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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: S4W-13329

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the demand for (a) electricity and (b) heating was in the last year for which information is available.

(a) Demand for electricity in Scotland in 2011, against which the renewable electricity target is measured, was 37,857 GWh.

(b) The renewable heat target is measured against Scotland’s forecast 2020
non-electrical heat demand, estimated to be 60,089 GWh. We are consulting with a wide range of key data providers and stakeholders, including DECC, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the Energy Saving Trust, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and Scotia Gas Networks, to establish a robust method of annually monitoring heat demand in Scotland.

This approach will ensure that a wide evidence base is being considered and that the expertise and views of the entire sector are being utilised. Scottish Government will provide an update on this work in the Heat Generation Policy Statement which will be published before the end of 2013.

Question reference: S4W-13340

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what national incentives and subsidies are in place for universities that wish to develop their own combined heat and power plants.

Question reference: S4W-13328

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what national incentives and subsidies are in place for large institutions that wish to develop their own combined heat and power plants.

Question reference: S4W-13326

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many district heating schemes will be developed by 2020.

We do not currently have projections for the number of district heating that will be developed by 2020. We are considering how to set out projections for district heating, across the range of different district heating models, in our response to The Expert Commission on District Heating’s recommendation that “the Scottish Government should set stretching yet realistic targets for penetration of district heating in 2020”.

We will developing projections as part of our long term heat vision for Scotland. We published a draft outline heat vision in January 2012, including a heat hierarchy which sets a framework to guide heat policy development and decision making. As part of our wider heat strategy we have developed draft deployment options guidance and will publish a district heating action plan and Heat Generation Policy Statement (HGPS) later this year. The HGPS will present our understanding of how heat is delivered now, and set out scenarios for meeting our heat vision, highlighting the pros and cons for each.

Question reference: S4W-13321

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many district heating schemes are active.

The Energy Saving Trust in Scotland (EST) carried out a survey of district heating in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. The results of the survey indicate that there are 103 active district heating schemes in Scotland. These vary considerably in size and can be broadly categorised based on estimated heat production:

Estimated heat production	Number
10,000 MWh a year and above	7
1,000 MWh to 9,999 MWh a year	14
500 MWh to 999 MWh a year	19
Less than 500 MWh a year	63

The largest number of district heating schemes is made up of small-scale networks in rural areas, mainly heat-only networks using woodfuel, typical examples of which are on farms and estates (case studies are available from the Usewoodfuel website www.usewoodfuel.co.uk/using-woodfuel/case-studies/woodfuel-in-practice-farms-and-estates.aspx). A small number of large systems, such as Aberdeen Heat and Power’s district heating network in Aberdeen supply many more properties. Aberdeen Heat and Power have three gas-fired CHP energy centres supplying around 1,200 flats in multi story blocks and eight public buildings (www.aberdeenheatandpower.co.uk).

Question reference: S4W-13335

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of businesses are not connected to the national gas grid.

Question reference: S4W-13336

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many combined heat and power plants there are and what each plant’s (a) daily and (b) annual output is.

Question reference: S4W-13067

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of increasing the funded annual provision from 475 hours of pre-school education for three and four-year-olds to a minimum of 600 hours of early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds and looked-after two-year-olds.

Question reference: S4W-13069

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether its spending review plans include funding to deliver an increase in the funded annual provision from 475 hours of pre-school education for three and four-year-olds to a minimum of 600 hours of early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds and looked-after two-year-olds.

Question reference: S4W-13068

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will give to local authorities to deliver an increase in the funded annual provision from 475 hours of pre-school education for three and four-year-olds to a minimum of 600 hours of early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds and looked-after two-year-olds.