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: S5W-30191

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Asset Replacement, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what estimate the Commission made of the (a) carbon that would be used in the creation of the additional assets envisaged in the strategy outlined and (b) emissions from the increased level of maintenance of the total assets then under management.

Question reference: S5W-30193

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Asset Replacement, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, whether a strategy for water and waste water asset replacement that seeks to increase the consumption of resources in order to increase the rate at which assets can be created and replaced is consistent with the Scottish Government’s strategic approach envisaged in the development of a circular economy in which assets need to be made to last.

Question reference: S5W-30192

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Asset Replacement, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what assessment the Commission made of the compatibility of the creation of the additional capital assets and the emissions created by spending more on the ongoing maintenance of assets with reducing the carbon and other emissions required to meet the terms of the Paris climate agreement.

Question reference: S5W-30188

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2020 decision paper, Prospects for Prices, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what its definition is of “economically optimal” and how does that relate to climate optimal.

Question reference: S5W-30189

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of publication of the 2019 decision paper, Asset Replacement, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what estimate SEPA made of the (a) carbon and other emissions that would be caused by the establishment of the £6 billion of additional assets envisaged in the strategy and (b) additional emissions arising from the maintenance of total assets then under management.

Question reference: S5W-30196

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Prospects for Prices, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland what evidence the Commission was citing and what analysis it carried out when it stated that relying on short term interventions to maintain assets will result in higher carbon and other emissions than the preferred alternative of replacing assets.

Question reference: S5W-30195

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Prospects for Prices, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what analysis the Commission undertook of the need for significant innovation in the way that water and waste water services are delivered in order to meet the challenge of the climate emergency.

Question reference: S5W-30194

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the 2019 decision paper, Prospects for Prices, by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, what evidence the Commission used in the analysis that suggests meeting net-zero emissions will cost more in asset replacement.

Question reference: S5W-30315

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management report, Guidance on Ecological Survey and Assessment in the UK During the Covid-19 Outbreak, will apply to Phase 2 of its route map to allow non-essential outdoor workplaces with physical distancing to resume once relevant guidance is agreed, or whether Scotland-specific information will now be provided for environmental monitoring.

The Scottish Government published guidance on 21 May to support safe outdoor working for the forestry sector and for a range of environmental management activity in Scotland, as part of supporting the restart of outdoor non-essential workplaces under Phase 1 of Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis.

The guidance, which is available at the following link https://forestry.gov.scot/covid-19 sets out information and advice that can be used to protect workers carrying out outdoor work such as peatland restoration, wildlife and nature reserve management, and ecological surveys and research, under the broad heading of environmental management.

The section in the guidance that identifies sources of further information includes a reference to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) section of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Covid-19 website https://cieem.net/i-am/covid-19/ ). This advises members in Scotland to follow the safe working guidance and other guidelines set out by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S5W-29987

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 13 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the Global Underwater Hub, announced as part of the Energy Transition Fund, contributes to maintaining and advancing Scotland’s international position in floating offshore wind, tidal and wave energy technologies.

The Global Underwater Hub will play a significant role in furthering Scotland’s and the UK’s net zero ambitions, connecting companies, universities and R&D institutions across the UK to leverage the collective strength of the UK’s underwater industries – from offshore renewables and oil and gas, to marine science and defence. This project will be critical to the future of the subsea engineering sector as it repositions itself for the wider underwater activities and as part of the energy transition opportunity.

The Scottish Government will work with the Global Underwater Hub Steering Group to accelerate delivery of this project, ensuring that the economic benefits are felt as soon as possible as part of a green recovery, and to ensure that Scotland continues to be a leader in technology and innovation for the net zero economy.