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-31638

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy last met Scottish Power.

Question reference: S6O-04031

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to address the reported shortage of forensic pathologists across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-31118

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Aberdeen’s role as a global renewable energy hub.

The Scottish Government has committed up to £500 million strategic investment over five years, to leverage private investment in critical offshore wind infrastructure and supply chain.

Additional support for energy transition in Aberdeen and the North East region is also being provided through:

The Just Transition Fund, through which we have allocated up to £75 million across the North East region to support projects, including the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund helping supply chain companies to transition and access new net zero and global business opportunities, and the Offshore Energy Skills Passport aiding the cross sector transferability of the offshore energy workforce.
The Energy Transition Fund, which is supporting four major projects in Aberdeen and the North East region. These include supporting development in Aberdeen of the Energy Transition Zone, providing the necessary facilities and investment opportunities to attract renewable energy manufacturing companies and the creation of the Global Underwater Hub, to provide sub sea supply chain companies with access to multiple sector markets worldwide.

Question reference: S6W-31115

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of findings in Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce's Energy Transition 40th Survey report that North Sea oil and gas firms "expect a desperately bleak situation to go from bad to worse", what measures it is taking to improve confidence in the North Sea oil and gas sector.

Question reference: S6W-31117

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that the political environment is acting as a "barrier to diversification" in the energy sector, as set out in Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce's Energy Transition 40th Survey report.

Question reference: S6W-31113

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the steadily declining value in renewables work over recent Energy Transition surveys, as described in Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce's Energy Transition 40th Survey report.

Question reference: S6W-31110

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce's Energy Transition 40th Survey report.

We have noted the latest Energy Transition survey report published by Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce. Offshore oil and gas licensing and consenting, as well as the associated fiscal regime, are currently reserved to the UK Government. We continue to call on UK Government to listen carefully to the concerns being expressed by businesses around risks to jobs and investment in the transition.

Question reference: S6W-31120

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the North Sea Transition Taskforce’s recommendations are implemented effectively to safeguard jobs and support the energy transition.

Question reference: S6W-31111

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the decline in the proportion of businesses in the north east forecasting revenue growth, as reported in Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce's Energy Transition 40th Survey report.

We have noted the latest Energy Transition survey report published by Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce and the launch of a North Sea Transition Taskforce. We acknowledge the concerns that businesses are raising through the survey, however we also note the difficulty of measuring change at a regional level over short periods of time.

The energy transition presents an opportunity as well as a challenge to our existing energy sector and Scottish Government is committed to realising that opportunity, especially by securing a just transition for the north east. We have already committed significant funding to the region through our Just Transition Fund and our Energy Transition Fund. We will continue to support growth of our world-leading renewables sector and to enable our existing oil and gas sector to transition.

In September, we published our Green Industrial Strategy, which aims to ensure that Scotland gets the maximum possible economic benefit from the opportunities created by the net zero transition. We are taking steps to support businesses to capitalise on these opportunities.

For example, we have committed up to £500 million strategic investment over five years to support market certainty and facilitate the development of the offshore wind sector in Scotland. The Offshore Wind Supply Chain Development Statements process, carefully designed and managed by Crown Estate Scotland, ensures focus is maintained on supply chain capacity and capability to develop and deliver offshore wind projects in Scotland.

Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) presents a particular opportunity for the north east region. The UK Government recently announced £23 billion funding to support Track 1 CCUS clusters over 25 years. We urgently need a similar announcement for Track 2, including the Acorn project; continued UK Government delays are impacting investor, developer and supply chain confidence, and we continue to call for a meaningful update on this.

Question reference: S6W-31116

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the diversification of businesses in the north east away from oil and gas.

The Scottish Government is committed to working in partnership with business and industry to deliver a just transition for Scotland’s valued oil and gas sector, which recognises the declining nature of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments.

Our Energy Transition Fund is supporting four major projects in Aberdeen and the north east which promote collaboration across offshore energy sectors. These include the Energy Transition Zone, transforming the region into a globally integrated energy cluster, and the Global Underwater Hub, using underwater expertise, technologies and skills to drive innovation and accelerate the transition.

We are also working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce, one that can benefit from opportunities across the energy system. This includes supporting industry-led initiatives to enable skilled offshore workers to carry their experience and expertise into different roles as the transition progresses, and providing funding through the Just Transition Fund to skills initiatives and capacity building within businesses.