- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05803 by Patrick Harvie on 1 February 2022, how many of the 156 participants were (a) not representing an organisation and (b) off-grid householders.
Answer
The 2021 consultation on the draft Heat in Buildings Strategy included 7 consultation workshops, which were open to all interested participants. Of the 156 attendees, 147 identified themselves as representing an organisation. Workshop attendees were not asked to register their personal circumstances, so information on how many were off-grid householders was not recorded.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05805 by Patrick Harvie on 3 February 2022, for what reason it has not included biofuels in the list of options that may be of particular benefit to households living in rural and island areas whose homes are not suitable for heat pumps.
Answer
Recent advice from our statutory advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), states that “sustainable bioenergy is essential for reaching net zero”. Given resource supply limitations, it must be used in those applications with the highest greenhouse gas savings (those with CO2 sequestration and/or displacement of high carbon alternatives).
The Committee recommends that the preferred use for bioenergy will be with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in electricity, hydrogen and biojet applications.
Overall the Scottish Government’s aim is to see bioenergy used where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions, however this decision is also dependent on which sectors will make the best use of the bioenergy feedstocks that we can grow sustainably or produce domestically in comparison with those we may need to import.
We will publish a Bioenergy Action Plan in 2023 which will set out a strategic framework for the use of bioenergy.
In the near term our programmes which support decarbonisation of heat are promoting those technologies which have a clear long-term role.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will ensure local authorities are resourced and supported so they can deliver the necessary level of deployment of renewables to achieve net zero.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to resourcing and supporting local authorities (LAs) through a mix of competitive and other funding programmes, as well as direct resource to support commitments to statutory targets. Specifically, we are committed to providing appropriate resource to all LAs to drive area-based planning and delivery of the heat transition, under our Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies programme. We are also committed to provide appropriate resource to enable them to deliver the provisions of the Heat Networks Act. Over this parliamentary session, £300 million will be available, including to LAs, to support the development and roll out of zero emission heat networks.
The Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme is designed to support leadership for decarbonisation of public buildings, with the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund accelerating the delivery of energy efficiency measures and zero emission heating systems to existing homes in the socially rented sector (including LAs). Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and LAs are also supported by the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Development Fund to develop zero emission heating projects and strategic plans ready for capital funding. We have extended the scope of projects funded through our Area Based Schemes to include delivery of low carbon heating and microgeneration measures (solar PV) as part of a `whole house retrofit’. This includes costs associated with the whole house assessment, design, coordination and evaluation of retrofit measures. Lastly, we have non-competitive funding for investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and decarbonisation of public sector fleets available to all LAs, with over £65 million of funding awarded over the last decade.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to assist the NHS board in staffing the minor injuries unit at Chalmers Hospital, Banff.
Answer
Scottish Government officials are continually engaging with NHS Boards and Health and Social Partnerships (HSCPs) to identify particular areas of concern. Aberdeenshire HSCP, which has operational responsibility for delivering services at Chalmers Hospital in Banff, advises that it is working closely with the staff group to develop a sustainable model of service delivery for the Banff community.
We have announced a substantial new investment of over £300 million in hospital and community care to support the NHS and social care system. The new funding will support a range of measures to maximise capacity in hospitals and primary care, reduce delayed discharges and ensure those in the community who need support receive effective and responsive care. NHS Grampian is receiving a share of direct workforce investments introduced through this plan including the recruitment of 1,000 additional healthcare support staff to support patients in hospitals and in community health teams.
Over and above this funding we have provided NHS Grampian with £1.1 million to support two new specialist programmes – Interface Care and Discharge without Delay – which will speed up the hospital discharge process or provide an alternative to hospital care altogether. This work is currently underway and we are working collaboratively with the Board to ensure robust actions are in place which support the reduction of long delays and improve patient care.
In addition, Grampian has received a £944K share of a further £10 million which has been allocated to Health Boards to support the delivery of timeous and optimal care. This will support Health Boards to put in place a range of measures including ensuring appropriate levels of staffing are in place across the system to facilitate efficient and effective patient care.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how people who do not have access to online services and cannot access the NHS Scotland Covid Status app can obtain a paper copy of their vaccine certificate in advance of international travel.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03956 on 15 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
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S6O-00736 by Ben Macpherson on 9 February 2022, during which the minister referred to the "greater provision of renewable energy - which...has had a significant positive impact on the reliability of supply here in Scotland", whether it will set out in detail what this definition of “renewable energy” is; what the generation source is of the energy that has had a positive impact on reliability, and whether it will publish any data that (a) shows an increasing "reliability of supply", as opposed to an increasing amount of energy supplied, and (b) shows a correlation and direct "impact" of the greater provision of renewable energy, as defined, on the reliability of supply.
Answer
This is a reserved policy area. Responsibility for security of supply sits with National Grid ESO (the GB electricity system operator).
Renewable capacity in Scotland includes onshore and offshore wind, hydro, solar, marine technologies, bioenergy and waste. Other sources of power generation and interconnection to the rest of GB electricity system are also critical in terms of maintaining secure electricity supply, particularly at times when renewables output is low.
The UK government has now included renewables in the Capacity Market to recognise their “measurable contribution” to security of supply. Renewables sites in Scotland have been successful in securing contracts in the latest T-4 and T-1 Capacity Market Auctions.
The equivalent of 98.6% of gross electricity consumption in Scotland (around 30 GigaWatt hours, GWh) comes from renewable sources.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05508 by Michael Matheson on 4 February 2022, in light of it not being able to detail what impact the closure of Hunterston B and Torness nuclear power stations will have on consumer energy bills, whether it can state what the price of electricity generated by each of them is.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the price of energy generated by Hunterston B and Torness nuclear power stations. This information is of a commercial nature and shared only between the contract holders and the customer.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will ensure that local authorities are resourced and supported to tackle the climate emergency.
Answer
As set out in the answer to question S6W-05390 on 25 January 2022, the Scottish Government regularly engages with local authorities and the wider public sector, including through COSLA and the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), where current opportunities and challenges within local authority climate action are frequently discussed. Scottish Government officials also engage with the Improvement Service on the capacity needs of local authorities in delivering net zero.
For further detail on local authorities and the climate emergency, I refer the member to the answers to questions: S6W-05387 on 11 January 2022; S6W-05388, S6W-05389 and S6W-05390 on 25 January 2022; S6W-05391 on 11 January 2022; S6W-05627 on 21 January 2022; S6W-05753 on 3 February 2022; and S6W-05754 and S6W-05755 on 7 February 2022.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: Written questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, when assessing ScotWind applications, what account was taken of the locations of potential carbon storage sites in any future carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) programme.
Answer
This is a matter for Crown Estate Scotland (CES) as the assessment and evaluation of the ScotWind applications was undertaken by CES. Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage activity was considered as part of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy's Sustainability Appraisal, particularly the Social and Economic Impact Assessment and in the Regional Locational Guidance. Those documents can be found at the links below.
Social and Economic Impact Assessment: https://www.gov.scot/publications/draft-sectoral-marine-plan-social-econimic-impact-assessment/documents/
Regional Locational Guidance: https://www.gov.scot/publications/sectoral-marine-plan-regional-locational-guidance/documents/
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with EU governments regarding the use of gene editing in agriculture.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022
