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-26152

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a national HIV testing week.

Following careful consideration by the HIV Transmission Elimination Scoping Group, and the advice of clinical and public health experts, the Scottish Government is not planning to introduce a national HIV testing week at this time. Given Scotland’s relatively low HIV prevalence, the potential benefits of a national testing week would primarily be in addressing stigma and promoting testing rather than finding and supporting individuals with undiagnosed infections. Our HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out our approach to addressing stigma and promoting testing on a consistent, year-round basis.

We will review the potential costs and benefits of a national testing week once priority actions to expand capacity and improve access to testing have been progressed.

Question reference: S6W-26145

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have undertaken to investigate the potential for using liquid hydrogen to power aircraft.

Hydrogen has been identified by various organisations, including the UK Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), as a key potential means of powering low/ zero emission flight. Ministers recently provided written support for a flagship liquid hydrogen project, ‘TARGET H2’, funded by the ATI and UK Research and Innovation. The Scottish Government also awarded £150,000 from the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme for a study to test the feasibility of a hydrogen production storage and distribution hub at Glasgow Airport.

Scottish Enterprise has engaged with companies involved in hydrogen-powered aircraft and commissioned a report on Hydrogen demand for Transport, which included liquid hydrogen use in aviation.

The Scottish Government will soon publish its Aviation Statement, which will outline actions on various topics including decarbonisation.

Question reference: S6W-26144

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to ascertain whether there is any presence of naturally produced "gold hydrogen" in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-26138

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support green manufacturing in Scotland, including the manufacture of hydrogen electrolysis equipment.

On Green Manufacturing , Scottish Government’s Making Scotland’s Future (MSF) programme includes a £75 million investment in the cutting edge facilities of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS). NMIS’s mission is to make Scotland a global leader in advanced, sustainable manufacturing, working with industry to unlock productivity gains, develop new products and processes, and promote sustainable practices that will offer a competitive edge. SG’s Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) offers specialised support to businesses in the sector, helping them to increase their productivity through engaging with sustainable change.

In 2023 the Scottish Government commissioned an assessment into the state of electrolyser manufacturing globally, to support an understanding of the supply chain opportunities in Scotland. This work included detailed supply chain component analysis on electrolysers.

Scottish Enterprise’s high value manufacturing (HVM) team are currently leading on the ‘Integrated Supply Chain’ workstream, which includes engaging with businesses to allow the HVM team, along with key specialists and SDI to discuss directly with manufacturers the supply chain opportunities, skills and capabilities that can be applied to energy transition areas including hydrogen, offshore wind and clean heat.

On hydrogen specifically, Scottish Enterprise’s Hydrogen Expert Support programme has run from April 2023 and in that time supported over 30 Scottish supply chain companies, including manufacturers, that are keen to take advantage of the opportunities that the hydrogen economy will provide. Those companies have been provided with tailored reports, at no cost to the company, which have offered advice on next steps they could take based on the existing company capability and ambition.

The enterprise agencies have also over several years hosted in person workshops and webinars aimed at supply chain and manufacturing companies which have highlighted the national hydrogen strategy and ambition and the timeline and scale of the pipeline of projects in planning.

Building on these activities, and in alignment with the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Action Plan, Scottish Enterprise is also progressing plans to implement a Scottish hydrogen supply chain cluster which will seek to further engage with companies with transferrable skills and capabilities, again including manufacturers, and help them to move into the hydrogen sector.

Scottish Enterprise has also provided grants and investment into several companies with an aim to expand/create manufacturing sites in hydrogen and other areas within the energy transition space.

Question reference: S6W-26146

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the impact in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the modernisation of hydrogen storage and transportation regulations.

Regulations for hydrogen transport through pipelines and storage are reserved to the UK Government and so Scottish Government officials are in regular and close communication with UK Government counterparts on these matters.

In December 2023, the UK Government published its Hydrogen Transport and Storage Networks Pathway. This set out next steps for the strategic development of hydrogen transport and storage in the UK, and the role of the National Energy System Operator.

The Scottish Government continues to urge the UK Government to consider and cater for geographical variations across the UK, particularly for Scotland, and develop a fit for purpose regulatory regime that will enable us to achieve our shared hydrogen ambitions.

Question reference: S6O-03290

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many children in Aberdeen have been lifted out of poverty since the inception of the Scottish Child Payment.

Question reference: S6W-26158

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding its proposals to introduce stake limits for online slot games.

The Scottish Government has welcomed regular engagement with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials in UK Government to discuss a range of gambling policy matters, including its proposals to introduce stake limits for online slot games. The Scottish Government has also met and will continue to meet with a wide range of gambling stakeholders, including the Gambling Commission and public health organisations to inform our policy thinking.

Question reference: S6W-26155

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding (a) its proposed statutory levy on gambling operators and (b) the rates that gambling operators should pay in the event that the levy is introduced.

The Scottish Government have been actively engaging with the UK Government and the Welsh Government on the Levy, including on how funds could be allocated and will continue to do so now that the formal consultation process has concluded, and we await publication of the consultation response.

The Scottish Government has asked that the level of the levy is kept under regular review and that Devolved Governments and Administrations are a statutory part of this review process.

Question reference: S6W-26157

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, whether it has had any discussions with the UK Government regarding the potential disbursement of any funds raised through its proposed statutory levy on gambling operators, in the event that the levy is introduced.

The statutory levy will be applied across Great Britain and will be used to support potential spending on projects and services across all three nations to reduce gambling related harms.

We continue to work with the UK Government and the Welsh Government over the levy proposals to ensure that Scotland receives a fair allocation of this funding. It is Scottish Government’s view that this should be, at least, reflective of a population share of the funding.

Question reference: S6W-26139

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many hydrogen vehicle refuelling sites there currently are in Scotland.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.