- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Caledonian Sleeper service is a commercial asset.
Answer
Caledonian Sleeper is a subsidised Franchise. The Caledonian Sleeper Franchise is of significant social, economic and environmental value to the people of Scotland.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran", how it will work with local authorities to eradicate school meal debt.
Answer
We recognise that rises in the cost of living are putting a huge strain on some families and they are facing unforeseen challenges. We are working with our partners in local authorities to fully understand the issue of school meal debt.
Councils have the power to make discretionary offers of free school meals to families, where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances, who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria. We would urge local authorities to continue to do all they can to resolve any payment issues without withdrawing meals from pupils.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran" and its call for three nutritious meals a day, how it will work with local authorities to ensure that, in light of rising costs of living, school meals will continue to be of good nutritional value to children and young people regardless of where they live.
Answer
All food and drink served in all education authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the 'Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020'. The Regulations are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and are designed to ensure children and young people are provided with an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients to support their healthy growth and development.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to (a) launching an inquiry to assess the potential value of retrofit over demolition and (b) the introduction of a demolition levy, in light of the Chartered Institute of Building’s report, Levelling the playing field, not Scotland’s built environment: a case for retrofit over demolition, which states that introducing a demolition levy could catalyse a shift in priority to favour retrofit projects and fund green initiatives.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of retrofitting existing buildings, as noted in our Town Centre Action Plan review and Housing to 2040 Strategy. We are aware that current VAT rules may incentivise demolition over retrofitting. However, VAT policy is currently reserved to the UK Government. As such, we have called on the UK Government to address this issue, but to no avail. We called on the UK Government to issue changes in a letter of 19 March 2021, but this request was declined in a response received in May 2021.
The Scottish Government will, of course, continue to consider what it can do to address the current imbalance, including through the promotion and facilitation of retrofitting within our policies. However, it is clear that the key powers lie with the UK Government.
The Scottish Government welcomes the report from the Chartered Institute of Building. We too have been clear that coordinated action is needed to tackle the challenge of building decarbonisation. We will carefully consider the report, including the recommendation of introducing a demolition levy in Scotland. However, a change to the VAT structure remains the preferred solution. As the imbalance is caused by the design of the VAT system, this would be most efficiently and effectively resolved through VAT reform.
The Scottish Government will continue to call on the UK Government to address the current imbalance.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has indicated when any investigations into the Park Inn tragedy of 26 June 2020, in Glasgow, will conclude.
Answer
The investigation by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) into the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident is ongoing and no final decisions have been taken regarding any court proceedings. There are a number of complex issues raised by those circumstances which require to be carefully considered and it is not possible to provide a definite timescale for those enquiries being concluded.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote uptake of the winter (a) COVID-19 booster and (b) flu vaccination in areas of low uptake.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11902 on 24 November 2022. 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 .
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to issuing guidance regarding the Deposit Return Scheme’s online takeback service.
Answer
In line with the principle of industry responsibility for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), it is for retailers (in consultation with the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd) to decide how to comply with the obligation to provide a takeback service for scheme articles sold online. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published guidance to support retailers in complying with their obligations:
https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/deposit-return-scheme/retailers/online-retailers/
However, as set out in the answer to S6W-12236 on 1 December 2022, we are considering measures to reduce the burden this obligation places on industry, and are working closely with SEPA to ensure that the guidance is updated if necessary as a result of this work.
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 .
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00960 by Lorna Slater on 15 November 2022, which potential offshore wind developments were included in the figure in the statement that Scotland has “over 40GW of potential offshore wind developments already in the pipeline”.
Answer
The offshore wind developments included in the estimate of 40GW of potential offshore wind developments in the pipeline, subject to planning and consenting decisions, and finding a route to market, included:
3.8 gigawatts of projects currently under construction or awaiting construction [1]
- Seagreen
- Inch Cape
- Moray West
- Neart na Gaoithe
4.2 gigawatts of projects with lease options [2]
- Berwick Bank
- Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm
- 5.7 gigawatts of estimated capacity for targeted oil and gas decarbonisation projects under the INTOG leasing round [3]
- 0.5 gigawatts of estimated capacity for Innovation projects under the INTOG leasing round [4]
- 27.6 gigawatts from 20 ScotWind projects [5]
[1] Scottish Energy Statistics Hub - Pipeline renewable capacity by planning stage
Scotland, 2022 Q2
Scottish Energy Statistics Hub (shinyapps.io)
[2] Marine Scotland – Marine Projects
Marine Projects | Marine Scotland Information
[3] Scottish Government, Sectoral marine plan – offshore wind for innovation and targeted oil and gas decarbonisation: initial plan framework
Supporting documents - Sectoral marine plan - offshore wind for innovation and targeted oil and gas decarbonisation: initial plan framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
[4] Scottish Government, Sectoral marine plan – offshore wind for innovation and targeted oil and gas decarbonisation: initial plan framework
Supporting documents - Sectoral marine plan - offshore wind for innovation and targeted oil and gas decarbonisation: initial plan framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
[5] Crown Estate Scotland, “ScotWind Awards with Project Partners November 2022” https://www.crownestatescotland.com/resources/documents/scotwind-awards-with-project-partners-november-2022
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme’s online takeback service on food delivery drivers operating in rural areas.
Answer
The Island Communities Impact Assessment for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, published on 16 March 2020 and available here: Islands Communities Impact Assessment - Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , considered the impact of online takeback on island communities and concluded that this aspect of the scheme would be vital to ensure access to the scheme for consumers in island areas who were unable to access a physical return point. These considerations also apply to rural areas in terms of ensuring equality of access to DRS.
- Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) what proportion of and (b) how the £600 million of funding set out in the Health and Social Care Winter Resilience Overview will support community nursing and palliative care teams to care for terminally ill people in the community over winter 2022.
Answer
The £600 million funding set out in the Health and Social Care Winter Resilience Overview 2022-23 includes investment of £170 million for multi-disciplinary teams and £124 million to enhance care at home, supporting people to be treated in the community where clinically appropriate.
We have appointed a National Clinical Lead to drive and support the development and delivery of a new Strategy on Palliative and End of Life Care, supported by a small advisory group and a newly established strategy steering group, both of which include representatives of community and specialist palliative care nurses.
Nurses, amongst many multi-disciplinary staff, are crucial to the delivery of palliative and end of life care within the community.
