Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-14045

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) the Scottish Government and (b) local authorities monitor the number of landlords with buy-to-let mortgages in arrears, and what steps it (i) has taken and (ii) will take to prevent tenants being evicted due to lender repossession.

The Scottish Government monitors statistics collected by UK Finance on the number of buy-to-let mortgages in arrears across the UK. The latest trends are reported by the Scottish Government in the Scottish Housing Market Review, which is published each quarter as a resource for housing market stakeholders, including local authorities.

The Scottish Government is providing all local authorities with an annual share of £30.5 million in 2023-24 for homelessness prevention and response measures. We recognise that support to tenants being evicted is important and PRS landlords are under a duty to inform the local authority if their tenant is being evicted and at risk of homelessness. Anyone experiencing homelessness should contact their local authority as they have a legal duty to offer a minimum of temporary accommodation, advice and assistance to anyone at risk of homelessness. Organisations such as Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland are also able to provide advice and guidance.

Question reference: S6W-14029

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Holding Answer by Jenny Gilruth on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many fatalities were recorded on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in each year from 2012 up to and including 2022.

Question reference: S6W-13832

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any assessment has been conducted and will be published regarding its support to Scottish industry in relation to the research and development, manufacturing of, and the required skills to ensure the long-term maintenance of wind turbines.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan set out a series of actions, including the development of a refreshed Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan by the end of 2023.

Alongside this, as part of the ScotWind leasing round, developers were required to complete a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS). The SCDS outlines the supply chain activity that each project is committing to undertake within Scotland, the UK and overseas. These commitments amount to billions of pounds of investment in the Scottish supply chain and economy, with initial projections showing an average spend of £1.4bn across each of the 20 ScotWind projects.

Our Enterprise Agencies, including Scottish Development International, are engaged with a number of leading businesses that have the products, technology, skills and know-how to support robust supply chain development. We are encouraging developers to work with our Agencies and partners to identify how best to support and anticipate business needs as well as operational challenges to delivery of these projects.

We are already starting to see examples of companies establishing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) bases for their offshore wind farms in Scotland. In addition to the vast potential opened up by ScotWind, the Neart na Gaoithe O&M base was officially opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport on 25 January. This base will bring up to 50 high quality jobs to the Eyemouth area for the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm. The base is also large enough to handle potential staff expansion in summer months when the weather is calmer and maintenance can be increased.

Question reference: S6W-13664

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many customer complaints ScotRail has received since it was brought into public ownership.

ScotRail has provided the below data for its closed customer complaints since 1 April 2022, by four-weekly rail period, with the prior year (2021-22) and final pre-pandemic year (2019-20) included for comparison:

Rail Year Period	Complaints 2022-23	Complaints 2021-22	Complaints 2019-20
Period 1	1,142	643	2,174
Period 2	1,867	1,079	2,218
Period 3	1,500	1,364	2,228
Period 4	1,015	1,316	2,130
Period 5	1,136	1,543	2,013
Period 6	1,038	924	2,125
Period 7	973	1,313	1,910
Period 8	1,088	1,951	1,482
Period 9	1,491	1,079	2,115
Period 10	1,269	1,034	1,534
Period 11	TBC	970	1,894
Period 12	TBC	575	1,519
Period 13	TBC	1,059	1,447
Total	12,519	14,850	24,789
Complaints as % of total journeys	0.0265%	0.0318%	0.0257%

ScotRail submits complaints data to the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), and this data is published quarterly on the ORR website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger-experience/passenger-rail-service-complaints/

Question reference: S6W-14552

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether mental health professionals within the NHS are trained to identify pressures of financial strain in patients and signpost to money advice services if appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-14553

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting any students living in Scotland who are facing food insecurity.

Question reference: S6W-14578

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any restrictions or controls are in place, during the transfer of land, in relation to protecting existing woodlands that are contributing to flood prevention measures.

Question reference: S6W-14570

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its area-based schemes and Warmer Homes Scotland schemes and their contractors have sufficient access to professionals who are trained in the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.

Question reference: S6W-14571

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what business impact assessment it conducted when implementing the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.

Question reference: S6W-14568

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how long it takes to obtain (a) PAS 2030 and (b) PAS 2035 certification, and what the estimated cost is of doing so.

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