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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-11954

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude its review of the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

Question reference: S6W-11867

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that tens of millions of pounds of renewable energy investment in Scotland is being put at risk and that there is a low rate of installation of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points as a result of delays in connecting vehicle charging hubs to power supplies.

Electricity policy, including regulation of Great Britain’s electricity networks, is an area reserved to the UK Government.

In order to meet our net zero targets both increased renewable generation and network investment will be required. We are working to expand our renewable generation capabilities through our continued support for renewable technologies.

The Scottish Government, however, does not have the power to ensure that sufficient network investment will be taken forward. We have repeatedly called on Ofgem and BEIS to ensure that network companies can invest to ready the network for the requirements of transitioning to net zero.

The Scottish Government has also invested over £65 million in ChargePlace Scotland, Scotland’s public charging network, which now has more than 2300 publicly available charge points meaning that, by population, Scotland has the most EV charge points outside of London and the most rapid charge points anywhere in the UK.

Question reference: S6W-11866

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the timescale required between the point that a decision is made by a local authority to site a public electric vehicle (EV) charger in a certain place and for that charger to become operational.

The time between a decision by a local authority on the location for a public electric vehicle charge point and that charge point then going into operation will be influenced by a number of factors outwith the remit or control of Scottish Ministers. This includes, for example, the location of the site and its accessibility, the ease of connection to the electricity grid, planning permission, environmental considerations, the approach to procurement as well as wayleaves and land rights. The Scottish Government continues to provide advice and support to local authorities to assist with these and other aspects of delivering of electric vehicle infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S6T-00960

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that its claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe’s offshore wind potential lacks evidence and that it knew that there was no basis for it.

Question reference: S6W-11832

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the reported 926 responses received to the energy workers survey that was carried out in August 2022 as part of engagement regarding the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and, if so, within what timescale.

Question reference: S6W-11582

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of any unsuccessful applicants to its Just Transition Fund: year one projects, and whether unsuccessful applicants are permitted to apply for the next round of funding.

Question reference: S6T-00914

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that, due to legal aid fees agreed in 1999 only increasing by 10%, there is a lack of legal provision across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11242

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10964 by Jenny Gilruth on 26 September 2022, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what assessment it has made of any impact of not having published its 10-year islands connectivity plan on people in remote and island communities, particularly in relation to the adequacy of ferry services; for what reason it did not provide details of any such assessment in its answer, and, if no such assessment has been made, whether it will state this.

Question reference: S6W-11132

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on Low Emission Zones in Scotland’s cities regarding vehicles that have been recorded entering zones, that are not currently operational, that would be issued with penalties once zones are fully operational in the coming years.

Question reference: S6W-11134

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on gas and electricity bills across its estate in each of the last three years, and whether it will provide forecasts of how much it anticipates these bills will increase by in the coming year, broken down by building.

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 set legally binding targets for the public sector to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, with interim targets requiring a 75% reduction by 2030, and 90% by 2040. The Scottish Government is installing energy saving infrastructure across estate including LED energy lighting projects and solar panel installation at some of our buildings to reduce our energy use and operation costs.

A full list of electricity and gas costs for each building within the Scottish Government estate from 2019 to 2022 with projected costs in 2023 can be found using SPICe reference 63647.