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-10736

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10125 by Patrick Harvie on 25 August 2022, whether it will provide the information requested and confirm what (a) information it holds on what the estimated demand for electricity will be in Scotland from 2025 should its proposed ban on the use of direct emissions heating systems in new-build properties from 2024 be put in place, and in light of its projected increase in EV use, and (b) its position is on whether renewables will be able to consistently meet any increased demand for electricity in Scotland from 2025 as a result of its proposals; on what data or projections its position is based, and, in light of it not providing this information in its answer, whether it will confirm whether it has undertaken any planning or work to gather this information or make its own projections in relation to its proposals in this area.

Security of electricity supply is a reserved policy area, delivered through UK Government electricity policy, Ofgem as the independent GB energy regulator, and National Grid ESO (the GB Electricity System Operator), as noted in the response to your question on 25 August.

Scotland has an abundance of renewable electricity generation that exceeds our average annual demand. Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will set out further analysis on electricity security, in light of increased decarbonisation of heat and transport.

However, based on current rates of new build development, a ban on the use of direct emission heating systems in new build properties could equate to an additional 100GWh of demand every year. This would add just 0.3% to our total electricity demand remaining well within the margin of our maximum supply capacity of 10GW.

Similarly, based on Transport Scotland’s electricity demand scenarios, the average annual additional electricity demand from EV’s (cars and vans) is just 186GWh for the period 2022 – 2030.

It is also important to highlight that network companies are investing to ensure that our infrastructure can support our transition to net zero. Both Scottish Distribution Network Operators have worked closely with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to ensure that their business plans reflect the scale and pace of deployment necessary to meet Scotland’s net zero and interim targets.

These plans are being assessed by the energy regulator Ofgem, and we expect a final decision on proposed investments by November this year.

Question reference: S6W-10598

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been undertaken in the last five years of the effectiveness of its plans to tackle stalking and harassment.

A refresh of the Equally Safe Delivery Plan outlining the joint commitment of the Scottish Government and COSLA to preventing and eradicating all forms of violence against women and girls, which includes stalking and sexual harassment, and tackling underpinning attitudes that perpetuate it, was published in June 2022. The Scottish Government also regularly monitors the effectiveness of legislation and the funding it provides to relevant support services, such as Action Against Stalking and the Scottish Women's Rights Centre.

Question reference: S6W-10600

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many successful prosecutions for stalking and harassment offences there have been in (a) Scotland and (b) Aberdeen in each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23 to date.

The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘stalking offences’ is provided in the following table.

Number of people proceeded and convicted for stalking offences (where main crime) in Scottish courts, 2018-19 to 2020-21.

	Scotland		Aberdeen
	Total prosecuted	Total Convicted	Total prosecuted	Total Convicted
2018-19	620	531	57	44
2019-20	562	496	33	25
2020-21	249	219	11	9

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Please note: Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

We are unable to provide data on harassment. There is no specific crime of harassment and harassment can conform to a wide range of both criminal offences and civil matters. As such there are no meaningful data we can provide.

Question reference: S6O-01375

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on transport infrastructure improvements in the north east.

Question reference: S6W-10254

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-08649, S6W-09452 and S6W-09553 by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June and 28 July 2022, whether it can provide a breakdown of the figures provided in response to each of three questions for the North East region.

ScotRail does not record passenger complaints data by region, but by rail route. The following below table shows ScotRail’s complaints data for routes which serve the North East region.

Complaint Type	April	May	June
1st Class	14	21	28
Assisted Travel	1	0	0
Capacity	8	17	26
Contact Centre	0	0	1
Customer Provisions	1	6	0
Cycles	1	1	1
Environment	6	3	2
Policy And Product	5	2	6
Staff	5	3	3
Timetable	0	5	2
Train Service Performance	1	20	19
TOTAL	42	78	88

ScotRail has confirmed that the routes detailed below were included in this data. The member should note that the data reflects complaints which may have occurred at any point on the route:

Aberdeen-Edinburgh
Aberdeen-Glasgow
Aberdeen-Inverness
Dundee-Glasgow
Edinburgh-Arbroath

Question reference: S6W-10210

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any schemes in place to reduce the number of seagulls, particularly herring gulls, nesting in residential areas.

The responsibility for dealing with nuisance gulls on private property lies with the property owner, although local authorities can provide advice and assistance, and have powers under environmental protection legislation to tackle nuisances.

Local authorities are expected to respond to statutory nuisance complaints on council owned property, such as where the deposit of bird droppings may have an effect on public health.

Question reference: S6W-10221

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints were received by ScotRail from (a) passengers and (b) staff between 1 and 31 July 2022, broken down by the reason for the complaint.

The number of passenger complaints received by ScotRail, through their official complaints process, is set out on the following table for the period 1 July to 31 July 2022. The complaints may involve incidents that occurred before 1 July 2022.

The figure for 1 July to 31 July 2022 is 1192. This complaints figure is likely to reflect the point in time when several services were impacted due to driver shortages and the subsequent reduction in services as a result of the temporary timetable in place from 23 May to 20 July 2022. In this period there was also a GB-wide strike by Network Rail staff on 27 July which significantly impacted services in Scotland, with ScotRail only able to run a very limited service as a result.

The temporary timetable that was in place until 20 July 2022 aimed to provide the best available service to as many passengers as possible.

Complaints from staff are not included in figures due to these being customer relation figures. However, ScotRail do have a system in place to record staff grievances within their HR team.

Complaint Categories	01-31 Jul 2022
Policy And Product	260
Staff	224
Train Service Performance	136
Capacity	110
Timetable	107
Environment	102
1st Class	62
Assisted Travel	25
Customer Provisions	25
Ticket Buying Facilities	22
Safety & Security	20
Information Provision	18
Contact Centre	18
Smartcard	15
Promotions	13
Station Facilities	13
Cycles	9
Rail Replacement	8
Double Debit	5
Total	1192

Question reference: S6O-01329

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done on the potential impact on the sale price of new homes of its proposal to introduce new building standards to prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems in new builds from 2024.

Question reference: S6W-10211

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to change the law regarding the protection of seagulls, including in particular herring gulls.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to change the law regarding the protection of gulls, including herring gulls.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides protection for all wild birds. NatureScot has responsibility for the issuing of General Licences under Section 16(1) of the Act, which authorise the killing and taking of certain wild birds including their eggs, for one or more of several reasons including public health and safety.

NatureScot held a consultation on General Licences between August and October 2019. Following this consultation, several species were removed from the 2020 General Licences, including herring, lesser black-backed and great black-backed gulls, either on the basis that there was insufficient evidence of the damage they caused; there are alternative non-lethal solutions; or there are conservation concerns over their population status. Where species have been removed from the General Licence, authorised persons are still able to apply to NatureScot for a specific licence to control them or undertake lethal control, including nest and egg destruction in some circumstances.

A UK seabird census, organised by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is currently being undertaken which includes an element that aims to estimate the populations of species that breed in urban environments. The final report, which is due to be published next year, will help inform future policy in dealing with urban gull populations.

Question reference: S6W-10174

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08116 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2022, whether it will provide an update on whether the "rail improvement project" referred to has now concluded option selection, and, if so, what options have been selected.

The package of enhancements identified via the option selection process is to be confirmed by Transport Scotland by the end of 2022, as part of its endorsement of the Outline Business Cases for both this project and the related project to decarbonise this route. As advised in my response to S6W-08116, the package comprises signal enhancements, improvements to station approaches and specific capacity alternations to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.