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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: S6F-01716

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government has taken to bring the strike action by teachers to an end.

Question reference: S6F-01709

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01708

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-13515

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has rolled out a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy in healthcare sectors other than NHS Scotland, such as social care.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13514 on‎ 16 January 2023 for an update on the development of a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland. 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 .

Once developed for the NHS this policy can be used/adapted for other sectors, such as social care.

Question reference: S6W-13547

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of reports that, from 1 January 2023, Mossmorran terminal in Fife will no longer be supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and whether (a) it has had any meetings with Mossmorran terminal upstream partners to discuss this matter and (b) any contingencies have been put in place to ensure that people who rely on LPG can still access it.

The Scottish Government is aware of this matter and has engaged with relevant stakeholders, including trade association Liquid Gas UK, on the sufficiency of gas volumes available in the sector, and with the upstream partner choosing to reduce LPG supply via Mossmorran to better understand their commercial decision.

Security of energy supply, including LPG, is a UK Government reserved matter and Scottish Government officials are in contact with counterparts at the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to confirm that quantities of gas being processed are more than sufficient to meet demand – and that BEIS continue to monitor the picture closely in communication with suppliers to ensure there remains adequate availability of LPG for distributors in Scotland.

Further, I have written to the Secretary of State for BEIS to outline members’ concerns raised with me, and to seek UK Government’s express reassurance on Scottish LPG supplies for 2023 and beyond. I have also requested clarity on the UK Government’s plans to extend existing levels of support through the Energy Price Guarantee to help struggling rural households with rising energy costs, asking the Secretary of State to urgently confirm whether the £200 Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) to help households who use alternative fuels such as LPG will be repeated during 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-13557

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many renewable heating systems it estimates have been installed in homes in the Highlands and Islands region in each of the last five years, and how many such installations will be required annually in the Highlands and Islands region over the next eight years to meet the 2030 target in its Heat in Buildings Strategy.

The Energy Saving Trust maintains the Renewable Heat Database for the Scottish Government. The following table presents figures for the number of renewable heat installations in homes in the Highlands and Islands over the past five years using Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) data.

Table 1: Number of annual domestic renewable heat installations by technology class and local authority for the Highlands and Islands (2017-2021).

Local authority	Technology class	Year
Local authority	Technology class	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Argyll & Bute	Biomass	11	5	4	2	3
	Heat pump	110	120	169	529	646
	Solar thermal	7	1	2	0	1
	Total	128	126	175	531	650
Eilean Siar	Biomass	0	0	0	1	0
	Heat pump	96	154	217	225	313
	Solar thermal	7	3	1	0	5
	Total	103	157	218	226	318
Highland	Biomass	42	22	17	17	14
	Heat pump	214	397	432	436	692
	Solar thermal	33	31	32	22	46
	Total	289	450	481	475	752
Moray	Biomass	8	4	6	6	3
	Heat pump	72	52	68	65	142
	Solar thermal	10	14	18	12	14
	Total	90	70	92	83	159
Orkney Islands	Biomass	0	3	1	2	0
	Heat pump	115	83	143	96	123
	Solar thermal	4	7	22	17	19
	Total	119	93	166	115	142
Shetland Islands	Biomass	0	0	0	0	0
	Heat pump	61	68	77	42	93
	Solar thermal	2	0	0	0	0
	Total	63	68	77	42	93
Total	Biomass	61	34	28	28	20
	Heat pump	668	874	1,106	1,393	2,009
	Solar thermal	63	56	75	51	85
	Total	792	964	1,209	1,472	2,114

‎ Source: Energy Saving Trust (10 January 2023) based on MCS data.

The figures in the table above come with the following caveats:

MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement, so MCS data does not capture all small-scale renewable energy installations in Scotland. However, as MCS is often a route to government incentives, it is likely to represent a significant proportion of deployment.
Most installations registered with MCS are in the retrofit market. However, MCS may capture some new-build installations if contractors have chosen to register their installations with MCS.
The number of installations above may include a small number of non-domestic installations which could not be cross-referenced against non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) data. This is unlikely to significantly impact the numbers as MCS data is skewed towards domestic installations.

We know that meeting our interim climate change targets will need over 1 million homes across Scotland to convert to zero emissions heat by 2030. This is not split by region in order to allow a flexible approach that can meet our targets as efficiently as possible. In the meantime, we are providing additional support to rural and island communities to reflect the higher costs of installation.

Question reference: S6W-13554

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in the Highlands and Islands region are currently yet to receive a broadband connection, and what the target connection level is in each of the next six years.

The Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the number of properties in the Highlands and Islands region that are currently yet to receive a broadband connection. Ofcom, as the regulator for communications services, produces an annual Connected Nations report, together with an interactive dashboard, showing a breakdown of coverage by nation, local authority and both Holyrood and Westminster constituency. This was last updated in December 2022 and can be accessed here: Interactive report - Ofcom .

We are also unable to provide a full target connection level in each of the next six years as we do not hold details of commercial coverage plans over that time period. However, provided below is a breakdown of the number of premises currently planned to be connected through the Scottish Government Reaching 100% (R100) North contract in the Highlands and Islands Region over the next 6 years.

Year	Premises currently planned to be connected
2023	4,201
2024	5,681
2025	6,460
2026	7,276
2027	5,017
2028	632

Question reference: S6W-13560

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the UK Government and (b) mobile network operators about improving the resilience of mobile network mast infrastructure in Scotland in order to support the continuation of vital communication links during power outages and other major incidents.

The security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications network is reserved to the UK Parliament.

The Scottish Government works closely with UK Government, industry, Ofcom and other Devolved Administrations through the Electronic Communications – Resilience and Response Group (EC-RRG), which helps to plan for and respond to disruptive events.

Scottish Government officials also regularly engage with individual telecoms operators around disruptive events, such as Storm Arwen and the recent subsea cable break impacting Shetland, to help coordinate response and debriefs.

Our £28.75 million investment via the Scottish 4G Infill Programme is delivering new mobile infrastructure in 55 locations, which is improving 4G coverage and strengthening resilience of networks serving rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-13336

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10697 by Tom Arthur on 21 September 2022, and in light of its draft 2023-24 Budget published on 15 December 2022, how it will ensure parity with England for commercial premises liable for the higher property rate, in line with the independent Barclay Review of non-domestic rates recommendation, and its commitment in its Framework For Tax to "reduce the combined poundage rate for the largest properties to match the equivalent rate in England over the course of the Parliament".

On 1 April 2020 the Intermediate Property Rate (poundage +1.3p) was introduced for properties with rateable values between £51,000 and £95,000 which would previously have been liable for the Large Business Supplement (2.6p).

On 1 April 2023 we will further reduce the number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate, by increasing the rateable value threshold at which this applies from £95,000 to £100,000.

Combined with the lowest poundage in the UK, these reforms mean that over 95% of non-domestic properties are already liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Tax policy decisions are made at annual budgets in line with prevailing economic decisions.

Question reference: S6W-13258

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that families can afford to feed their babies throughout the cost of living crisis, in light of the 2022 report by the charity, Feed, which refers to some parents watering down infant formula.