- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 25 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the original commitment of the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement Project to spend £200 million by 2026 to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and the central belt by 20 minutes, whether it will confirm (a) how much has been spent by the project so far, and on what specific areas of work, (b) what the projected final cost of the project is and (c) by what date (i) work on the project will be completed and (ii) the reduced journey times will be fully operational.
Answer
Answer expected on 25 September 2025
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 22 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many ScotRail services have been (a) cancelled, (b) part-cancelled and (c) delayed by at least (i) one minute, (ii) 15 minutes, (iii) 30 minutes and (iv) 60 minutes in (A) each of the last three financial years and (B) 2025-26 to date, and how many of these were attributed to (1) air conditioning/cooling failures, (2) other rolling-stock defects, (3) train crew availability, (4) infrastructure or signalling faults, (5) the weather and (6) other causes, also broken down by ScotRail service group.
Answer
Answer expected on 22 September 2025
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when its ministers last met with (a) Shell UK Limited, (b) ExxonMobil, (c) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (d) the Health and Safety Executive to discuss the Mossmorran complex, and what issues were discussed on each occasion.
Answer
The former Minister for Climate Action last met with representatives of the Shell Natural Gas Liquids plant, and Exxonmobil Fife Ethylene Plant on 28 October 2024. The Minister discussed with the businesses, their views on Just Transition planning, their long-term plans, as well as wider matters regarding participation in the Acorn project and engagement with the UK Government regarding the Track process.
Scottish Government Ministers have not met with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or the Health and Safety Executive in that last 4 years to specifically discuss the Mossmorran industrial complex.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received on which upstream fields supply feedstock directly to the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant, and how many tonnes each field supplied in financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24, (c) 2024-25 and (d) 2025 to date.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on the specific upstream fields that supply feedstock to the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquid Plant, operated by Shell.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 29 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding (a) the regulation of prices and (b) supply chains for (i) heating oil and (ii) liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) serving rural communities in Scotland since 1 January 2020, and what response it has received.
Answer
Heating oil and liquified petroleum gas supply chains and energy price regulation are reserved matters. The Scottish Government continues to engage constructively with the UK Government on a regular basis, including on the need to ensure that all energy consumers are suitably considered and protected in matters of regulation and use of reserved policy powers.
High energy prices remain the single greatest driver of fuel poverty. The Social Tariff Working Group recommended that all fuel types should be covered by a social tariff mechanism. This should include support for those using alternative fuels with off-grid consumers treated equitably to those on-grid. This support may be more appropriately delivered via a separate scheme.
We have consistently offered to work with the UK Government to ensure that adequate support is provided to those that need it the most.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the average cost difference for rural off-gas-grid households is between alternative low-carbon heating solutions and (a) heating oil and (b) liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and what action it can take to address any affordability gap.
Answer
The Home Energy Scotland website has estimates on the potential annual savings from installing a standard air source heat pump where there is an existing oil or LPG boiler: https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/heat-pumps
We provide uplifts through our Heat in Buildings delivery schemes to help meet additional challenges faced by homeowners in rural and island communities. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan offers an uplift of £1,500 to the grant and loan funding available for energy efficiency measures in remote rural areas and islands. The Warmer Homes Scotland scheme operates a national customer price model to ensure equal access to grant funded installation of energy efficiency improvements across Scotland, including in rural and island areas. And both our Area Based Schemes and the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund provide an uplift to reflect higher delivery costs in more remote areas, of 11% in rural areas and 22% in remote rural/island areas.
Heating oil and liquified petroleum gas supply chains and energy price regulation are reserved matters. We engage constructively with the UK Government on a regular basis.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when its ministers last met with (a) the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association, (b) Liquid Gas UK, (c) major suppliers of heating oil, (d) major suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and (e) consumer-advice bodies, to discuss the rural off-gas-grid heating market, and what issues were discussed on each occasion.
Answer
Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government officials frequently engage with a range of stakeholders involved in the rural off-gas heating market, both in direct meetings and as part of wider consultation events.
I hosted a series of roundtables on 6 August 2025 to discuss the proposed Heat in Buildings Bill at which a range of stakeholders were in attendance, including some representing rural and off-gas grid interests. These roundtables focussed on plans for the Heat in Buildings Bill and included discussion of how to overcome the challenges faced by some rural properties in transitioning to clean heating systems.
The then-Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, met with the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association, along with other representatives of the off-gas grid heating sector, on 26 February 2025. The discussion focussed on the role that renewable liquid biofuels may play in decarbonising heating in rural buildings. This is in addition to previous ministerial engagement on rural heat which has informed our approach to the Bill.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the potential role of (a) bio-derived heating oil and (b) renewable or bio-liquefied petroleum gas (BioLPG) as transitional fuels for rural off-gas-grid properties, and what its position is on promoting the uptake of such fuels.
Answer
While not appropriate for most homes, bioenergy, including renewable liquid biofuels, is a low carbon, renewable energy source which may prove the best solution to decarbonising heating in some rural communities. We intend to ensure that sustainable bioenergy and biofuels remain an option for these communities, Heat in Buildings policy takes a technology-neutral approach so that building owners are able to choose the technology which is right for them.
We are currently consulting on proposals for a Heat and Energy Efficiency Technical Suitability Assessment (HEETSA). The consultation will remain open until 29 August 2025. The HEETSA will include a technical suitability assessment methodology that allows for the comparative assessment of different clean heat options in a property and provide information on when the installation of a system would not be suitable.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on levels of fuel poverty in rural communities of the recent price trends of (a) heating oil and (b) liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and what measures it has identified to mitigate any such impact.
Answer
The Scottish Government's most recent fuel poverty scenario modelling is for the July to September 2025 period under an Ofgem price cap of £1,720 for the typical dual fuel household. This analysis estimated a national fuel poverty rate of 32% (820,000 households) and an extreme fuel poverty rate of 17% (420,000 households).
When broken down by 6 fold rural urban classification 33% of rural households (140,000) were estimated to be in fuel poverty. Table 1 below breaks down the fuel poverty rate by 6 fold rural urban classification for all scenario modelling periods from January 2024 to present, as well as the 2022 and 2023 SHCS key findings figures. However, this modelling does not fully account for recent changes in the prices of alternative fuels such as LPG.
The Scottish Government has no powers over energy pricing which is reserved to the UK Government.
We are concerned that many rural consumers, who rely on unregulated alternative fuels to heat their homes and power their businesses, are not protected from price shocks and market volatility. That is why we continue to call on the UK Government to deliver a social tariff in the form of an automatic and targeted discount - including for those using alternative fuels - to address unaffordable bills at source. We have written to the UK Government sharing our Social Tariff Working Group’s recommendations and seeking urgent delivery of this crucial policy. The powers to implement this remain with the UK Government and we are committed to working closely with them, Ofgem, suppliers and consumer organisations, to advocate for the delivery of a social tariff across Great Britain.
Table 1: Fuel poverty rates by rural urban classification
Urban/Rural Classification | 2022 SHCS | 2023 SHCS | Jan to Mar 24 | Apr to Jun 24 | Jul to Sep 24 | Oct to Dec 24 | Jan to Mar 25 | Apr to Jun 25 | Jul to Sep 25 |
Large urban areas | 31 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 32 |
Other urban areas | 28 | 35 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 33 |
Accessible small towns | 34 | 32 | 30 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 31 | 28 |
Remote small towns | 34 | 41 | 43 | 40 | 38 | 41 | 41 | 42 | 41 |
Urban Subtotal | 30 | 34 | 34 | 31 | 29 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 32 |
Accessible rural | 30 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
Remote rural | 47 | 44 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 43 | 43 | 44 | 43 |
Rural Subtotal | 47 | 35 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
All | 31 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 32 |
Notes
1.The SHCS is a sample survey and therefore all figures are estimates which lie at the midpoint of a confidence interval which depends primarily on sample size.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received on how many tonnes of (a) propane, (b) butane and (c) natural gasoline were exported from the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant in each of the last three financial years.
Answer
According to the most recently available data provided to Fife Council by Shell, the total tonnes of natural gas liquids processed at the plant were: FY 2021-22: 2 million, FY 2022-23: 1.9 million and FY 2023-2024 1.9 million. The total number of shipments of propane were 19 in 2021-22, 16 in 2022-23 and 17 in 2023-24; for butane the figures were 15 for 2021-22, 23 for 2022-23 and 20 for 2023-24; for mixed propane butane – 22 for 2021-22, 3 for 2022-23 and 5 for 2023-24 and for gasoline the number of vessels was 27 for 2021-22, 36 for 2022-23 and 36 for 2023-24.
