex.

Question reference: S6W-05971

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what protections are in place to prevent legal aid being used to bring forward spurious cases in (a) general and (b) relation to family law.

Legal aid applications are prepared by an applicant’s solicitor, who provides all the details of the case to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Solicitors have professional duties not only to their client, but to SLAB and to the court; therefore it would not be professionally appropriate for a solicitor to submit an application for legal aid if they were of the view that a client’s case was “spurious”.

Legal aid is granted only if the applicant meets the strict eligibility criteria set out in legislation, which apply to all civil cases, including family law matters. This includes the merits of a case. Applicants need to demonstrate that they have a sound legal basis for their case, and that it is reasonable for legal aid to be made available. When looking at the reasonableness test, The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) considers a range of factors including whether the application is premature and whether there are reasonable prospects of success. If the criteria are not met then legal aid will be refused.

Opponents will generally be notified when an application for legal aid is submitted and have the opportunity to make representations to SLAB prior to legal aid being granted. Opponents can also provide any additional information which may affect the merits of the case during its lifetime after legal aid has been granted and does not require legal representation.

Question reference: S6W-05914

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to ensure Best Value and financial transparency in relation to any costs that will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio during the transition from its franchise to a new rail operator.

Question reference: S6W-05932

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government with which external organisations (not including Zero Waste Scotland) did the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity meet, including virtually and in person, to discuss the deposit return scheme, broken down by (a) the number of meetings that were held with each organisation and (b) when the meetings took place, between 1 September 2021 and 14 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-05850

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05226 by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2022, when it expects to set the objectives and key deliverables for the Just Transition Fund (a) in year 1 (2022) and (b) for the first tranche of £20 million of funding, and when the referenced "programme of engagement" will conclude.

There is no distinction between objectives and deliverables of the £500 million Just Transition Fund for year one, and the £20 million allocation for year one.

Detailed policy design work and implementation planning, supplemented by a programme of engagement, is underway ahead of the new financial year. This will inform the objectives and deliverables of the Just Transition Fund. Further updates will be shared as this engagement develops. We will work collaboratively, continuing to engage and co-design this Fund with partners in region throughout the lifetime of this ten-year £500 million commitment to the North East and Moray.

Question reference: S6W-05984

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with the UK Government on the delivery of the Project Gigabit scheme in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is currently working closely with Building Digital UK (BDUK) to develop our understanding of what Project Gigabit means for Scotland. To date, Project Gigabit has primarily focussed on England with the procurement approach developed for the supplier market there. We want to be sure that any approach works in a Scottish context and is tailored to extend future-proofed digital connectivity across the country.

We hope to publish a Gigabit Open Market Review in the coming weeks which will inform any future gigabit procurement strategy for Scotland. We want to ensure that Scotland receives a fair share of Project Gigabit funding and support – a share commensurate with the scale of the challenge we face.

Question reference: S6W-05913

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what costs will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio once its ScotRail franchise has concluded.

Question reference: S6W-05931

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times civil servants met, including virtually and in person, operators of deposit return schemes, broken down by (a) when the meetings took place and (b) which operators were involved, between 16 March 2020 and 14 December 2021.

Officials did not have any meetings with operators of overseas deposit return schemes (DRS) in the time period specified.

Evidence from other international schemes has played an important role in our decision-making regarding Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and operators of other schemes provided advice to Zero Waste Scotland during the policy-design process. During our review of the implementation date for DRS, Deloitte LLP has provided expertise and independent assurance relating to the process of establishing a scheme administrator, including drawing on its experience as an advisor to other operators and the wider global DRS network.

Question reference: S6W-05911

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Bioenergy Expert Panel, including when it was or will be established, when it will next meet, and what sectoral representation is on the panel.

Question reference: S6W-05923

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Home Energy Scotland loan scheme that provides up to £15,000 for energy efficiency improvements in homes.

The Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland (HES) loan scheme provides up to £15,000 for energy efficiency improvements plus up to £17,500 for zero emissions heating and micro-renewables and up to £6,000 for battery storage. Cashback grants are available with the loans of up to £7,500 on zero emissions heating systems plus up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.

We have committed to replacing the cashback offer in 2022-23 with a grant scheme to support energy efficiency and zero emissions heat improvements.