Parliamentary questions
Stephen Kerr
2,595 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings its ministers have had with the Independent SAGE group since its creation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Ministers are supported by clinical advisors including the Chief and Deputy Medical Officers, National Clinical Director, and Senior Clinical Advisors. The Scottish Government draws on scientific advice from a number of sources including the Scienti…
5 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering data from other parts of the UK in the development of its COVID-19-related policies.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government considers a range of data to support policy development. Current data on how Scotland compares to the rest of the UK is considered in the weekly state of the epidemic paper, available on the Scottish Government website. This report ( …
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce a non-domestic boiler scrappage scheme and, if it does, when it will be introduced.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government already provides grant funding support for SME businesses to replace fossil fuel heating systems with zero emissions systems. Since 2020, the SME loan/cashback scheme has been offering interest-free loans of up to £100,000 with a 75% c…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Energy Efficiency Business Support scheme includes advice on, and access to, zero-interest loans with cashback.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government currently provides a substantial, free advice and support offering to Scottish SMEs to understand how to become more energy and to take action to implement renewable heating measures, through its Energy Efficiency Business Support Serv…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual budget for the Energy Efficiency Business Support scheme has been in each year since its foundation.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Financial Year DECC contribution ERDF Contribution Total 2020-21 £1.61m £1.07m £2.68m 2021-22 £1.74m £1.11m £2.85m TOTAL £3.35m £2.18m £5.53m
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the phase-out dates are for new (a) oil, (b) gas and (c) LPG boilers.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government's Heat in Buildings Strategy has committed to phasing out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers, in off-gas grid homes from 2025 and in on-gas grid homes 2030, with consideration of additional trigger points and su…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to introduce energy performance standards, and when it expects these standards to be introduced.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out the Scottish Government’s proposed approach to introducing energy performance standards for all existing buildings. It confirms our intention to introduce regulations from 2025 for private housing to reach a minimum ene…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve cross-departmental working between education and health services to ensure that mental health and wellbeing are at the heart of the curriculum.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: There are very strong links between education and health on the matter of mental health and wellbeing in schools. Formally, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board, established in 2021, oversee reform across relevant …
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to reduce waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to improving Mental Health services and the Programme for Government commits to ensuring that by the end of this Parliament, a minimum 10% of frontline NHS spend goes towards mental health, with at least 1% going towards c…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the reported anxiety felt by school pupils on the need to catch-up on missed schooling.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. Education authorities and schools have a wide range of approaches in place to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Our refreshed Scotti…
22 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to invest in early intervention to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people are able to access the right support for their mental health as early as possible, without stigma. We encourage children and young people to speak to their GP or school/colleg…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence is expected of a local authority when it is applying for retrofit and energy efficiency projects in its area.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Councils must give due regard to the statutory guidance published by the Scottish Government in contracting for retrofit and energy efficiency projects. We would expect councils to apply relevant and proportionate selection criteria to establish the suitabili…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been claimed in energy efficiency grants for energy retrofit programmes by each local authority, in each year since 2008.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Details of the grant allocations and outturns for each council as part of our Area Based Schemes programme since 2013 are published on the Scottish Government website: Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: area-based schemes - gov.scot (www.gov.sco…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities responded to the consultation on (a) the Heat in Buildings Strategy, (b) Cleaner Air for Scotland 2, (c) Climate Change - Net Zero Nation: draft public engagement strategy, (d) Establishing a Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet, (e) Investing in and paying for your…
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government and some agencies publish all public consultations on the consultation hub. Respondents can decide whether they would like their response to be published on the consultation hub after the closing date. Thereafter, published responses wil…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many investigations have taken place under section 48 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 in each year since 2016.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to working in partnership with COSLA, local authorities, and the wide range of public bodies on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency. The Scottish Government and Sustainable Scotland Networ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on each local authority's annual area-wide, cross-sector target emissions reductions, in order to assess whether Scotland is on track to reach net zero in sectors such as land use, transport and buildings.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to working in partnership with COSLA, Local Authorities and the wide range of public bodies on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency. All 32 Scottish local authorities signed Scotland’s Clima…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to understand the resources and capacity building that is needed by local authorities to deliver net zero, and what steps it is taking to meet that need, in light of reports of shortages of local authority resources.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government regularly engages with local authorities and the wider public sector, including through COSLA and the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), where current opportunities and challenges within local authority climate action are frequently d…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to replace competitive funding programmes with straightforward funding for net zero projects that local authorities wish to take forward in order to meet their net zero targets.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities, including by funding in key areas for public sector climate action through a mix of competitive and other funding programmes. Inviting bids from local authorities enables us to identify r…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to understand what public body policy levers are fundamental to reducing carbon emissions in a local authority area.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government continues to support public sector leadership on the climate emergency through ongoing engagement with key bodies such as the Sustainable Scotland Network, Scottish Leaders Forum, Environment and Economy Leadership Group and the Scotti…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to understand what proportion of local area emissions public bodies have (a) direct and (b) indirect leverage over.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The statutory targets to reduce Scotland’s economy-wide emissions to net-zero, set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and Climate Change (Emissions Reductions Target) (Scotland) Act 2019, are set at the national level and are not disaggregated to lo…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public bodies’ carbon management plans are assessed annually.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Since 2015-16, around 180 listed Scottish public bodies have been required to report annually on compliance with their statutory climate change duties. To assess progress on emissions reduction, the Scottish Government funds the Sustainable Scotland Network (…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether public bodies are required under legislation to report progress on reducing Scope 3 procurement emissions.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020 came into force on 9 November 2020. By November 2022, the Order requires Scottish public bodies to report, where applicable, targets for reducing indirect emi…
20 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the Just Transition away from fossil fuels in relation to the Grangemouth Refinery.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scotland’s chemicals, oil refining and manufacturing sectors - to which the Grangemouth region is the main contributor - employs c.7,000 people and contributes an annual GVA of over £800m. However, with that economic strength also comes 30% of all Scottish in…
20 Dec 2021 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it will take in response to the 2020-21 audit of its consolidated accounts by the Auditor General for Scotland.
9 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on photographers in each year since 2016.
Answer · Tom Arthur: While the Scottish Government and our agencies sometimes make use of aerial imagery services, excluding this, spend on “Photography Service Providers” – the relevant category in our accounting system - per year since 2016 is shown in the following table: Apr…
9 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much uncommitted expenditure will be suspended during the review of the national flood defence programme.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: COSLA recommended to Scottish Ministers that the flood protection schemes eligible for funding in the Flood Risk Management Strategies published in December 2015 which are not yet “legally committed” are to be paused and reviewed. Ministers accepted this reco…
9 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has offered local authorities to assist in the roll-out of eBikes, in each year since 2018.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government funds Energy Saving Trust (EST) to deliver the EST E-bike Grant Fund. Grants provided to local authorities since 2018 are presented in the following table: E-Bike Grant Fund - 2018-2021 - Local Authority grants Local Authority Year…
6 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the Energy Saving Trust and Home Energy Scotland have the resources required to provide loans for electric vehicles to the public.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government provides annual funding to the Energy Saving Trust to administer the Low Carbon Transport Loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Transport Scotland officials also work closely with Energy Saving Trust to consider the most appropriate st…
25 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03032 by Jamie Hepburn on 27 September 2021, whether it will list the organisations that have received funding through the Saltire Research Awards.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Royal Society of Edinburgh have provided a full list of 2021 RSE Saltire Research Awards on their website. This includes 13 Scottish higher education institutions, across the 93 awardees:Edinburgh College of ArtGlasgow Caledonian UniversityHeriot Watt Uni…
25 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the carbon levy payment was for business flights taken by (a) Ministers and (b) officials, in each year since 2018.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The carbon levy raised since 2018 is 2018-19 £33,837 2019-20 £40,534 2020 –21 £558 2021-22 Payment due by end March 2022. The levy is collected by our travel provider and paid back annually. It is not broken down by Ministers and Officials. The carbon e…