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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 44254 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-01722

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what specific measures are being taken to support social care workers during the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6O-01728

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Housing Regulator regarding the future of community housing associations.

Question reference: S6O-01718

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of air pollution is on mental health.

Question reference: S6O-01710

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-13233

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of the finalised Hydrogen Action Plan.

Today the Scottish Government will publish its finalised Hydrogen Action Plan.

The Hydrogen Action Plan sets out the strategic approach and actions required to support the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the course of this Parliament. The development of a domestic hydrogen sector and hydrogen production for export, supported by a strong supply chain, will play an important role in supporting a just transition to net zero by 2045 and presents significant long-term economic opportunities.

In the Action Plan, we refresh our commitment to providing the supportive policy and regulatory environment required to enable Scotland to take a pioneering role in a growing global industry and to support our vision for Scotland to become a leading hydrogen nation in the production of reliable, competitive, sustainable hydrogen.

The unpredictable and uncertain outlook for global energy markets has only strengthened the case for accelerating our domestic hydrogen production. The Action Plan has been updated to reflect consultation feedback on the draft Action Plan and the energy developments over the past year. Notably, these updates include the addition of a new chapter dedicated to ‘Scotland’s Hydrogen Export Ambitions’ that seeks to highlight the scale of the export opportunity, Scotland’s competitive advantage and the initial actions we will take at home and abroad to support Scottish companies to participate in and benefit from the development of the international hydrogen market.

The opportunity for Scotland within the developing global hydrogen market is significant. This Hydrogen Action Plans sets out the steps we will take to support Scotland’s growing hydrogen economy and sends a strong signal to the market for future hydrogen development. The Hydrogen Action Plan will be available from 9.30am today on www.gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-13228

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by George Adam on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed consultation on electoral reform will be published.

Question reference: S6W-12867

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made to strengthen the management of the wrasse fishery following the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme commitment to "begin an immediate programme of work to better protect wildlife and the environment".

Wild harvesting of Wrasse is managed under the licence derogation system introduced following consultation in 2020. In 2021, we added mandatory controls on fishing activity, including obligations for the collection and reporting of data, on a weekly basis, to Marine Scotland. These included minimum and maximum landing sizes, controls on the number and design of traps, a maximum trap lift rate and a prohibition on fishing when water temperature is above 17 degrees. Marine Scotland also require derogation-holders to take observers on board if directed.

This represents a positive step towards sustainable management of this fishery. The time until the next wrasse fishing season begins will enable us to share findings on this fishery and facilitate discussion on next steps.

Question reference: S6W-12579

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what actions (a) have been taken and (b) are planned to ensure that all relevant stakeholders have been consulted in the development of the Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan.

The Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan was developed through close engagement with our delivery partners highlighted in Chapter Two.

To inform our understanding of the sector and support the development of the plan, we utilised feedback gained though published reports from expert groups including our Heat Pump Sector Deal Expert Advisory Group and the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce.

We have also utilised extensive feedback on supply chain issues received through a number of wide ranging public consultations in relation to our heat in buildings programme, namely, our consultation on the Draft Heat in Buildings Strategy, and our scoping consultation on the New Build Heat Standard.

We continue to engage with the sector on a routine and informal basis alongside our delivery partners and, as outlined within the Plan, we have committed to carrying out a formal public consultation to seek views on our proposal to develop a new supplier led funding scheme for green heat works.

Question reference: S6W-12674

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04901 by Mairi McAllan on 24 December 2021, whether it will provide an update on which of the 42 formal flood protection schemes or engineering works are (a) under construction and (b) at the planning or other stage of development, broken down by (i) the expected completion date, including the reason for any date being beyond the 2021 timeframe, (ii) the number of properties that will be protected and (iii) the (A) initial forecast and (B) final expected cost of each.

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies included 42 formal flood protection schemes. Local authorities were expected to start work on development of these schemes by 2021. However as flood protection schemes can have significant impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and so require careful and detailed planning and consultation, it was recognised that construction work may not be completed within the 2015-2021 timeframe.

Schemes (a) under construction are as follows:

Scheme	(ii) Properties protected	(i) Completion Date	(iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1)	( iii B) Estimated final cost (£ million) (2)
Upper Garnock	600	2023	15.5	18.5
Hawick	970	2023	37.4	78.6
Stonehaven	376	2023	19.9	27.5
Caol and Lochyside	296	2023	8.4	15.7
Arbroath	530	2023	1.4	13.5
Campbeltown	770	2023	9.3	15.2

Schemes (b) under development are as follows:

Scheme	Stage	(ii) Properties protected	(iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1)	( iii B) Estimated Final Cost of Scheme (2)
Kilmacolm – Glenmosston Burn	Confirmed (3)	Not held	0.5	0.5
Comrie	Confirmed (3)	189	15.7	28.4
Millport Coastal	Confirmed (3)	657	12.1	48.6
Dumbarton - Gruggies Burn	Confirmed (3)	370	14.5	20.0
Quarrier’s Village	Confirmed (3)	60	0.2	0.4
Dumfries - Whitesands	Confirmed (3)	166	18.9	37.5
Water of Leith (Coltbridge, Gorgie, Saughton) Phase 3	Confirmed (3)	75	Not held	Not held
Mill Burn Millport	Confirmed (3)	124	1.1	1.7
Musselburgh	Under development	2500	8.9	95.9
Milnathort	Under development	79	1.9	2.2
Stranraer	Under development	350	0.4	1.2
Langholm	Under development	200	2.0	15.5
Newton Stewart/ River Cree	Under development	270	7.5	18.5
South Kinross	Under development	Not held	3.2	3.8
Bridge of Allan	Under development	Not held	4.4	17.3
Callander	Under development	30	2.4	4.7
Haddington	Paused (5)	320	8.5	8.5
Stirling	Paused (5)	810	26.2	86.6
Grangemouth FPS	Paused (5)	2980	111.5	420 (4)
St Andrews - Kinness Burn	Paused (5)	133	3.2	3.2
South Fords	Paused (5)	58	1.4	1.4
Scone	Paused (5)	44	0.7	0.8

(1) Note: Initial costs as provided by local authorities in 2016-17.

(2) Note: Final Scheme costs are the latest estimates provided by local authorities. Differences between these latest estimates and initial cost estimates arise because flood protection schemes are put forward for prioritisation at various stages of their development to fit with Flood Risk Management Planning cycle set out in the FRM Act. Costs are revised over time as designs are finalised and more detailed investigations are carried out and as new information emerges.

Schemes will only be taken forward for construction if they receive the necessary statutory and regulatory approvals so the expected completion date is not yet known.

More detailed information on each of the schemes can be obtained from the relevant local authorities whose responsibility it is to develop and deliver flood protection schemes and who are best placed to answer specific questions on each of the schemes.

(3) Note: Formally confirmed under Flood Risk Management Act (2009).

(4) Note: The reasons for cost variations set out in Note 2 also apply to Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme. The presence of critical national infrastructure (port, refinery and fuel distribution) and the scale of the overall project (27km of defences) means that the variation may be larger than other flood protection schemes.

(5) Note: In July 2021 COSLA recommended to Scottish Ministers that the flood protection schemes prioritised in the first cycle which were not yet “legally committed” were paused and that a review of projects was undertaken to examine the status of each project and carry out an assessment of whether the project is still suitable to proceed. Six schemes remain paused and an SG/COSLA working group is now investigating ways to progress with the paused schemes and proposed schemes put forward for cycle 2.

Question reference: S6W-12575

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to expand the size and scale of interest free loans and grants programmes for heat pumps in order to meet its target of 50,000 non-domestic properties with zero emissions heating systems by 2030.

The Scottish Government currently provides significant support through Business Energy Scotland (BES) and the SME Loan and Cashback Scheme to help SMEs implement renewable heating technologies such as air source heat pumps. We have also recently enhanced support for Scottish organisations to decarbonise through expanding the capacity of the Business Energy Scotland advice service.

In the Bute House agreement the Scottish Government committed to transition the cashback element of the BES SME loan schemes to standalone grants. Officials are working closely with delivery partners to develop this improved scheme for SMEs in Scotland to access both loan and grant support for the installation of renewable heating technologies.