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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: S4O-03682

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact in rural and island areas of the proposed reduction in the drink driving limit.

The new limit and the benefits of improved road safety will apply across all parts of Scotland.

The Scottish Government undertook a public consultation in late 2012 on the proposal to reduce the drink drive limit. 74% of respondents supported the proposal, including Shetland Islands Council, Orkney Islands Council, the Highland Council, the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service and the Shetland Community Partnership.

Question reference: S4W-22636

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the National Advisory Committee on Heart Disease has met.

Question reference: S4W-22637

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the National Advisory Committee on Heart Disease has discussed the role of heart failure nurses in Orkney and what recommendations it has made regarding this.

Question reference: S4O-03539

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet Orkney Islands Council.

Question reference: S4W-22417

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 17 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it will enforce any regulations to set minimum energy efficiency standards for private sector houses.

Question reference: S4W-22416

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 17 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will launch its consultation on regulations to set minimum energy efficiency standards for private sector houses.

Question reference: S4W-22419

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 17 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many (a) urban and (b) rural (i) on-grid and (ii) off-grid homes could be required to meet any proposed minimum energy efficiency standards for private sector houses.

Question reference: S4W-22418

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 17 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that rural homeowners who live off-grid will not be disadvantaged by any proposed minimum energy efficiency standards for private sector houses.

Scotland’s Sustainable Housing Strategy, published in June 2013, set out our commitment to consult on draft regulations on the energy efficiency of existing private sector homes. This work is being taken forward with input from a steering group including representatives of fuel poverty and consumer interests. The consultation exercise will seek views from all parts of Scotland and Scottish Ministers will take account of the responses received in considering the final level of regulations for consideration by the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Government funding for our Home Energy Efficiency Programme: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS: ABS) is distributed across all local authorities in Scotland and is allocated on the basis of need, taking into account levels of fuel poverty and the types of properties within areas. This ensures that funding is directed to those areas most in need of assistance, particularly in rural areas which are likely to have a higher proportion of homes in fuel poverty, particularly those where heating oil or electricity is their main source of heating. We allocated over £5 million more in HEEPS: ABS funding to rural authorities this year than in 2013-14.

Question reference: S4W-22026

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 July 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in the Empowering Scotland's Island Communities report that “Instead of trying to influence Westminster, island communities and authorities will have direct access to the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the impact of government policies on the islands and present their views”, whether it considers that Scottish island communities are without access to the UK Government.

Independence will create a more democratic Scotland that will always get the government it votes for and have a strong voice for Scotland’s islands at the heart of government. Island communities already benefit from direct engagement from Scottish Ministers on devolved issues, for example at recent visits by the Scottish Cabinet to the Shetland Islands and the Western Isles, and from a higher level of parliamentary representation with an MSP for each Island local authority area. The Scottish Government’s proposals in ‘Empowering Scotland’s Island Communities’, such as designating a ‘minister for island communities’, protecting the position of island MSPs and bringing forward a bill for an islands Act upon independence, will ensure island communities have full access to ministers on all issues.

Question reference: S4W-22028

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 July 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what additional financial mechanisms it considers should be deployed to enable the delivery of island grid upgrades, and what steps it has taken to explore them.

The key financial mechanism that will unlock island grid upgrades is the extension of the Scottish island strike price beyond the first Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan period, which ends in 2018-19. The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change have the power to make that happen now.

Working together with the island councils, the Scottish Government has argued strongly for the UK Government to recognise the additional support needed to enable the delivery of island renewables projects, given the higher costs they face. As a result of our representations to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, a delivery forum to facilitate connections between the Scottish islands and the Great Britain transmission grid has been established.

At a meeting of the delivery forum on 26 June 2014, the UK Secretary of State agreed to consider what reassurances could be given regarding the longer term future Scottish island strike price. Progress on the actions agreed will be reported at the next meeting of the delivery forum which is due in September 2014.