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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-05849

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its Fuel Poverty Strategy meets the requirements of the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) Scotland Act 2019.

Having been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our Fuel Poverty Strategy was laid in Parliament on 9th November and subsequently published on the Scottish Government's website on 23rd December.

As required by the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019, the Strategy sets out the actions we are already taking to tackle fuel poverty, as well as outlining the further measures we believe will be necessary to meet our ambitious targets for reducing fuel poverty. This includes actions to address each of the four drivers of fuel poverty: poor energy efficiency of the home; high energy costs; low household incomes; and how energy is used in the home.

Question reference: S6W-05857

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to stop the culling, through NatureScot, of Greenland barnacle geese on Islay, in light of the reported strain already on the species population due to the effects of bird flu on the Svalbard population on the Solway, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-05763

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its announcement of £80 million funding for the Scottish Cluster, (a) as a result of this funding, which projects, if any, will not receive or be eligible to receive, support from the Emerging Energies Technology Fund, (b) for which aspect(s) or part(s) of the Scottish Cluster is the funding to be made available, (c) what the application process will be for accessing the funding, and when the application process will open, (d) when the funding will be paid to any successful applicant(s), (e) what proportion of the funding will be available to each applicant(s), (f) what the precise definitions of "certainty" and "due status" are in the phrase "...the Scottish Cluster is given certainty of its due status within the UK sequencing process...", (g) what it has specified as the year 1 outcomes of the funding, (h) with whom has it held formal discussions regarding the decision to make the announcement of the funding, and which organisations they represented, broken down by organisations that (A) are part of the Scottish Cluster and (B) those that are not part of it, and (i) how the figure of £80 million was arrived at.

As confirmed on 14 January 2022, the Scottish Government has offered financial backing of up to £80 million from the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund (EETF) to help the Scottish Cluster project accelerate its development.

As set out in our Climate Change Plan Update 2018-2032, £80 million of funding from the EETF will be directed to projects supporting the development of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) transport and storage network that will further enable negative emissions technologies (NETs) projects to develop in Scotland. This is the basis on which the figure of up to £80 million was developed.

The Scottish Government first offered this financial backing to the UK Government in a letter dated 12 October 2021 (i.e., prior to the UK Government’s announcement of Track-1 clusters on 19 October 2021) to the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and Her Majesty’s Treasury. Our offer was reiterated in a meeting between the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport and the UK Government’s Minister for Energy, Greg Hands, on 13 January 2022.

Our offer of support was made on the basis that the Scottish Cluster is given certainty of its due status within the UK cluster sequencing process.

The Scottish Cluster demonstrated full suitability for Track-1 status based on the competition criteria, but has been designated as a ‘reserve’ cluster. Awarding the Cluster its ‘due status’ would therefore mean ensuring it can continue its development on a Track-1 timeframe.

Despite repeated requests to the UK Government from both the Cluster and Scottish Ministers, the designation of ‘reserve’ status has come with little clarity and no guarantees of future support for the Cluster. As the First Minister stated in her letter to the UK Prime Minister on 04 November 2021, this uncertainty risks delaying the delivery of crucial and strategically important projects including the decarbonisation of Scotland’s largest point industrial emitter at Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government does not hold all the necessary legislative and regulatory powers to allow us to support the Cluster alone; key levers, including access to BEIS business models, are reserved to the UK Government. Further detail on how the financial backing of up to £80 million could best be spent will therefore be determined in due course following further engagement with the UK Government on the Scottish Cluster’s status within the cluster sequencing process.

As detailed above, our offer of support has been made on multiple occasions to the UK Government. Officials also consulted with representatives of the Scottish Cluster.

Question reference: S6W-05791

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it received on drafts of the recently published child protection guidelines; who provided this feedback, and what action was taken on any feedback or proposed changes.

On 2 September 2021 the Scottish Government published the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021, which replaces the 2014 National Child Protection Guidance.

The revision of this guidance was undertaken through a collaborative process informed by extensive public and stakeholder engagement over a period of two and a half years. The review was overseen by a National Guidance Steering Group comprised of representatives from stakeholder organisations and other key interests.

The Scottish Government ran a formal public consultation on draft guidance between 21 October 2020 and 31 January 2021. A total of 159 consultation responses were received from a wide range of organisations and individuals. Where respondents have given their permission, responses have been published on Citizen Space . In addition to the public consultation, seven virtual stakeholder engagement events were held during November and December 2020. These events were used to engage with Child Protection Committees and practitioners, with a facilitated discussion structured around the consultation questions. An independent analysis of consultation responses was commissioned and engagement was undertaken with many respondents to better understand their views and reflect in final draft.

The key themes emerging from the engagement process were: status of the guidance and degree of local variance; ensuring an appropriate balance between the current context and direction of travel as the aspirations of The Promise are realised; clarity on the timing of the refresh of Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and further guidance on the role of the named person; the balance of support and protection regarding poverty and neglect; accessibility and usability of the guidance; inclusion of practice notes; expectations of timescales for implementation.

Feedback and proposed changes were considered by the Steering Group at every stage of the engagement process. Where there was agreement, the drafts were updated. Feedback along with rationale for decisions was then given to those who had provided comment. On 2 September 2021 the Scottish Government published a consultation report which included the independent analysis of consultation responses and engagement activity and the Scottish Government’s response.

Question reference: S6W-05805

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether reintroducing LPG into the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, in the form of bio-LPG, would provide a route to low-carbon heating for off-grid properties.

Our homes and workplaces account for around a fifth of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions. We can and must make very significant progress towards eliminating these emissions over the next decade and reduce them to zero by 2045.

As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, we see a limited role for bioenergy in domestic heating, in line with advice from the UK’s Climate Change Committee.

Warmer Homes Scotland provides heating systems and insulation measures to enable these systems. Warmer Homes Scotland does not provide fuel to customers and, where a heating system technology allows for a choice of fuels, the scheme cannot influence the customer’s ongoing choices. Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce LPG heating systems to the list of measures available under Warmer Homes Scotland.

Households eligible for assistance under Warmer Homes Scotland will be offered low-carbon systems, where these are technically appropriate for the property. Options that may be of particular benefit to households living in rural and island areas that are not served by the gas grid include High Heat Retention Electric Storage Heating Systems, Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps and microgeneration measures such as Micro-hydro and Micro-wind. Domestic battery storage systems are now also available to support Electric Storage Heating Systems along with Solar PV

Question reference: S6W-05815

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers responsible for energy and planning have conducted a review into the energy consenting process.

The Scottish Government continuously reviews energy consenting frameworks, and looks for opportunities for further efficiencies and improvements while ensuring protection of our natural resources. In line with an existing Programme for Government commitment, Marine Scotland Directorate are putting in place the resources, processes and structures to respond to the challenge of the additional volume of applications which will flow from ScotWind.

Question reference: S6O-00728

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to improve the provision of services for NHS Tayside breast cancer patients.

Question reference: S6O-00740

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding how its international development programme can help to support less developed countries that are at the forefront of climate damage.

Question reference: S6O-00747

Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported calls for the Head of the Civil Service to investigate and rule on the deployment of Scottish Government civil servants to develop policy on independence.

Question reference: S6O-00744

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what legal advice it has received on introducing the proposed referendum bill on Scottish independence.