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: S6F-01815

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether oil and gas companies are investing enough of their profits to support a just transition in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14777

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity extending Dr Colin Church’s position as chair of the independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland’s waste hierarchy, following his first report, Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury? Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, to enable him to consider options to decarbonise residual waste infrastructure in Scotland, whether it will provide an update on Dr Church’s second report.

Dr Colin Church submitted his Second Report on the Decarbonisation of Residual Waste Infrastructure in Scotland to Scottish Ministers on 16 December and we have published the Report today. The Report is available at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805254942 .

We are carefully considering the key findings and recommendations of Dr Church’s Second Report and will respond to these in March.

I would like to thank Dr Church for completing the independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14071

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12397 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many journeys have been completed by young people using a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, based on the latest information available.

Question reference: S6W-14072

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12396 by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many young people have now received a free bus pass through the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority area, based on the latest information available.

The table below shows the number of cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme as of the end of the day on 31 December 2022, broken down to local authority level.

This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO support the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The table includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application.

Total	564,483
Aberdeen City	24,772
Aberdeenshire	27,427
Angus Council	10,432
Argyll & Bute	6,492
City of Edinburgh	69,071
Clackmannanshire	3,269
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	1,610
Dumfries and Galloway	9,724
Dundee City	19,440
East Ayrshire	15,400
East Dunbartonshire	9,885
East Lothian	12,573
East Renfrewshire	10,221
Falkirk	10,798
Fife	48,147
Glasgow City	60,225
Highland	16,660
Inverclyde	11,158
Midlothian	9,928
Moray	7,927
North Ayrshire	17,729
North Lanarkshire	34,805
Orkney Islands	1,540
Perth & Kinross	13,713
Renfrewshire	19,255
Scottish Borders	9,971
Shetland Islands	2,639
South Ayrshire	8,739
South Lanarkshire	34,508
Stirling	7,900
West Dunbartonshire	10,345
West Lothian	18,180

Question reference: S6W-13648

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what priorities it has to support the long-term sustainability of Channel 4’s operations in Scotland.

While broadcasting is reserved, the Scottish Government wholeheartedly supports public service broadcasting and Channel 4’s important and distinctive role in that system. Channel 4 continues to deliver high quality outcomes for people in Scotland and we are committed to ensuring its ongoing sustainability.

I welcomed the recent announcement that the UK Government has reversed its unnecessary and ill-conceived proposals to privatise Channel 4. I will write to the Secretary of State to request further detail on the UK Government’s plans for Channel 4, and to press the importance of Channel 4’s place in the sector, delivering programmes in the public interest and driving creative innovation in Scotland. We will continue to closely monitor and argue for the strengthening and long-term sustainability of Channel 4’s operations in Scotland.

The Scottish Government supported the creation of a Channel 4 creative hub in Glasgow, bringing network commissioning responsibility to Scotland. We will continue to do everything we can, including through our engagement with the UK Government and Ofcom, to support an increasing presence of Channel 4 commissioners in Scotland, and to maintain and enhance Channel 4’s nations quotas to help improve local representation, develop our creative industries, and grow new Scottish talent.

Question reference: S6W-13551

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how changes to liquefied petroleum gas supplies in Scotland are affecting the fuel security of domestic customers.

Question reference: S6W-13064

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08334 by Tom Arthur on 17 May 2022, whether it will provide an update on phase 3 of the review of permitted development rights.

The phasing of the PDR review programme is kept under review to ensure that it reflects – and helps to promote – wider Scottish Government objectives. The stakeholder update which I issued with the Chief Planner in October 2022 confirmed that, in light of the current cost and climate crises, Phase 3 of the review will focus on PDR for domestic and non-domestic renewable energy equipment – and that a consultation will be published early in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-13240

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to expanding the UV treatment of sewage to outside of bathing seasons.

The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (“the Regulations”) aims to minimise the risks to public health at designated locations and during periods when large numbers of people bathe. For all 87 designated bathing waters in Scotland the bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September each year, in accordance with the traditional period of peak usage. In comparison with the 3 ½ month bathing season in Scotland, across Europe the season length varies from 2 months in Sweden to 6 months in Cypress.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate level of water quality protection and improvement is provided for the designated bathing waters within the bathing season and outwith for nature and wildlife.

Scottish Water currently has UV treatment at nine Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW) to meet microbiological standards during the bathing season as set out in its discharge authorisations issued by SEPA.

Maintaining the UV treatment at these WwTWs for the whole year would increase the use of energy and resources incurring financial and carbon costs at a time when these waters are not regularly used by large numbers of bathers. In line with the Bathing Waters Directive, the Regulations ensure that bathing water standards in Scotland are applied using a proportionate approach.

The number of bathing waters in Scotland has increased since last year and now stands at 87, with 98% achieving the bathing water quality standards and more rated excellent than ever before.

Question reference: S6W-13388

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Onshore Wind Policy Statement, following the consultation into the draft statement between October 2021 and January 2022.

Today the Scottish Government has published the Onshore Wind Policy Statement, which can be accessed on the Scottish Government website ( https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805253754 ). This is the result of careful consideration of the 162 responses received during the consultation period.

The Onshore Wind Policy Statement sets out our ambition for 20GW of onshore wind to be operational by 2030. This challenging ambition, which will see Scotland’s onshore wind capacity more than double, is needed now more than ever, to provide clean, affordable, renewable energy.

The Scottish Government will ensure Scotland’s people benefit from this potential, and to this end will form an Onshore Wind Strategic Leadership Group tasked with pushing forward progress against the issues set out in the Policy Statement and with the development of a Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal, to be developed over the first half of 2023.

In addition, we will follow the onshore wind policy statement with our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in early January which will set out our approach to the energy transition.

Question reference: S6W-12358

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in delivering the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme commitments on the extension of 20 mph speed limits across Scotland.

The national strategy for 20 mph continues to make good progress with the Scottish Government supporting local authorities with an additional £1.4 million in funding to undertake the necessary assessments to identify the number of roads affected and the financial implications. This work is scheduled to conclude in Spring 2023 and will enable the multi-partner 20 mph Task Group to then scope the next steps and options for implementation.

Transport Scotland and local authority partners are also exploring the potential for some early adopter schemes. These would enable the Task Group to assess the opportunities, impacts and promotion of 20 mph limits ahead of the 2025 deadline.

In addition Transport Scotland is working with the Scottish Government Marketing and Insight Unit to develop a national campaign that will focus on promoting the benefits of lower speeds and encourage behaviour change pre and post implementation.