- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the Scottish Assembly for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.
Answer
Over the last three years, the Scottish Government has provided the Scottish Assembly with £425,136 to build capacity via our leadership and engagement framework and over the last 4 years has provided £316,349 of core funding via our Inspiring Inclusion charity portfolio. Both of these funds are managed and distributed by fund manager, Inspiring Scotland. The Scottish Assembly have an application for funding for 2025-26 submitted and applications are currently being considered.
To offset the changes to funding in 2025-26, we committed to a 6 month extension of the current funding allocated to the Scottish Assembly, which will total £107,152, to provide additional opportunities to explore alternative funding streams.
Inspiring Scotland offer management consultancy services to the Scottish Assembly’s executive team and Board and provide intensive support where needed. This includes support to explore alternative funding and income streams aimed at long term sustainability of the organisation.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when the Aberdeen–Central Belt 2026 Enhancement Project was renamed the Aberdeen–Central Belt Service Improvement Project; for what reason the name was changed; at the time that the name was changed, whether anything else was changed, such as the scope, outcomes or delivery dates, and which stakeholders were consulted prior to the name change.
Answer
The name change was made in early 2024 during the development of the Aberdeen Route Upgrade business case, to reflect the planned project output of service improvements. There was no change to project scope. This was a project level decision, as such no consultation was undertaken nor was required.
In respect of project timescales, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32369 on 8 January 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
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34510 by Angela Constance on 3 March 2025, in light of its previous commitment to publish an updated memorandum of understanding between the Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Ministers by the end of 2024, what the reasons are for (a) the five-year delay and (b) missing the "end of 2024" commitment, and by what date, or nearest quarter, it anticipates that the new document will be agreed by both the Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Government.
Answer
The Memorandum of Understanding is a jointly drafted and agreed document between the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) and Scottish Ministers. The MOU defines the relationship and interaction between Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Government.
The MoU is set to be rebranded as a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).
Both the Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Government have reached agreement on the MoA document and are now finalising sign-off prior to publication.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an updated timetable for the SSEN Skye Reinforcement project.
Answer
It would not be appropriate to comment on a live application.
A decision will be taken by Scottish Ministers in due course, following consideration of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the formation of a joint working group, consisting of government and aerospace industry representatives, to discuss the adoption of hybrid electric technology, particularly in regards to airline routes in the Highlands and Islands.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement explicitly calls for a more positive and constructive conversation about aviation and its many benefits, while committing to working with the sector on decarbonisation.
The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity recently attended the first meeting of the Sustainable Aviation Scotland Group, which involves several senior aviation stakeholders, to encourage greater collaboration on reducing aviation emissions.
A Ministerial roundtable will be held this year to discuss the infrastructure required to enable electric and hydrogen flight, which is expected to be particularly suitable for the Highlands and Islands. Final arrangements are being made but the roundtable will include stakeholders from across the aviation sector.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the comparative costs of underground energy transmission infrastructure.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not itself carried out analysis on the comparative costs of undergrounding energy transmission infrastructure and these will vary on a project to project basis. There are a number of industry commissioned reports that demonstrate both in general and on a project specific basis that underground cables are initially more expensive than overhead lines.
As the independent energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem is responsible for protecting energy consumers’ interests. Transmission network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing projects they must have consideration of their license obligations which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer. The cost of undergrounding as compared to other forms of transmission infrastructure will be an important consideration for Ofgem assessing the transmission network companies investment plans and agreeing the costs that can be recovered from bill payers.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps have been taken to ensure that consultations with communities on Skye regarding the expansion of renewable energy projects are conducted in a transparent, inclusive and comprehensive manner.
Answer
The Scottish Government has set out instructions for developers to follow regarding pre-application consultation in our Good Practice Guidance document, which is available online, alongside other guidance documents: https://www.gov.scot/policies/energy-infrastructure/energy-consents/.
In addition, the Scottish Government have been working with the UK Government on strengthening community consultation for electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland as part of the UK Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill. The proposed reforms will make pre-application consultation for electricity infrastructure projects a statutory requirement. It will also introduce an Acceptance Stage where Scottish Ministers can decline to accept applications which have not fulfilled the necessary requirements, thereby increasing local input into project proposals.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has had with (a) farmers and (b) agricultural bodies regarding the practicalities of meeting agricultural net zero targets.
Answer
We are committed to co-developing and co-designing our agricultural policies with industry and rural partners.
The Whole Farm Plan was co-developed with industry and will help farmers and crofters measure their businesses’ impact and find ways to become more efficient and to cut emissions. The Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board continues to support us to develop new proposals for sustainable farming support and we are working closely with the agricultural industry and rural partners to co-develop the Code of Practice for Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture through the Agriculture Reform Programme. Our Agricultural Reform Programme has engaged with over 700 farms and crofts in the last two years through interviews and surveys.
We are focused on developing our proposals for the next Climate Change Plan, which is due to be published later this year. It will set out key policies for our farming sector to continue to contribute to our ambitious national net zero target. Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to our policy development approach.
We have already engaged with key agricultural stakeholders as part of the development of our agricultural policies for the Climate Change Plan and are planning further engagement prior to its publication. We will continue to seek expertise from a wide-ranged audience to inform the development of a credible plan.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported concerns that the cost of rail travel in the Highlands is disproportionately higher than that in urban areas, and what consideration it has given to supporting rail routes serving rural and remote communities to provide a viable alternative to car travel.
Answer
Eligible residents of the Highlands benefit from the Highland Railcard, which provides 50% off rail fares at any time of the day and is now available with ScotRail’s ‘Kids for a Quid’ offer.
Following the conclusion of Peak Fares Removal Pilot, ScotRail has introduced a 20% discount on all season tickets until 27 September 2025 and permanently improved the value for money of Flexipass tickets, which offer significant savings to passengers.
ScotRail will continue to develop fare initiatives to attract more passengers while providing savings and additional value to existing rail users.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to a presumption in favour of underground energy infrastructure, where feasible.
Answer
Legislation and regulations relating to energy networks are reserved to the UK Government and regulated by Ofgem.
The Scottish Government does not develop energy infrastructure, nor does it manage any aspects of building energy infrastructure projects. All energy infrastructure projects are nevertheless subject to robust planning and consenting procedures.
Where new development proposals come forward, our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) ensures the impacts of proposals on communities and nature, including cumulative impacts, are important considerations in the decision-making process. NPF4 Policy 11 (energy) says that in the case of proposals for grid infrastructure consideration should be given to underground connections where possible. All applications are subject to site specific assessments, including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), where applicable.
