Chamber and committees

Data on direct employment in offshore decommissioning is not held centrally. However, these jobs will be included as part of the data from Office of National Statistics, on overall employment for the “oil and gas extraction support services” sector. The most recent data for 2023 states there were 13,000 people working in this sector in Scotland.

Evidence available for CCUS is mostly predictive in nature, and due to the nascent nature of the industry in Scotland, there is no robust evidence regarding the current number of CCUS jobs in Scotland.

When Track-2 commences, Scottish Cluster analysis suggests that there will be around 7,000 jobs in CCUS development, construction and operations in Scotland in the period to 2050.

The continued delays from successive UK Governments in confirming the Acorn Project is putting these jobs at risk. The Chancellor stated on 29 January that net zero is the “economic opportunity of the 21st century” and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero wrote to the First Minister, stating that that the UK Government ‘remain very firmly committed to the Track 2 clusters’, with Acorn being one.

To harness the economic potential, including thousands of CCUS jobs, the UK Government must confirm funding for the Acorn project without delay.

I refer the member to the answers given for S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025. This information is not held centrally.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35156 on 27 February 2025. 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.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. These are operational matters for individual licensing authorities.

More generally, the Scottish Government continues to engage directly with local licensing authority representatives through engagement with the Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR). Scottish Government participation at the SOLAR Licensing Group meetings provides a platform to discuss a variety of licensing policy issues, including the taxi and PHC licensing regime.

I refer the member to the answers given for S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025.

It is for independent licensing authorities to consider their own approaches on requirements for MOT testing, subject to meeting legal requirements.

Chapter 5 (vehicles) of the Scottish Government best practice guidance for local licensing authorities and taxi and private Hire Car (PHC) operators on the licensing of taxis and PHCs and their drivers, provides examples of best practice that independent licensing authorities may wish to consider in relation to MOT testing for taxis and PHCs: https://www.gov.scot/publications/taxi-private-hire-car-licensing-best-practice-licensing-authorities-taxi-private-hire-car-operators-3rd-edition/pages/7/

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

The details of the budget we have provided to the Just Transition Commission to date is as follows:

Scottish Ministers have visited Skye House on several occasions.

My last visit to Skye House was on 4 September 2024.

If concerns are raised with Ministers regarding a medical setting, such as Skye House, the Scottish Government would direct correspondents to their NHS Health Board complaints process, as patient care and service delivery are the statutory responsibility of local healthcare providers.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, I have contacted the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (the Keeper) and they have been able to provide some of the information. The breakdown by each year the rural housing burden was applied is not available. The property registers maintained by the Keeper do not include council tax band. The following number of titles contain rural housing burdens by local authority:

Argyll and Bute 134

Dumfries and Galloway 109

Highland 388

Inverclyde 1

Moray 4

Na h-Eileanan an Iar 110

Orkney Islands 24

Perth and Kinross 13

Total 783

Transport Scotland completed the second Strategic Transport Projects Review which sets-out the Scottish Government’s priorities for future capital investment, including new investment in the trunk road network.

Alongside the design development process of any major transport capital project there is a need to develop the appropriate level business case. These project specific business cases are developed in line with the Guidance on the Development of Business Cases in Transport Scotland, the latest transport scheme assessment and evaluation criteria and the Scottish Public Finance Manual. These cover the 5 Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance criteria of Economy, Climate Change, Environment, Health, Safety and Wellbeing and Equality and Accessibility as well as any Transport Planning Objectives and the process checks that projects remain in line with the initial assessment on which decisions were made.

Any company which wants to move freight by rail or water rather than by road and which is proposing to invest in new freight handling facilities in Scotland or re-invest in existing facilities in Scotland may apply for FFG. Before making a formal application for FFG, a company is expected to approach Transport Scotland who will be able to give informal advice on whether, and to what extent, a freight facility may be eligible for FFG.

On receipt of the formal application, Transport Scotland may decide to seek independent engineering advice to examine the design and specification of the project. The costs of this will be borne by Transport Scotland. A visit to the site of the proposed facility, by Transport Scotland and by its appointed consultant, will be necessary.

Since the introduction of the scheme in 1997, applications have typically taken between 3-6 months to complete. However, it can take longer depending upon the complexity of the proposal and the time taken by the applicant to supply the information.

The application process for FFG is currently under review ahead of potential awards in financial year 2025-26.