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-28769

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK Climate Change Committee's report to the Scottish Parliament, which was published in March 2024, what its response is to the recommendation that it should publish a detailed strategy for decarbonising aviation as soon as possible in 2024, and that this should set out the capability of the technologies that will be prioritised to achieve this aim, whether it expects to achieve this before the end of the year, and, if so, by what date.

The Scottish Government’s response to the UK Climate Change Committee's report, including its recommendations on aviation, will be published in the coming months. Our new Aviation Statement clearly sets out the Scottish Government’s actions to support decarbonising aviation and Ministers’ intention to meet regularly with aviation stakeholders to discuss the progress made on reducing emissions. The Aviation Statement should be considered alongside the UK Government’s Jet Zero decarbonisation strategy, which applies across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-28767

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK Climate Change Committee’s report to the Scottish Parliament, which was published in March 2024, what its response is to the assertion that there (a) is no strategy for decarbonising aviation and (b) has been no progress in addressing aviation demand growth.

The assertion that there is no Scottish strategy for decarbonising aviation does not take into account that aviation is reserved or that the UK Government’s Jet Zero Strategy applies throughout the UK. Separately, the Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement has now been published and describes actions we will take to contribute to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions. The Statement also emphasises that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and that Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure this aim.

The Scottish Government’s response to the UK Climate Change Committee's report will be published in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-28763

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, that it carries out its work on a "airport-neutral" basis to ensure that it does not act in a way that interferes with competition, what its position is regarding whether this policy applies to airports outwith Scotland, in light of its support for the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, as set out in its memorandum of understanding with the airport.

Question reference: S6W-28761

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its commitment set out in the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, that it will contribute to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5% by 2030, how it will measure (a) Scotland’s contribution to this target and (b) the impact of its support of the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, as set out in its memorandum of understanding with the airport.

Question reference: S6W-28770

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its policy position that the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport should deliver 200 extra flights to airports in Scotland per week.

Question reference: S6W-28758

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the data that it published on 15 January 2020 in response to the freedom of information request FOI/19/02661, what subsequent calculations it has made of the emissions that could be generated by extra flights between Heathrow Airport and airports in Scotland if a third runway was built at Heathrow.

Question reference: S6W-28721

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps have been taken to reduce waiting lists for a kidney transplant.

The Scottish Government’s Donation and Transplantation Plan: 2021-2026 sets out a number of actions designed to help reduce waiting lists for a kidney transplant. This includes the use of novel technologies, which offer the opportunity to allow transplant units to use more “marginal” organs that may previously have been declined, by means of closer joint working between transplant units, and through work to increase living kidney donation.

Working through the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group, which brings together key stakeholders, and by means of NHS National Services Division's commissioning planning, we will to continue to monitor organ utilisation to encourage good practice. In addition, the Scottish Government and NHS Boards continue to raise awareness about organ donation in order to help increase numbers of deceased organ donors, for example during Organ and Tissue Donation Week, which will take place in September 2024.

Question reference: S6W-28671

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19916 by Gillian Martin on 31 July 2023, what progress has been made towards reviewing building standards to require the use of swift bricks and other features to support birds.

Noting the answers previously provided to questions S6W-19916 on 31 July 2024, S6W-26193 and S6W-26194 on 28 March 2024 on this topic, I can confirm it remains our intent to review standard 7.1 (statement of sustainability) to consider further opportunities for building regulations to make a positive contribution to biodiversity within new developments. As this standard sets out additional voluntary actions a developer may adopt, it would promote but not require specific provisions, such as the use of swift bricks, in new buildings.

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-28654

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the independent review on incineration, Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury - incineration in the waste hierarchy, which was published in 2022, by what date it will (a) set out further detail on the actions and implementation timelines to ensure that all of the recommendations can be delivered, including how the projected residual waste capacity gap in 2025 will be managed while ensuring commitments to end the landfilling of biodegradable waste are met and (b) implement each of the recommendations.

The Scottish Government published a response to Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury - Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy, the first report from the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy in June 2022 and set out some key actions in response to the full recommendations.

This response can be found here: Independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The consultation on our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map set out a range of actions with associated timelines, including the development of an indicative capacity cap as part of our Residual Waste Plan, due for publication in 2025/26, to meet these recommendations which can be found here: Circular economy and waste route map to 2030: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-28661

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 16 July 2024, Building a sustainable future for Ferguson Marine, whether it will provide a breakdown of the capital equipment and resources that will be purchased using the £14.2 million investment in the shipyard.

Ministers have agreed to support new proposals of investment of up to £14.2 million aimed at enabling Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG) to improve productivity and build a sustainable future.

However, this investment is subject to the plan passing detailed legal analysis and independent financial and commercial assessments, which should be complete by Autumn. The plan also contains commercially sensitive information and as such, details of the business case and investment plan cannot be shared, even after full due-diligence has concluded.