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-14794

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many trees have been cut down or removed in order to make way for onshore windfarm development in the last 10 years, broken down by project and year.

Question reference: S6W-14793

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many trees it estimates will need to be removed in order to meet its 2030 targets for onshore windfarm development.

While the Scottish Government holds some relevant information relating to tree removal as a result of onshore windfarm developments on Forestry and Land Scotland sites, it does not hold information relating to all onshore windfarms. Further data is held by Local Planning Authorities.

Where trees are proposed to be felled for the purpose of building an onshore wind farm it is most likely that there would be a condition attached to the consent requiring compensatory planting. This is to accord with the Scottish Government’s policy on the control of woodland removal – The Scottish Government's Policy on Control of Woodland Removal (forestry.gov.scot)

The monitoring and enforcing of such conditions are undertaken by the Local Planning Authority.

Question reference: S6W-14586

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12922 by Jenny Gilruth on 21 December 2022, which states that it expects "an update from Transport Scotland on this matter imminently", whether the update has now been produced, and, if so, whether it will provide a revised answer to the question.

Question reference: S6O-01945

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service capital budget for 2023-24 on the amount of maintenance work required in court buildings across the country.

Question reference: S6T-01182

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report by WWF Scotland that states that Scotland will fall "significantly short" of its target for decarbonising heating in homes.

Question reference: S6O-01922

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Rural Housing Fund.

Question reference: S6W-14233

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent to date on a Biodiversity Investment Plan, as set out in the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, and how many civil servants have worked on delivering this.

Following the recent publication of the draft biodiversity strategy, a delivery plan is now being developed and this will include the development of an investment plan. The delivery plan is being led jointly by Scottish Government and NatureScot officials, drawing on engagement from key policy areas and across a wider network which includes significant stakeholder engagement. No expenditure has therefore been directly devoted to the development of the Biodiversity Investment Plan yet.

Question reference: S6W-14232

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any external organisations or individuals have provided paid consultancy services to date in relation to the development of a Biodiversity Investment Plan, as set out in the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, and, if so, which external organisations or individuals have done so.

Question reference: S6W-14313

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13349 by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023, whether it is the case that it can now confirm how much funding will be allocated to the Climate Justice Fund in financial year 2023-24, and, if it is not the case, whether it will provide a draft figure, prior to final budget allocations being made, of how it expects to allocate for this purpose.

Question reference: S6W-14323

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the next Climate Justice Fund independent evaluation will be conducted and concluded, and whether it will include analysis of (a) the £2 million loss and damage funding announced around COP26 and (b) the £5 million loss and damage funding announced at COP27.

The next evaluation is planned for the end of the current funding cycle (to March 31 2026) and will include all funding that has been allocated from within the Climate Justice Fund. The evaluation will cover whether or not the funding has achieved it’s strategic objectives, and whether the Fund as a whole is continuing to demonstrate best practice in delivering climate justice against the three pillars of justice that were adopted following the previous evaluation.