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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-22646

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified installers are employed within Scotland, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6O-02743

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that preventable illnesses have on the Scottish economy.

The Scottish Government has drawn from a range of sources including the Labour Force Survey, the Fraser of Allander Institute and ONS’ Labour Market Statistics as part of its consideration of the impact of preventable illness and long term conditions on the Scottish economy. A range of actions are underway across government to mitigate this including the delivery of No-One Left Behind, reviewing the Health and Work Strategy and working with NHS and PHS to support the delivery of employer and employee work-related support services including Healthy Working Lives and Working Health Services Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22669

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide (a) further information on the demographics of the 6,000 applications to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme since its launch in August 2023 and (b) a breakdown by (i) the age of applicants, (ii) the median household income of applicants and (iii) local authority area.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022. The figures provided show the demographic between this launch date and the end of August 2023.

The scheme is open to all domestic owner occupied households in Scotland, and therefore data on the age and income of applicants are not collected as part of the application process. In the following table, the data requested has therefore been supplied by local authority area only.

Local Authority	Applications
Aberdeen City	152
Aberdeenshire	457
Angus	155
Argyll and Bute	314
City of Edinburgh	561
Clackmannanshire	55
Dumfries and Galloway	240
Dundee City	114
East Ayrshire	90
East Dunbartonshire	133
East Lothian	169
East Renfrewshire	124
Falkirk	121
Fife	443
Glasgow City	262
Highland	440
Inverclyde	43
Midlothian	107
Moray	191
Na h-Eileanan Siar	43
North Ayrshire	126
North Lanarkshire	182
Orkney Islands	72
Perth and Kinross	314
Renfrewshire	128
Scottish Borders	232
Shetland Islands	64
South Ayrshire	100
South Lanarkshire	294
Stirling	166
West Dunbartonshire	32
West Lothian	217
Total	6,141

Question reference: S6W-22648

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many students are currently pursuing energy efficiency qualifications.

The Scottish Government does not hold or have access to information on the number of students currently pursuing specific energy efficiency qualifications. As energy efficiency would typically form part of a wider course syllabus for a diverse range of qualifications including engineering, technology, science and construction, the Scottish Government is unable to identify which courses include an energy efficiency component and therefore does not have the information required to answer the question accurately.

Question reference: S6W-22644

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21208 by Patrick Harvie on 26 September 2023, what the (a) smallest, (b) median and (c) largest (i) grant and (ii) loan issued under the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme was in the period from September 2022 to date, broken down by (A) local authority area, (B) household income and (C) council tax band.

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme is available to all domestic owner occupied households in Scotland, therefore data on household income and council tax band are not collected during the application process. In the following table, the data requested has therefore been supplied for local authority area only.

Funding issued through the scheme often comprises a combination of loan and grant funding.

	Grants Issued (£)			Loans Issued (£)
Local Authority Area	Smallest	Median	Largest	Smallest	Median	Largest
Aberdeen City	400	4,200	12,525	600	6,118	17,754
Aberdeenshire	100	6,688	13,889	70	9,257	18,000
Angus	400	7,500	19,000	499	7,759	18,541
Argyll and Bute	40	4,697	12,000	90	2,500	19,080
City of Edinburgh	234	4,000	11,500	319	8,000	23,861
Clackmannanshire	307	4,200	10,000	375	9,250	16,000
Dumfries and Galloway	300	7,500	23,000	440	6,204	20,537
Dundee City	400	6,000	10,000	520	7,682	16,300
East Ayrshire	400	4,600	11,500	500	8,845	14,780
East Dunbartonshire	269	3,000	11,362	180	5,820	17,000
East Lothian	400	5,276	17,500	500	9,075	18,696
East Renfrewshire	270	4,200	14,748	505	6,338	18,693
Falkirk	378	4,200	9,000	390	10,000	15,293
Fife	173	4,200	11,500	248	9,590	21,186
Glasgow City	136	1,477	16,500	360	4,005	20,181
Highland	300	7,500	17,832	367	5,796	26,358
Inverclyde	400	3,900	7,701	375	6,490	12,150
Midlothian	400	5,500	10,847	281	10,000	17,000
Moray	400	7,500	20,600	1,250	7,499	22,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	345	7,500	9,000	895	2,500	13,798
North Ayrshire	750	4,200	11,500	1,406	6,000	15,847
North Lanarkshire	190	4,200	14,025	500	9,800	17,000
Orkney Islands	400	7,500	11,097	1,250	2,560	12,000
Perth and Kinross	91	6,524	11,958	547	8,500	20,100
Renfrewshire	257	3,977	13,000	308	7,050	17,000
Scottish Borders	370	7,500	12,080	644	7,350	24,870
Shetland Islands	2,233	6,788	16,500	1,250	2,500	13,206
South Ayrshire	400	7,100	10,388	361	7,012	17,000
South Lanarkshire	269	4,200	11,790	308	7,500	17,345
Stirling	400	6,600	20,000	254	7,500	17,000
West Dunbartonshire	400	4,000	8,280	500	7,500	14,099
West Lothian	139	6,900	17,500	103	9,973	19,500

Question reference: S6W-22649

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of registered heat pump installation businesses in Scotland, and how many qualify as SMEs.

Question reference: S6W-22662

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Building, which reportedly found that 39% of respondents had not heard about Home Energy Scotland schemes.

Question reference: S6W-22667

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prepare future supply chains for heat pump maintenance, including in relation to (a) parts and (b) labour.

Question reference: S6W-22672

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported statements from industry that current funding for energy efficiency retrofit projects needs to be more flexible and distributed from fewer sources.

Question reference: S6W-22666

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the current supply chain for heat pump maintenance, including (a) parts, (b) labour and (c) its ability to grow to meet any increasing demand.

The pace of the Heat in Buildings transition requires a substantial growth in supply chains, including heat pump installation and maintenance. Supporting Scotland’s current and future workforce to develop the skills needed for the net zero transition is a priority for this government. Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan sets out practical steps that we will take to support the growth of the green heat sector. We continue to work in partnership with the sector to ensure that the appropriate support and training provision are aligned at a local level with business needs and future local demands.