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-07997

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how the current oil price would have impacted on public services if the country had voted to become independent in the referendum.

Tax revenues from oil and gas production depend on a range of different factors including production, prices and profitability.

Scotland’s economic fundamentals are strong. Even without oil, GDP per head in Scotland is higher than the UK average excluding London.

An independent Scotland would have the opportunity to pursue policies designed to grow the economy and invest in public services.

Question reference: S5W-08099

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on the North Sea oil and gas sector of a one-dollar (a) rise and (b) fall in the (i) oil and (ii) gas price.

Question reference: S5W-08097

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the level of exploration there has been in the North Sea oil and gas sector in each of the last five years, and how successful this has been.

Information on the number of exploration and appraisal wells drilled is produced by the Oil and Gas Authority. This information can be found via https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/well-data/

Oil and Gas UK also provide information in the success rates of exploration and appraisal activity. This information can be found via: http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/businessoutlook.cfm

Question reference: S5W-08095

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people have been (a) directly and (b) indirectly employed by the North Sea oil and gas sector in each of the last three years, and what estimate it has made for each of the next three years.

The Office for National Statistics produces statistics on employment by sector and region in the Labour Force Survey and Business Register and Employment Survey. These can be found via: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes.

Energy in Scotland 2017 was published on 23 February 2017 and provides a detailed overview of energy statistics for Scotland, including oil and gas statistics. This can be found via: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Energy/EIS

Question reference: S5W-07995

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the future growth prospects for the North Sea oil sector.

The North Sea has a bright future, with up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent of known reserves remaining in the UK continental shelf. Production has increased by an estimated 16% since 2014 and is expected to continue to grow in 2017 and 2018. The oil and gas sector has shown great resilience during challenging global conditions, with average unit operating costs around half their peak level in 2014. Merger and Acquisition activity so far in 2017 has already seen nearly twice as much money invested than across all of 2016, highlighting the continued appetite to invest in the basin.

However, last week’s Oil and Gas UK Business Outlook clearly highlighted the urgent need for fresh capital in the basin if we are to unlock the remaining 20 billion barrels of oil and gas. The UK Government holds the key fiscal levers and the Scottish Government will continue to call for further measures to urgently stimulate activity and investment, which will be of particular help to the hard hit supply chain

We have repeatedly called on the UK government to take steps to incentivise investment and maximise economic recovery. It is encouraging that the UK Government has finally listened to the Scottish Government about the need to ensure ‘the right assets are in the right hands’. This is an area where we have repeatedly called for reform and which the UK Government have been too slow to react, and therefore it is important that we now see urgent action from UK Ministers and not simply the establishment of another talking shop.

Question reference: S5W-06962

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses for social rent (a) were built in 2016-17, (b) have been built since April 2016 and (c) will be built in 2017-18.

In answer to (a) and (b), the financial year 2016-17 runs from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. The number of houses for social rent built over this period are published as part of our quarterly statistics.

The most recent official statistics published on 13 December 2016 and covering the period 1 April to end September 2016, show there were 1,566 new build homes completed for social rent as part of the Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme. However, as well as new build homes, there were also 189 homes delivered for social rent by way of rehab projects and off-the-shelf projects. The next set of quarterly statistics for the period to end December 2016 is due to be published on 14 March 2017.

(c) All local authorities publish a Local Housing Strategy (LHS). This is supplemented with a Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out over a five year period, plans to prioritise delivery of the objectives set out in the LHS. The number of homes for social rent being built in 2017-18 will be determined by the SHIP. These documents are used as a basis for the development of Strategic Local Programme Agreements (SLPAs) between local authorities and the Scottish Government, enabling them to deliver their affordable housing priorities, including homes for social rent, in mixed communities that fit local needs.

Question reference: S5W-06963

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses for social rent in each local authority area are under construction, broken down by the expected year of completion.

The following table is based on management information extracted from the Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme, and presents the number of social rented units under construction on site as at 30 September 2016, in line with the time period of data presented in the most recent quarterly official statistics release on affordable housing approvals, starts and completions:

Number of units for social rent on site

Estimated year of completion

Local Authority	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	Total
Aberdeenshire	20	79	0	0	99
Angus	21	51	0	0	72
Argyll & Bute	22	47	0	0	69
City of Aberdeen	0	226	0	0	226
City of Dundee	70	54	33	0	157
City of Edinburgh	67	330	105	23	525
City of Glasgow	309	990	46	0	1345
Clackmannanshire	48	0	0	0	48
Dumfries and Galloway	53	16	0	0	69
East Ayrshire	0	45	0	0	45
East Dunbartonshire	10	20	0	0	30
East Lothian	0	108	0	0	108
Falkirk	18	0	0	0	18
Fife	409	313	22	0	744
Highland	53	122	0	0	175
Inverclyde	45	41	0	0	86
Midlothian	12	69	0	0	81
Moray	0	67	0	0	67
North Ayrshire	0	105	0	0	105
North Lanarkshire	0	308	0	0	308
Orkney	17	20	0	0	37
Perth and Kinross	0	99	0	0	99
Renfrewshire	0	144	0	0	144
Shetland	12	21	0	0	33
South Ayrshire	29	0	0	0	29
South Lanarkshire	58	170	0	0	228
Stirling	0	8	0	0	8
The Scottish Borders	0	24	0	0	24
West Dunbartonshire	52	30	0	0	82
West Lothian	35	292	230	0	557
Western Isles	8	16	0	0	24
TOTAL	1368	3815	436	23	5642

As well as new build homes under construction, there are also 234 units forming rehab and conversion projects currently underway.

The next official statistics release, covering the period to end December 2016, will be published on 14 March 2017.

Question reference: S5W-06964

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017

All local authorities publish a Local Housing Strategy (LHS). This is supplemented with a Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out over a five year period, plans to prioritise delivery of the objectives set out in the LHS. The number of homes for social rent being built in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21 will be determined by the SHIP. These documents are used as a basis for the development of Strategic Local Programme Agreements (SLPAs) between local authorities and the Scottish Government, enabling them to deliver their affordable housing priorities, including homes for social rent, in mixed communities that fit local needs.

Question reference: S5W-06855

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made toward meeting the target set in Scotland's Economic Strategy to (a) reduce youth unemployment by 40% by 2021, (b) increase the percentage of employers recruiting young people directly from education to 35% by 2018 and (c) reduce to 60% the percentage of Modern Apprenticeship frameworks where the gender balance is 75:25 or worse by 2021.

The second Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) annual progress report found at: Developing the Young Workforce Scotland's Youth Employment Strategy 2nd Annual Report 2015/2016, covers academic year 2015-16, and was published on 14 December 2016.

The report highlights significant progress made to date, including progress on the eleven Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the DYW programme. The latest published data for the indicators highlighted in the question are highlighted as follows:

Question	Baseline	Current Figure
(a)	52,000 (Jan- Mar 2014)	42,000 (Jan- Mar 2016)
(b)	32% (2014)	32% (2014) – more relevant data for this target will be available in 2017
(c)	73% (2013-14)	74% (2015-16)

Question reference: S5W-06603

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what grants it has paid to (a) DFDS and (b) Forth Ports since January 2015 in order to maintain the Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight route.

The Scottish Government paid 200,000 in January 2015 to DFDS, in support of the company’s operation of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight ferry service. The Scottish Government has not provided Forth Ports with funding for the route since January 2015.

The Scottish Government is committed to securing the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry service on an environmentally and economically sustainable basis in the interests of the freight industry and businesses in Scotland.