Chamber and committees

The Scottish Law Commission's homicide law project has been continued into their 11th Programme of Law Reform. In 2021, the Commission published their discussion paper on this subject. Scottish Government officials have engaged with the Scottish Law Commission who advise they hope to be in a position to publish their final report during 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22375 on 3 November 2023 . 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 .

Taxis and private hire cars are licensed under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 ("the 1982 Act"). While the Scottish Government has responsibility for the overarching legislation, the day to day administration of the licensing regime is devolved to independent licensing authorities – in effect the 32 Scottish local authorities. The 1982 Act authorises a licensing authority to appoint, after consultation, stances for taxis.

There are no current plans to review the taxi licensing regime, as set out in the 1982 Act. If there are any issues with any specific taxi stances/bays this will be a matter for the relevant licensing authority to consider and address where appropriate.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government published updated ‘Best practice guidance for local licensing authorities and taxi and private hire car operators on the licensing of taxis and private hire cars and their drivers’.

This guidance offers best practice advice to licensing authorities on a range of issues relating to the licensing of taxis, private hire cars and their drivers and was revised with the assistance of a working group including representatives from the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, local licensing authorities, taxi and private hire car trade representatives and UNITE the Union.

The Scottish House Condition Survey provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age and built form of Scottish domestic buildings. Within this it provides estimates of the number of dwellings with a prepayment meter for gas or electricity.

The most recent estimates of households with a prepayment meter are from 2019, and are presented in the following table.

Table 1: Number of households with prepayment meters.

95 wind applications have been consented by Scottish Ministers, under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, in the last ten years. Effects on peatland (where relevant) are assessed on a case by case basis in accordance with current methodology and available tools, including the carbon calculator , and are taken into account through the statutory consultation process with SEPA and NatureScot when considering applications made to Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government does not collate peatland data from each application and we are therefore unable to provide analysis of how much peatland has been excavated and restored and how much carbon has been emitted from those consented developments (if built). Applications and related environmental information are advertised and made publicly available for inspection in accordance with the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and the Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990.

More about our processes and consultation requirements can be found on the Scottish Government website .

The Scottish Government does not have any current plans to implement a fish counter on the River Dee.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22335 on 7 November 2023. 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

When an application for consent is received, the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) completes a data check in accordance with the relevant guidance. The carbon calculation is then published and available to view online.

All applications submitted and received using the carbon calculator may also be subject to audit by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). This is to ensure, as far as possible, that the carbon calculator continues to be used appropriately. Finally, on a case-by-case basis, the Scottish Ministers may request an audit by SEPA.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22335 on 7 November 2023. 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

In the Onshore Wind Policy Statement 2022, the Scottish Government committed to assess the operation of, and if necessary update or replace the carbon calculator. This work is currently ongoing and its outcomes will be published in due course.