Parliamentary questions
Douglas Lumsden
1,891 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in response to the Sands report, The Sands Listening Project: Learning from the experiences of Black and Asian bereaved parents.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the Sands Listening Project: Learning from the experiences of Black and Asian bereaved parents report as an important addition to the landscape of confidential enquiries, audits and other reports that inform…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what total value of government-funded grants for heat pumps has been awarded to homes in the Aberdeen City Council area in each year since 2022.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme, launched in December 2022, offers homeowners and self-builders in Scotland a grant, interest free loan or a combination of both to support the installation of clean heating systems and energy efficiency me…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of proposed police station closures on tackling crime in the Aberdeen City Council area.
Answer · Angela Constance: Police Scotland’s 2019 Estate Strategy outlined plans to replace outdated, underinvested and underused properties with a modern, fit-for-purpose estate. This will help develop modern premises, capable of delivering effective and efficient public services to m…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its civil servants are currently employed in the Aberdeen City Council area.
Answer · Shona Robison: At 30 September 2023 there were 254 directly employed staff within the Aberdeen City Council area. The Scottish Government publishes employment figures on a quarterly basis. This data, along with a time series back to 2012 and full explanatory notes, can be …
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on the Scottish economy of the UK Government's decision to grant approval of the Rosebank oil field.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Offshore oil and gas licensing and the associated fiscal regime are both reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not undertake detailed assessments of the economic impacts of individual oil and gas field developments. We are aware that Eq…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has received regarding whether any public funding that it has provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has contributed to funding any proscribed terrorist groups.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We are deeply concerned by the allegations arising in January 2024 that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel. Ahead of Scottish Government awarding funding to UNRWA in November 2023, UNRWA provided a copy of the regulatory fra…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has distributed in flood recovery grants to (a) homes and (b) businesses affected by Storm Babet.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government has funded Angus, Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross Councils to distribute £516,000 in community recovery grants and £240,000 in business recovery grants to eligible homes and businesses affected by Storm Babet, totallin…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24106 by Fiona Hyslop on 30 January 2024, whether it will provide a breakdown of the £8.7 million spend since 2016 on the Aberdeen – Central Belt Journey Time Improvement project.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The £8.7 million has been spent on a programme of design and development works for the scheme with Network Rail, who is taking this project forward on the Scottish Government’s behalf. A breakdown is retained by Network Rail and you may wish to contact Networ…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact closures of the (a) A96 and (b) A90 as a result of road traffic accidents have had on the local economy.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the local economic impact of road closures. The impact of closing a road due to a collision depends on the specific circumstances such as the collision location, the time of day, the duration of the closure…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much diesel has been consumed by the current fleet of Class 43 High Speed Trains (HSTs) in the last 12 months.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on improving drainage on the A90 from Dundee to Aberdeen in each financial year from 2019-20 to date.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As trunk road maintenance costs are held on a whole route basis we are unable to provide figures for the section of the A90 trunk road from Dundee to Aberdeen. However, please see the following table for details of how much was spent on improving drainage on…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the A90 from Dundee to Aberdeen has been closed due to a lack of adequate drainage in each financial year from 2019-20 to date.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Records show there has been no instances of road closures due to lack of adequate drainage on the A90 trunk road from Dundee to Aberdeen from 2019-20 to date.
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the value of oil and gas exports, as a percentage of Scotland’s total exports, has been in each financial year from 2014-15 to date.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: There are no statistics available on Scotland’s total exports including oil and gas on a quarterly or a financial year basis. On a calendar year basis, the latest available official statistics in development (previously known as experimental statistics) inclu…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the gross value added (GVA) of the oil and gas industry in Scotland has been in each financial year from 2014-15 to date (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of Scotland’s total GVA.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Financial year (April to March) (a) Oil & gas extraction in Scottish adjacent waters, GVA in current prices (£ million) (b) Oil & gas extraction in Scottish adjacent waters, GVA as a percentage of total GVA for Scotland 2014-15 11,182 7.9% 2015-16 7,…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many oil and gas workers have been on reskilling courses supported by the Scottish Government in each financial year from 2020-21 to date.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government does not hold or compile figures relating to the occupations of people who have taken up reskilling courses provided through programmes receiving our funding support. Examples of such supported programmes, which have provided reskilli…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the final Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published, in light of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan being published on 10 January 2023.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Following a comprehensive consultation process, the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published by Summer 2024. It will set out our vision for a future net zero energy system that delivers affordable, secure and clean energy and provides high q…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of spend from the Just Transition Fund in financial year 2023-24.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: A total of 20 projects are currently being delivered through the Just Transition Fund in 2023-24. Spend is still ongoing to March end 2024 with just under £12 million drawn down by projects to date. This is comprised of £10.3 million in capital, £1 million i…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of planned spend from the Just Transition Fund in financial year 2024-25.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. The current planned spend for the Just …
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of money from the Just Transition Fund to date has gone to (a) businesses and (b) community groups.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Of the £75 million committed from the Just Transition Fund so far, 10.3% has been awarded to community groups and 52.2% has been allocated for awards to businesses. Of the 52.2% committed to businesses, £25 million or 33% is made up of the Just Transition Fu…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of spend from the Just Transition Fund in financial year 2022-23.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. A total of 23 projects were delivered t…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage change in the amount allocated to the Just Transition Fund is from financial year 2023-24 to 2024-25.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: In 2024-25 there has been a regrettable 51.2% reduction in capital allocated to the Just Transition Fund in 2024-25. There has been a 100% reduction in financial transactions allocated to the Just Transition Fund in 2024-25. The change in budget allocation …
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the lease for the Class 43 High Speed Trains (HSTs) ends.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18441 on 15 June 2023. 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…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates that all of the Class 43 High Speed Trains (HSTs) will be replaced.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24336 on 30 January 2024. 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-committ…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has done any modelling of any increase of HGV vehicles on the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen, in light of Cromarty Firth being awarded freeport status.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has not done any modelling of any increase in HGVs on the A96 as a result of the Cromarty Firth Freeport announcement. However, the areas currently proposed for development as part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport lar…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on improvements on the A96 between Aberdeen and Nairn in the last 12 months.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has spent £6.2m on structural maintenance, strategic road safety and climate change adaption improvements on the A96 between Aberdeen and Nairn in the last 12 months. These costs comprise of construction costs only and do not include d…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on safety improvements on the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen in each of the last three financial years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following amounts have been spent on safety improvements on the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen in each of the last full three financial years: Year Spent 2020-21 £102,076.99 2021-22 £102,018.66 2022-23 £610,017.72 This spend is delivered thro…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on safety improvements at the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has spent £67,232 on the construction of safety improvements on the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017. These safety improvements have been delivered through Transport Scotland’s Trunk Road Casualty Reduction programme of …
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been created in the renewables sector in the (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire Council area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Statistics from the ONS Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) survey provide estimates of renewable employment statistics in Scotland. No data is available to provide additional geographic breakdowns below the Scotland level at present. As the foll…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any impact of local authorities decreasing relief on non-domestic rates for empty, listed properties.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Empty Property Relief was devolved to local authorities on 1 April 2023, and it is for individual local authorities to decide how they will tailor any support for unoccupied property, including listed buildings, to best support their local needs. As indicate…
2 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the conclusions of the review of the dualling of the A96 will be published.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the A96. The current plan is to fully dual the route and as part of this process we are undertaking a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme. The significant interest in the review’s initial con…