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-30250

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what Barnett consequential funding it (a) has received and (b) anticipates it will receive as a result of the UK Government's announcement in July 2023 of £5.1 billion of funding for the Cladding Safety Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-30251

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £97.1 million in Barnett consequential funding, which it received as a result of the UK Government’s announcement in March 2020 to remediate additional residential cladding, was allocated to the Single Building Assessment delivery team, and to which other areas of spending the money was allocated.

Question reference: S6W-29795

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of post-induction scheme teachers from the previous year were in permanent or temporary employment in 2023-24, broken down by those in (i) full-time permanent, (ii) full-time temporary, (iii) part-time permanent and (iv) part-time temporary employment.

Question reference: S6W-29716

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications were received in the process of appointing a new chair of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, and where, in addition to the Scottish Government website, the position was advertised.

A total of 13 applications were received for the post of Chair to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. The appointment process for that post remains on-going. At the same time, the SCCRC advertised a vacancy for a Legal Member, which also attracted 13 applications.

The Scottish Government posted the adverts on the Scottish Government hosted public appointments webpages.

The adverts were circulated to over 1500 individuals and groups who have registered on the public appointments notes of interest contact list. This information is circulated to bodies such as Citizens Advice Scotland, the Equality Network, Women on Boards, and Changing the Chemistry.

Scottish Government officials also reached out to a number of other relevant organisations to draw their attention to the vacancies. These were:

The Faculty of Advocates;
Scottish Legal Aid Board;
The Society of Solicitor Advocates;
Scottish Legal Complaints;
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission;
The Scottish Human Rights Commission;
The Legal Services Agency;
Law Centres Network;
Fair Justice System for Scotland Group;
Govan Law Centre; and
The Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association.

The vacancies were also posted on the Scottish Legal News website, the Scottish Legal News X page, and advertised via Scottish Legal News’ daily newsletter.

Question reference: S6W-29184

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum capacity is per year of wind turbines that can currently be manufactured in Scotland.

The large pipeline of offshore wind projects under development in Scotland offers a significant manufacturing opportunity. We are already seeing significant progress in this regard. Sumitomo’s £350 million high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturing plant in the Highlands is a significant step which will address a major supply chain constraint for offshore wind projects. The factory will bring manufacturing capability to Scotland to support the offshore wind sector and will create hundreds of good, green jobs.

Whilst Scotland currently has no wind turbine manufacturing facilities, Scotland’s strong specialised SME base, offshore installation services, advanced port infrastructure, operations and maintenance expertise, word-class engineering capabilities and highly-skilled offshore energy workforce make Scotland a prime location for offshore wind manufacturing facilities.

The Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which was signed with the onshore wind sector in September 2023, contains a series of commitments that promote supply chain opportunities, including the circularity of wind turbine blades. The onshore wind sector has committed to the delivery of at least one blade treatment facility in Scotland by 2030.

Question reference: S6W-29182

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with Shell and Scottish Power, which are jointly developing the CampionWind and MarramWind projects, regarding reported comments that "it is evident that significant investment will be required into Scottish facilities to prepare the Scottish market for the pipeline of projects which will be developed through ScotWind leasing".

The Scottish Government regularly engages with key stakeholders involved in ScotWind projects, including a recent developer roundtable which I chaired on 13 August 2024, at which CampionWind and MarramWind were both represented. The roundtable included discussions on the need for targeted investment to ensure that the Scottish market is prepared for the pipeline of projects which will be developed through the ScotWind leasing round.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the offshore wind industry and maximising the significant opportunities to attract inward investment, generate green jobs and grow our regional and national economies. To that end, we are continuing to engage in crucial public sector and industry partnerships such as the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), and we support the industry-led Strategic Investment Model.

Question reference: S6W-29185

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Renewables regarding reports that "significant investment" is required to make the most of "an unprecedented opportunity to grow the renewable energy supply chain in Scotland and to establish the facilities we will need to manufacture and supply the components for wind turbines", and whether Scottish Renewables has provided it with a figure for such investment.

The Scottish Government holds regular discussions with key stakeholders in the renewable energy industry, including Scottish Renewables.

We remain committed to ensuring projects are supported to deliver maximum economic benefits. This includes investing up to £500m over the next five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland. Our commercial first approach will stimulate private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to the growth of our world-leading offshore wind sector. Sumitomo’s £350 million high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturing plant in the highlands is a significant step which will address a major supply chain constraint for offshore wind projects.? Investment into the sector will support market certainty, create a highly productive, competitive economy, provide thousands of new jobs, embed innovation and boost skills.

In addition, the Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which was signed with the onshore wind sector in September 2023, contains a series of commitments that promote supply chain opportunities, including the circularity of wind turbine blades. The onshore wind sector has committed to the delivery of at least one blade treatment facility in Scotland by 2030.

Question reference: S6O-03746

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop local flood plans, including natural flood prevention measures.

Question reference: S6W-29180

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any public money will be provided to support Vestas with its reported plans for a facility to construct turbine blades in Leith, inside the Forth freeport zone.

Our fast-growing offshore wind industry provides us with significant opportunities to attract inward investment, generate green jobs and grow our regional and national economies, not least in our Green Freeport areas in Inverness and Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth.

There is a range of public sector commercial and grant funding avenues, alongside other dedicated support, available to all potential inward investors, including Vestas. We work closely with partner organisations to make sure companies are aware of these and can access them easily.

For example, investors at Green Freeport tax sites can benefit from a range of devolved and reserved tax reliefs which would constitute revenue forgone by UK and Scottish Government respectively.

Question reference: S6W-29176

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported comments that it is committing "£500 million to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland", how much of this money has been spent to date, and how many additional jobs it has supported.

We are kick-starting our commitment to invest up to £500m to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland with investment of £67 million in the sector this financial year. This investment will support market certainty, helping to create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy that provides thousands of new jobs, embeds innovation and boosts skills. We are working across public sector delivery partners to ensure that the funding is delivered to projects as quickly as possible subject to rigorous due diligence and value for money assurance processes.