Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03275

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the impact of its 2024-25 Budget on the Highlands and Islands region.

Question reference: S6W-26118

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric buses are currently in operation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-26113

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to support local bus services in Stirling.

The Scottish Government provides almost £430 million in funding for concessionary travel and bus services to support the bus sector across Scotland. This includes funding of almost £50 million to help bus operators support access to affordable transport locally, and £6 million to continue our support for the Community Bus Fund which aims to help local authorities improve bus services in their area, through exploration of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 powers.

Question reference: S6W-25964

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans for a revaluation of domestic properties in 2024 for the purposes of setting council tax rates.

Question reference: S6W-26068

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether domestic services across the NHS work closely with infection control teams within hospital settings.

Domestic Services staff are an essential part of the multi-disciplinary Healthcare team in improving patient, staff and public safety and should work closely with infection control teams within hospital settings as set out in the NHSScotland national cleaning services specification (SHFN 01-02) which is available here: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/nhsscotland-national-cleaning-services-specification-shfn-01-02/

Question reference: S6W-25990

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure greater partnerships between scientific companies and universities to secure well-paid careers for Scottish graduates.

Scottish Government recognises that careers in science may offer excellent opportunities for Scottish graduates.

Through the national careers service led by Skills Development Scotland, we seek to ensure that everyone in Scotland can access high quality careers advice that draws on the latest labour market data.

The Scottish Funding Council also works with universities and colleges to promote partnership working with industry, including with scientific companies. It does this through the University Innovation Fund (UIF), the Innovation Centre programme, the provision of core funding for organisations such as Interface and Converge and other strategic investments.

Question reference: S6W-25987

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support greater cooperation between scientific companies and local schools to encourage more young people to enter the sector.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of industry engagement and outreach activities in attracting and inspiring the workforce of the future.

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation sets bold actions to deliver fairer, greener prosperity for all Scotland’s people and places, and to make our economy more sustainable and resilient in the longer term.

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), and third sector partners including Career Ready, offer excellent opportunities for employers to engage with young people in schools to encourage them to learn about and experience opportunities in their sectors.

Question reference: S6W-26264

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the draft Bioenergy Policy Statement will be published.

The Scottish Government is pleased to announce that today we will publish the draft Bioenergy Policy Statement for consultation.

The draft Bioenergy Policy Statement is seeking views on the priorities and principles that we have set out for the use of bioenergy, as well as views on the potential to scale up domestic production of biomass via planting of perennial energy crops.

The consultative draft of the Policy Statement will be available to view on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781835215074 and the consultation questions will be available on Citizen Space at https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/draft-bioenergy-policy-statement-consultation . The consultation will be live for 12 weeks from today until 12 June 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26141

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage the use of hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in Scotland.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure; this included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

Question reference: S6W-26140

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling sites in Scotland.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The Taskforce included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

Chamber and committees