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-04539

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the members of the new Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.

Question reference: S6W-04584

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will create a support mechanism for the wave and tidal energy industry to work alongside the UK Government’s revenue stabilisation mechanism, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.

Question reference: S6W-04580

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an energy skills and services export target, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.

Question reference: S6W-04582

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set a target of heating 45% of homes and 25% of commercial, industrial and public buildings from renewable sources by 2030, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out that, to meet our emissions reduction targets, by 2030 the vast majority of the 170,000 off-gas homes that currently use fossil fuel heating systems, as well as at least 1 million homes currently using mains gas, must convert to zero emissions heating. Together these amount to around half of domestic properties, on top of the 11% of homes that currently use zero emissions heat. In addition, the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings, around a quarter, must also switch from fossil fuels to zero emissions heating, which will bring the total using zero emissions heat to around three quarters.

Our existing commitments are therefore broadly equivalent to those recommended by Scottish Renewables in terms of numbers of heating system conversions. However, at this time we have not adopted these as specifically renewable heat targets, in order to accommodate other sources of decarbonised heat. We will review our provisional minimum renewable heat target of 22% in the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which we will publish for consultation in spring next year.

Question reference: S6O-00517

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on the roll-out of superfast broadband in Orkney.

Question reference: S6W-04470

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that booster vaccinations are recorded on COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

Question reference: S6W-04134

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it intends to require the installation of evacuation alert systems in new buildings that are between 11 and 18 metres in height.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for evacuation alert systems to be installed in new buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height. See answer to S6W-04133 on 19 November 2021.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-04133

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to respond to the reported recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that building evacuation alert systems should be fitted in new and existing high-rise buildings over 11 metres in height.

On 1 October 2019, the Scottish Government introduced evacuation alert systems in new high rise domestic buildings with a floor over 18m. The government also published Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Existing High Rise Domestic Buildings. The guidance promotes using a risk based approach to determine the fire safety measures required. Therefore, upgrading existing high rise domestic buildings with evacuation alert systems may be implemented where the level of fire risk is justified, taking into account the time, cost and disruption to building occupants involved.

We are not aware of any recommendation from the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 1 report relating to evacuation alert systems to be installed in new and existing high rise buildings over 11 metres in height.

Question reference: S6O-00429

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Orkney regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme.

Question reference: S6W-04135

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government and the National Fire Chiefs Council in relation to the fitting of evacuation alert systems, including any contribution it has made to the evacuation alert systems project, and what outcomes it hopes this will result in.

The Scottish Government provided support and funding to develop British Standard for evacuation alert systems and engaged with the National Fire Chiefs Council, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the UK Government in that work.

The National Fire Chiefs Council and UK Government comprise the Stay Put Technical Steering Group which is overseeing research on means of escape from a design, management and operational perspective. The Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service awaits the research findings, as they are key to informing any potential improvements and future approaches.