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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-23255

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 8 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase domestic energy efficiency.

On 28 November, we launched our consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill alongside the social housing equivalent. This includes proposals to improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes, which will deliver enduring savings on energy bills and helpmeet our climate change targets.

We have a wide range of grant and loan schemes available, and households can contact Home Energy Scotland to access free, bespoke, impartial advice on making their home more energy efficient. Our Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme is open to all domestic owner-occupied households in Scotland and provides grant funding of up to £7,500 for households to install energy efficiency measures. A rural uplift to the energy efficiency grant of up to £1,500 is available as well as up to an additional £7,500 as an interest free loan.

We have also helped over 150,000 households to benefit from warmer homes that are less expensive to heat through our fuel poverty programmes, Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based Schemes. We have recently widened the eligibility criteria to the Warmer Homes Scotland programme, allowing a further 100,000 households to become eligible, and relaunched the programme with a significantly increased maximum contract value of more than £700million over up to seven years.

Furthermore, Registered Social Landlords can apply for grant funding from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat fund for the installation of energy efficiency measures and clean heating that deliver both carbon savings and reduction in fuel bills for their tenants. This includes “Fabric First” enhancements which help make homes easier and cheaper to heat.

Finally, we recently consulted on reforming EPCs to make them a more appropriate source of information about the energy efficiency of a building. This included proposals to introduce a metric based on fabric energy efficiency: Energy Performance Certificate reform consultation - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space . These reforms, if introduced, will help building owners understand the energy efficiency of their property, and the steps they can take to improve it . We plan to respond to the consultation in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-23266

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that bus gates, such as those in Aberdeen, do not penalise coach drivers servicing trade and tourism locations by them incurring fines.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. These duties include the making of Traffic Regulation Orders for such things as restricting access on roads to certain types of vehicles as they see fit, such as bus gates.

It is therefore for local authorities to determine what vehicles should be permitted depending on the local specific circumstances and not an area where Scottish Ministers would intervene. Notwithstanding this, Aberdeen City Council has confirmed that the recently opened bus gates in Aberdeen City Centre, supported by Transport Scotland’s Bus Partnership Fund, do permit coaches.

Question reference: S6O-02880

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the first meeting of the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board, what progress has been made towards introducing a national smart ticketing scheme.

Question reference: S6W-23256

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to mandating financial rewards to communities that host critical energy generation or transmission infrastructure.

Electricity regulation, generation, transmission and distribution are reserved to the UK Government. This means that mandating financial benefits for communities through the consents process is beyond the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. However we have pressed the UK Government to take action in this area on many occasions, in terms of transmission and generation infrastructure.

While we welcome the UK Government’s announcements on providing energy bill discounts and wider community benefit from upgrades to the electricity transmission network, Scottish Ministers will continue to press the UK Government to explore making such benefits for transmission and generation mandatory, subject to full consultation. I have written to the UK Secretary of State this week to urge the UK Government to ensure there is meaningful engagement with the Scottish Government as these proposals are developed.

Despite the powers to mandate being reserved, community benefits are well-established in Scotland with our national Community Benefits Register indicating that over £25 million worth of community benefits were committed from renewable energy projects in the last 12 months. We continue to explore different avenues within devolved powers that will build on the successes of our Good Practice Principles, the Onshore Wind Sector Deal, and work to develop a solar deployment ambition.

Question reference: S6W-23257

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of investment zones as a method of reducing any shortage of skilled workers for the energy transition.

The Scottish and UK Governments are currently working collaboratively with regional partners to develop proposals with distinct sectoral focus to maximise cluster building, innovation and economic growth.

The proposals – which are in the early stages of development – will link to existing regional economic strategies, recognising the pipeline of skills required for priority sectors, and will include an attractive package of levers aimed at encouraging new businesses to locate in the regions providing opportunities for talent attraction, which will contribute positively to meeting current and future skills requirements.

Question reference: S6W-23254

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ban gas flaring.

Where flaring and venting is required as an operational safety feature in onshore industrial activities, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) act as independent regulators at regulated sites in Scotland. SEPA requires operators to prevent, or where that is not possible, to reduce emissions due to flaring and venting by the use of best available techniques.

Policy in relation to flaring and venting on offshore oil and gas platforms is reserved to the UK Government. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) acts as the regulator with the relevant legislation requiring offshore operators to have the correct consents in place for the flaring and venting during production operations. The NSTA has a goal of reaching zero routine flaring by 2030 or sooner.

Question reference: S6O-02790

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on Behalf of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it has given to allowing events to start in the Parliament building while Members' Business debates are ongoing.

To enable all Members to take part in events and recognising that parliamentary business needs to take precedence, events do not take place at the same time as parliamentary business in the chamber.

However, the SPCB recognises that events involve a great deal of advance planning and that individuals may travel some distance and give up their time to be able to attend.

So when business runs late, parliamentary officials will work with the event organisers to ensure refreshments are served to event guests and they can go to the room where the event is taking place and meet with Members, where possible. However, speeches should only take place once parliamentary business is concluded so all Members have the opportunity to hear them.

This pragmatic approach appears to be working but we continually keep this under review.

Question reference: S6O-02810

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what services people experiencing poor mental health can access this winter.

Question reference: S6W-22928

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 November 2023

To as the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to evaluate the outcomes of Project CAVForth, and what its anticipated next steps are for autonomous buses.

Transport Scotland's involvement in Project CAVForth demonstrates the Scottish Government's belief that a modern transport system is fundamental to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and has the potential to deliver economic and societal benefits.

Transport Scotland’s involvement in Project CAVForth, as a partner, came to a conclusion at the end of July 2023 when the funding period for the project ended. The project aim of delivering an autonomous bus service was successfully achieved and my officials obtained considerable operational knowledge relating to the steps required to support the safe implementation of such a service. The trial service will continue until March 2025 under a successor project and the ongoing evaluation of the project and the next steps are being taken forward by Stagecoach as the operator of the service. In Transport Scotland’s role as roads authority for the majority of the route my officials will continue to support the project where possible.

My officials are also continuing to engage with the DfT around UK Government plans to introduce new legislation to support self-driving vehicles.

Question reference: S6T-01642

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the chief executive of Ferguson Marine is still entitled to a bonus despite the First Minister saying that he thought the practice should end.