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: S4W-04027

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on concerns that there has not been a quantification of the reduction in greenhouse gases and fuel savings based on verified performance of the wind farms installed on the grid.

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising electricity generation by 2030, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, through a combination of renewable electricity and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. The target to meet an equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewables by 2020 is at the forefront of this commitment. An energy mix less reliant on fossil fuels will assist in achieving this commitment.

Scottish Greenhouse Gas emissions, which estimate the level of emissions by sector, are published annually. The annual report can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/09/05094939/0.

Question reference: S4W-04024

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 24 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-03256 by Fergus Ewing on 28 October 2011, how it adheres to the legal requirements of the 2001 Directive on strategic environmental assessment and Articles 6 and 7 of the Aarhus Convention relating to information on greenhouse gases and fuel savings being disseminated to the public.

As required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the Electricity Generation Policy Statement and the Renewable Energy Routemap will consider impacts of the proposed policies on climatic factors. The analysis will focus on the strategic effects of the policies in principle, taking the form of qualitative analysis. As also required, the findings of the assessment will be reported in the Environmental Report, which will be subjected to public consultation. Given the high level nature of the policy, no quantitative analysis of the policies in relation to greenhouse gas emissions or fuel savings can be undertaken within the SEA.

Question reference: S4W-03744

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish the Marine Licensing Survey, Deploy and Monitor policy.

Question reference: S4W-03743

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how and (b) who it has consulted regarding the draft Marine Licensing Survey, Deploy and Monitor policy.

Question reference: S4W-03402

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of concerns expressed by specialist whisky retailers regarding EU distance selling regulations and, if so, (a) what its position is and (b) whether it will make representations to the (i) UK Government and (ii) European Commission on this matter.

Question reference: S4W-03256

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 28 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it has complied with directive 2001/42/EC and Article 7 of the Aarhus Convention in relation to its (a) 2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland and (b) electricity generation policy statement.

As required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, which transposed Directive 2001/42/EC, the Scottish Government is currently undertaking a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the 2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland, and the Draft Electricity Generation Policy Statement (EGPS). An environmental report will be published alongside the routemap and revised EGPS for public consultation later this year.

Question reference: S4W-03010

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on upgrading the A82.

The importance of upgrading the A82 is recognised by its inclusion in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

The major schemes at Pulpit Rock and Crianlarich are specifically mentioned in the recent Spending Review announcement. Subject to the completion of the necessary statutory procedures, they will be delivered as soon as reasonably practicable.

Regarding the longer term development of the route, Ministers have made available £500,000 for engineering and environmental surveys for the Tarbet to Inverarnan section of the A82 and these will begin shortly. These surveys and their analysis should be complete by the end of March and will help establish a clearer understanding of the many challenges within which future upgrades of the route will be developed.

Question reference: S4W-02623

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that the salmon and sea trout population in the outer Moray Firth are not detrimentally affected by offshore wind farm developments.

In addition to the scientific studies set out in my answer to question S4W-02622 on 22 September 2011, Marine Scotland will also consider the information provided by developers, including specific studies, assessments and consultation outputs, and decide what actions (in consultation with its advisors, stakeholders and interested parties) are required to minimise and mitigate impacts on salmon and sea trout populations in the outer Moray Firth.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-02621

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it responds to concerns raised about the possible impact on sandeel populations of offshore wind farm developments in the outer Moray Firth.

When an environmental concern related to a development is raised with Marine Scotland they will seek views from their own experts and their natural heritage advisors. They will also request that the developer, in consultation with interested parties, address the issues in the project specific Environmental Impact Assessment. Marine Scotland has requested developers in the Moray Firth to address any risks to sandeels in the locality of the development, to do this in consultation with the Moray Firth District Salmon Fisheries Boards and in doing so to use any experience from wind farm development in the European shelf seas.

Question reference: S4W-02622

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has made, or plans to make, of the possible impact on salmon and sea trout populations of offshore wind farm developments in the outer Moray Firth.

Marine Scotland Science has recently completed a report on the migration routes of salmonid fish (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/295194/0111162.pdf), this work has been complemented by a report from Scottish Natural Heritage on the impacts of noise and electromagnetic forces (EMF) on salmonid fish:

http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/B866663.pdf.

Further work is being planned to study the effects of EMF and noise from marine renewable energy developments on migratory species of fish and in addition we are considering experimental tracking studies of migratory species in Scottish waters.