Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-15937

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement in June 2022 that £30 million would be spent “this financial year” to “accelerate the shift to zero emission transport”, how much of this funding it has spent to date, broken down by what it has been spent on; which geographical areas it has been spent in, and whether it has been allocated to (a) the corporate sector, (b) charitable organisations, (c) individuals and (d) others.

Of the £30 million support that was announced in June 2022, £28 million was allocated to the Low Carbon Transport Loan and the remaining £2 million was allocated to the Plugged-In Communities Schemes. Both have been fully allocated and are pending final claims being received.

Table 1 below gives a breakdown of loans paid under of the Low Carbon Transport loan by local authority area and type of recipient, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023.

Table 1: Low Carbon Transport Loan – paid loans in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023
Local Authority Area	New Business Loan	Switched on Taxis Loan	Used Domestic Loan	Used Business Loan	Grand Total (to 28-02-23)
Argyll and Bute	£0.00	£0.00	£193,983.50	£46,800.00	£240,783.50
Highland	£130,000.00	£0.00	£325,320.98	£39,194.00	£494,514.98
Na h-Eileanan Siar	£29,495.00	£0.00	£38,744.00	£0.00	£68,239.00
Orkney Islands	£0.00	£0.00	£59,093.00	£27,600.00	£86,693.00
Aberdeen City	£58,499.00	£150,000.00	£521,317.56	£109,394.00	£839,210.56
Aberdeenshire	£30,000.00	£30,000.00	£794,529.23	£121,936.50	£976,465.73
Angus	£30,000.00	£0.00	£250,730.00	£59,398.00	£340,128.00
Dundee City	£53,684.56	£28,195.00	£513,198.20	£28,295.00	£623,372.76
Moray	£0.00	£0.00	£147,881.00	£0.00	£147,881.00
Perth and Kinross	£34,999.00	£0.00	£641,044.60	£92,617.00	£768,660.60
City of Edinburgh	£90,979.00	£831,821.44	£1,697,763.01	£123,612.00	£2,744,175.45
East Lothian	£0.00	£34,093.00	£587,197.00	£0.00	£621,290.00
Fife	£35,000.00	£63,805.00	£800,616.00	£0.00	£899,421.00
Midlothian	£0.00	£121,898.20	£432,242.00	£0.00	£554,140.20
Scottish Borders	£0.00	£0.00	£377,066.00	£23,500.00	£400,566.00
West Lothian	£70,000.00	£128,473.00	£475,531.81	£0.00	£674,004.81
Dumfries and Galloway	£0.00	£0.00	£285,852.00	£11,499.00	£297,351.00
East Ayrshire	£0.00	£0.00	£134,602.21	£111,834.00	£246,436.21
North Ayrshire	£0.00	£0.00	£144,256.06	£28,437.60	£172,693.66
South Ayrshire	£120,000.00	£93,658.00	£204,350.00	£25,200.00	£443,208.00
Clackmannanshire	£0.00	£0.00	£154,468.00	£0.00	£154,468.00
East Dunbartonshire	£60,000.00	£252,771.40	£324,659.03	£25,198.80	£662,629.23
East Renfrewshire	£0.00	£185,751.80	£436,581.00	£89,498.00	£711,830.80
Falkirk	£51,165.48	£0.00	£353,921.00	£27,500.00	£432,586.48
Glasgow City	£130,000.00	£586,127.60	£1,286,187.01	£168,160.00	£2,170,474.61
Inverclyde	£31,093.50	£0.00	£222,936.93	£0.00	£254,030.43
North Lanarkshire	£0.00	£154,718.00	£575,597.99	£0.00	£730,315.99
Renfrewshire	£0.00	£148,558.00	£273,222.00	£67,507.30	£489,287.30
South Lanarkshire	£152,629.00	£152,001.10	£815,437.47	£100,186.60	£1,220,254.17
Stirling	£97,000.00	£0.00	£790,167.00	£22,700.00	£909,867.00
West Dunbartonshire	£0.00	£0.00	£119,368.00	£23,149.00	£142,517.00
Grand Total	£1,204,544.54	£2,961,871.54	£13,977,863.59	£1,373,216.80	£19,517,496.47

Tables 2 and 3 below give a breakdown of payments under the Plugged-in Communities schemes, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023. Table 2 reflects payments to Community Transport Organisations, and Table 3 reflects payments to car clubs.

Table 2: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Community Transport Organisations, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023
Local Authority Area	Amount Paid	Community Transport Organisation.
Highland	£83,603.70	Wheels in Nairnshire
Orkney	£80,856.00	Island of Hoy Development Trust
Argyll and Bute	£66,638.00	Ross of Mull and Iona Community Trust
Highland	£67,371.40	Transport for Tongue
Aberdeen	£76,535.00	Clan Cancer Support
Dumfries and Galloway	£46,000.00	Galloway Community Transport
Aberdeen	£76,535.00	Camphill School Aberdeen
West Lothian	£41,979.80	The Larder (West Lothian)
Dumfries and Galloway	£71,040.00	Annandale Community Transport
Highland	£8,400.00	Connect Assynt
Total	£618,958.90

Table 3: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Car Clubs, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023
Local Authority Area	Amount Paid	Car Club
Aberdeen	£13,801.68	Grampian Housing Association
Renfrewshire	£3,375.00	Linstone Housing Association
Glasgow	£9,201.12	Queens Cross Housing Association
Glasgow	£15,335.14	Glasgow Housing Association
Aberdeen	£10,351.25	Osprey Housing Association
Fife	£19,584.00	Ore Valley Housing Association
City of Edinburgh	£39,168.00	Blackwood Group
Total	£110,816.19

Question reference: S6W-16099

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of fires attended to by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that were caused by, or suspected to have been caused by, electric (a) scooters, (b) bikes and (c) cars, in each year since 2017.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are working with key stakeholders and partners to understand the risks that lithium-ion batteries (LIB), contained within most electric vehicles, present to communities across Scotland. A bespoke working group is focused on these risks, and its findings will strengthen SFRS’s community safety work going forward. SFRS urges users of LIB technology to take the appropriate steps when disposing of spent battery units to ensure reduced risk of fire.

Question reference: S6W-16085

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is providing to any GP practices in NHS (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Forth Valley that are at risk of closure.

I refer the member to our response to S6W-14599 on 28 February 2023. It is for individual Health Boards to decide if additional support is needed. The General Practice Access Group principles are currently being consulted on with publication anticipated for late Spring. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-16375

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much long Covid support funding was allocated to each NHS board in 2022-23.

Information on the level of funding made available to NHS Boards through the long COVID Support Fund for 2022-23 can be found on page 2 of the Scottish Government’s 20 December 2022 letter to the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee. This is accessible on the Scottish Parliament website at: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/covid19-recovery-committee/correspondence/2022/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-for-health-and-social-care--long-covid.pdf .

Question reference: S6W-16379

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all correspondence that it had with (a) the Royal College of Nursing, (b) the Royal College of Midwives, (c) GMB, (d) UNISON, (e) Unite the Union and (f) the Royal College of Physicians, regarding a pay deal for NHS staff.

Pay negotiations are held in a confidential space through the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee and it would not be appropriate for the Government to publish correspondence between Ministers and individual parties. The full scope of the agreement, containing detail on the wider review of Agenda for Change, has been published on the Scottish Government website ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-agenda-for-change-review-scope/ ).

Question reference: S6W-16343

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to Keep Scotland Beautiful in each year since 2016.

Keep Scotland Beautiful has delivered a range of initiatives on the Scottish Government's behalf and has been allocated the following funding since 2016 to enable it to do so:

2016-17: £11,147,463

2017-18: £11,152,455

2018-19: £11,131,472

2019-20: £8,642,939

2020-21: £10,054,598

2021-22: £1,227,428

2022-23: £609,000

The reduction in funding to KSB from 2021 is due to the Climate Challenge Fund coming to an end. KSB delivered the fund on the Scottish Government’s behalf until their contract ended in June 2021. The previously reported funding for 21-22 of £1,555,145 reduced due to underspend linked to the CCF being returned to the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-16588

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12940 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on the service continuity plan for the transfer and timetabling of services from Troon.

The service continuity plans for the Ardrossan-Brodick/Campbeltown route are currently being reviewed by CalMac following the recent announcement of the delivery date and deployment of the MV Glen Sannox to the route. CalMac are engaging with relevant partners including the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee on the Troon timetables and are expected to publish the Timetable Consultation Report (as part of a public consultation exercise undertaken in August and September 2022) in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-16052

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Deputy First Minister during the ministerial statement on Ferguson Marine on 16 March 2023, whether the planned periods between maintenance for (a) MV Glen Sannox and (b) Hull 802, once they are operational, has changed.

There has been no changes to the maintenance periods following these comments. Every vessel within the CalMac fleet requires regular maintenance work and CalMac are contractually obliged to ensure annual overhauls are completed successfully.

Planned maintenance will be carried out on each vessel on an annual basis in line with other vessels in the CHFS fleet. The timing of these inspections and necessary dry docks is for the operator to manage.

Question reference: S6W-16043

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the adequacy of GP provision in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-16048

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15589 by Elena Whitham on 14 March 2023, whether it will list the stakeholders that it (a) has already consulted and (b) plans to gather views from on potentially raising the legal age of marriage to 18, in line with the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Scottish Government officials have met with the following groups and organisations on the minimum age of marriage and related matters:

AMINA- Muslim Women’s Resource Centre

Article 12 in Scotland

Association of Registrars of Scotland

Caledonian Humanist Association

Evangelical Alliance

Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid

Humanist Society Scotland

IKWRO Women’s Rights Organisation

Independent Humanist Ceremonies

JustRight Scotland

Karma Nirvana

Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project

Scottish Council of Jewish Communities

Saheliya

Scottish Women’s Aid

Shakti Women’s Aid

Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)

UNICEF UK

They have also met with some Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and with two Scottish family law academics.

I intend for these meetings to continue. My officials are planning to meet representatives of the following bodies, some of which will have received invitations to discuss the issues.

The Baptist Union of Scotland

The Church of Scotland

The Free Church of Scotland

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

Glasgow Central Mosque

Hindu Forum of Britain

The Methodist Church

The Muslim Council of Scotland

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers in Scotland)

The Roman Catholic Church (The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland)

The Salvation Army

The Scottish Association of Mosques

The Scottish Episcopal Church

Sikhs in Scotland

The Scottish Unitarian Association

The Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church

The United Free Church of Scotland

The member is welcome to write to me with details of other interested groups who want to be involved.

Chamber and committees