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.

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Question reference: S6W-05039

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering making eligible green plant and machinery, such as solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage that is used with renewables, exempt from non-domestic rates.

The Scottish Government currently provides the most generous non-domestic rates regime for renewable energy generation in the UK. Under the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, solar panels, wind turbines and storage batteries are already exempt from rating where they are used for the generation, storage, transformation or transmission of power, where the power is mainly or exclusively ‘for distribution for sale to consumers’.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 will expand the Business Growth Accelerator relief for property improvements to include the installation of solar panels as a qualifying improvement. The Business Growth Accelerator is unique in the UK and provides 100% relief on new builds for up to 12 months after first occupation and no rates increases for 12 months after a qualifying property improvement.

Question reference: S6W-05041

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much tax revenue has been raised from photovoltaic electricity generators subject to the contractor's basis valuation referred to in the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA)/Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Rating Lists Cost Guide 2017, in each year since 2017-18.

Question reference: S6W-05392

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many investigations have taken place under section 48 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 in each year since 2016.

The Scottish Government is committed to working in partnership with COSLA, local authorities, and the wide range of public bodies on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency.

The Scottish Government and Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) has collaborated on new guidance, Public Sector Leadership on the Global Climate Emergency, published on 29 October 2021. The Guidance sets out that the public sector is crucial to the implementation of national and local climate policy and that public bodies are expected to show leadership by continuing to reduce their own emissions quickly and will need to reduce emissions close to zero without offsetting for Scotland to meet its national climate change goals.

No investigations have yet been undertaken under section 48 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S6W-05387

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to understand what proportion of local area emissions public bodies have (a) direct and (b) indirect leverage over.

The statutory targets to reduce Scotland’s economy-wide emissions to net-zero, set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and Climate Change (Emissions Reductions Target) (Scotland) Act 2019, are set at the national level and are not disaggregated to local authority levels.

New regulations, which came into force on 9 November 2020, require around 180 Scottish public bodies by November 2022 to report, where applicable, the body’s target date for achieving zero direct emissions of greenhouse gases (or such other targets that demonstrate how the body is contributing to Scotland achieving its emissions reduction targets) and, where applicable, targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases. It is for those public bodies to determine where best to target their resource and effort to support achievement of respective targets to reduce emissions.

Question reference: S6W-05386

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many public bodies’ carbon management plans are assessed annually.

Since 2015-16, around 180 listed Scottish public bodies have been required to report annually on compliance with their statutory climate change duties. To assess progress on emissions reduction, the Scottish Government funds the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) Secretariat to produce an annual analysis of the submitted reports. Reported emissions from the public sector continue to decrease, with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions down 28.5% since mandatory reporting began in 2015-16.

Question reference: S6T-00415

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an explanation of its decision not to proceed with the sale of Glasgow Prestwick Airport at the present time.

Question reference: S6T-00399

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will assist young people to access the expanded free bus travel scheme.

Question reference: S6F-00662

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2022

To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government can provide to people struggling to pay their energy bills.

Question reference: S6F-00665

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2022

To ask the First Minister what data the Scottish Government has collected on the number of people diagnosed with cancer, and the stage at which they were diagnosed, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this compares with pre-pandemic data.

Question reference: S6F-00650

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2022

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government will take to urgently progress the green transition in North Ayrshire, following the closure of Hunterston B power station on 7 January.