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-14982

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any analysis of the potential impact of the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan on oil and gas jobs in Aberdeen.

We commissioned EY to undertake a substantial piece of analytical work, this has now been published and is available to view here – Energy System and Just Transition Analysis

Early outputs informed the ESJTP to help us better understand the implications of the transition to net zero on the energy system, including oil and gas, and to help us plan for a just transition across the sector.

This research will help us determine how the sector can help deliver our net zero targets, and how meeting our own energy needs can help build a new low-emission energy industry.

Question reference: S6W-14983

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an impact assessment of its presumption against new oil fields on oil and gas jobs in Aberdeen, and, if so, on what date.

As the draft Strategy sets out, irrespective of the climate imperative, due to the maturity of the North Sea basin, planning for a just transition to a net zero energy system and diversifying employment and economic opportunities for workers is essential. Scotland’s energy transformation is therefore urgent and inevitable.

In establishing a renewed policy position on oil and gas, whilst licensing is reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government is consulting on whether, in order to support the fastest possible and most effective just transition, there should be a presumption against new exploration for oil and gas.

The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan is an open consultation and as such requires statutory assessments to be undertaken. Some assessments have already been published and the others will be available with the final document.

Question reference: S6W-15504

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the planning system (a) prioritises and (b) supports the (i) repowering and (ii) life extension of existing windfarms.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) signals a turning point for planning, placing climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and making clear that significant weight is to be given to the global climate and nature crises when considering all development proposals. NPF4 policy 11 (energy) supports all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including repowering, expanding, and extending the life of existing wind farms. Where proposals meet relevant thresholds, they will also be considered ‘National Developments’ meaning the need is established in principle, and does not need to be assessed again at the consenting stage.

Question reference: S6W-15512

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), what its key (a) priorities and (b) deliverables are in its implementation; what its key outcomes are, and within what timeframe those outcomes must be delivered.

Our NPF4 Delivery Programme, the first iteration of which was published by the Scottish Government in November 2022, is an important tool that sets out the approach for implementing NPF4, including delivery mechanisms, governance and funding. The Delivery Programme identifies a range of priority actions, delivery partners and anticipated timescales.

The Delivery Programme is available at https://www.transformingplanning.scot/mdeia/3136/national-planing-framework-4-delivery-programme-for-publication-2-November-2022.pdf.

Question reference: S6O-02023

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to dual the A90 between Ellon and Peterhead.

Question reference: S6W-15089

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when work will begin on developing the Investment Plan outlined in its publication, Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045, Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland, and when it anticipates this work will conclude.

Question reference: S6W-14997

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what project management techniques it has regard to in the development of policy and strategy, in particular regarding the tracking of costs and resources to ensure transparency and accountability for public funds, and whether these were employed in the development of the latest draft Biodiversity Strategy.

An approach informed by best practice methodology – Managing Successful Programmes – has been adopted to frame the development, planning and delivery of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. This includes a programme board and programme manager to support and coordinate resources drawn from NatureScot and Scottish Government to deliver the Strategy.

Costs and resources are tracked via standard Scottish Government budget management procedures. This includes annual and monthly forecasting and monitoring returns.

Question reference: S6W-14980

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any formal representations from Aberdeen City Council regarding the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

Question reference: S6W-14996

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether time-booking practices are used in the development of policy and strategy, to provide an understanding of the number of staff and associated costs, in terms of staff time and salaries, of any particular project, support delivery, and help ensure transparency and accountability for public funds, and whether such practices were employed in the development of the latest draft Biodiversity Strategy.

Time booking practices are not widely used in the Scottish Government and were not used in the preparation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.

Costs associated with the development of the strategy mainly relate to staffing. Given the wide range of policy areas which have an impact on biodiversity, a large number of staff will have contributed sometimes quite small amounts of time to developing the strategy, in addition to the small core team for whom the development of the strategy was a primary objective. There were also some direct costs associated with the development of the strategy, including consultation analysis, strategic impact assessment and the design/publication of the draft strategy, all of which have been subject to standard government procurement procedures.

Question reference: S6W-14977

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to support job retention during energy transition in Aberdeen, in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to support job retention during energy transition in Aberdeen through a number of projects. Some are focussed on the North East, while others are nationwide. Many Scottish Government schemes and policies support ‘job retention’ directly or indirectly, therefore this is not an exhaustive list.

The £12 million Oil & Gas Transition Training Fund announced in 2016 was a three-year fund to support workers from the oil & gas sector at risk of redundancy. It supported over 4,000 people, surpassing the 1,000 participants planned for each of the three years the fund was in operation.

Starting in 2017, we are investing £125 million over 10 years in the Aberdeen City Region Deal to support Aberdeen’s ambition to become an energy transition capital, providing significant investment to diversify its economy and support job retention.

Our 2021-22 budget also included an allocation of £14.3 million through the North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF) to tackle the dual impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the downturn in oil and gas. Courses delivered via the Fund covered entrepreneurship and broader provision linked to the local labour market, including the transition to net zero. A report on the Fund is due to be published in March 2023.

£3.5 million of this allocation from NEERSF was spent in the two financial years 2021-23 on projects linked to jobs supporting the transition delivered by partners including the Energy Transition Zone, Robert Gordon University, Opportunity North East and the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce. The Energy Transition Zone skills funding from the Energy Transition Fund for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 was £519,000.

Our £500 million Just Transition Fund is also supporting the North East and Moray and we have committed £50m of the Fund in financial year 2022-23 to help businesses, communities and individuals to transition to net zero, creating jobs in low carbon industries and contributing to the region’s future prosperity.