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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-18390

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir Robert Chote, in his letter of 7 December 2022 to Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, that the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe's potential offshore wind resource was "poorly constructed" in the Scottish Government's 2010 publication that made the claim.

Question reference: S6W-18393

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) since December 2022 to understand what more can be done to (a) avoid further use of the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe's offshore wind potential and (b) obtain a more accurate and up-to-date figure for Scotland's offshore wind potential in comparison with Europe, and what requests for meetings, discussions or consultations have been made by the OSR that the Scottish Government has not been able to attend or convene.

The Office of the Chief Statistician and Data Officer engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in December 2022, setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

Ministers are not aware of any meetings, discussions or consultations made by the OSR that the Scottish Government has not been able to attend or convene.

Question reference: S6W-18392

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement has taken place between any ministers who, in the three years leading up to December 2022, used the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe's offshore wind potential, and the UK Statistics Authority, since December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-18305

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent report by Changeworks, which reportedly found that homes in the Highlands and Islands have lower Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings than the rest of Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to the similar question, S6O-02277, on 25 May 2023. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 25/05/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

I reiterate my thanks to Changeworks for this important report.

The average energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of Highland and Island properties is lower than the national average rating because of the typically more expensive fuels that are used or available, how those are reflected in the current EPC metric, and the historically lower energy efficiency standards.

We propose that all housing in Scotland should meet the equivalent of EPC rating C by 2033, following reform of EPC metrics. We intend to consult on reformed EPCs shortly.

We offer support to improve the energy efficiency of rural homes, including a funding uplift to our Home Energy Scotland grant and loan scheme, and targeted fuel poverty support.

Question reference: S6W-18391

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it acknowledging in November 2022 that the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe's potential offshore wind resource was inaccurate, when it plans to publish an evidenced, data-based estimate of the true figure.

As stated in my response to S6W-17912 on 25 May 20223 “Work commenced in December 2022 to develop alternative metrics for Scotland’s offshore wind potential and the outcome of this work will be published in due course.”

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-18206

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13830 by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2023, whether it will provide an update on when it expects to publish updated guidance on Good Practice Principles for community benefits from offshore renewable energy developments, and whether it will provide details of the (a) dates of and (b) attendance at the "series of stakeholder engagement sessions to raise awareness of the work and gather initial input".

Question reference: S6W-18250

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to date to support the application process for the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, including (a) customer service, (b) technical support, (c) logistics and distribution of the cards and (d) marketing and promotion costs.

The Scottish Government provided funding to a number of delivery partners to support the delivery and operation of the application process for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme which includes costs associated with customer service, technical support, card production and distribution, marketing and other operational activities. The breakdown of funding is as follows;

The Improvement Service has been provided funding of £2,382,100 for activities relating to the online application process, support for local authorities, customer service, and other operational costs.
The National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO) has been provided funding of £1,352,332 for activities relating to the management of application systems and processes, card production and distribution, and other operational costs.
Young Scot has been provided funding of £159,000 for activities relating to customer service, marketing and promotion, and other operational costs.

The funding outlined is correct as of 25 May 2023 but is subject to change pending conclusion of financial reconciliations.

The Scottish Government spent a total of £1,173,257 on the communications, marketing and promotion of the scheme and its application process.

Question reference: S6W-18273

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the number of sewage discharges, broken down by (a) incidence and (b) hours of discharge, into the North Sea from any point within 5 km north or south of Peterhead, in each year since 2017 up to the latest available data; what the approximate volumes were of any such discharges in each year; what assessment has been made of the potential impact of any such discharges on the health of users of the waters within that area; for what reasons there were any such discharges; what action it has taken since 2017 to reduce the number of discharges, and what is currently being done to prevent any further discharges.

As indicated in Scottish Water’s first annual update to its Improving Urban Waters Routemap, spill data has been published at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/help-and-resources/document-hub/key-publications/urban-waters-improvements .

I refer the member to the answer to S6O-02060 on 23 March 2023 for further information on measures taken to improve Scotland’s water environment.

The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the official report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 23/03/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

Question reference: S6W-18251

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, what research has been conducted into uptake levels and applications for the scheme from young people in various data zones, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Data on the possession of a National Entitlement Card by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles comes from the Scottish Household Survey, which asks questions regarding concessionary bus travel on alternate years.

The Scottish Household Survey 2021 was published in April 2023 but covers the year prior to the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme coming into force in January 2022.

Work is now underway on the one year evaluation of the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. The evaluation will include questions looking at barriers to bus travel and to accessing, or using, the scheme. It will collect information from children, young people and parents (both users and non-users of the scheme) about their experiences. The evaluation study will also draw on scheme cardholder data on young people in various data zones, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Question reference: S6W-18252

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been conducted into any barriers for young people accessing the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what measures have been introduced to reduce any such barriers.

The Scottish Government has listened to young people and their families about the application process and worked closely with delivery partners and local authorities to make improvements.

In light of feedback received, the Improvement Service, which runs the online portal https://getyournec.scot/nec/ made changes to the website to improve the application process and relaxed conditions on some of the proofs required.

In addition, local authorities have been working hard to support applications made offline and many have dedicated staff on hand to help those who may need additional support through the application process.

Further, towards the end of last year, the Scottish Government delivered a national marketing campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the scheme, and encourage more young people to apply.

Work is now underway on the one year evaluation study which will include questions looking at barriers to bus travel and to accessing, or using, the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. The evaluation will collect information from children, young people and parents (both users and non-users of the scheme) about their experiences. The evaluation study will also draw on scheme cardholder data.