Parliamentary questions
Douglas Lumsden
1,891 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many domestic properties rely on (a) heating oil and (b) liquefied petroleum gas as their primary heating fuel, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The most recently available Local Authority analysis from the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is from 2017 to 2019Table 1 shows the estimated number of dwellings that use heating oil, or LPG as their primary heating fuel, broken down by Local Authority…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received on how many tonnes of (a) propane, (b) butane and (c) natural gasoline were exported from the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant in each of the last three financial years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: According to the most recently available data provided to Fife Council by Shell, the total tonnes of natural gas liquids processed at the plant were: FY 2021-22: 2 million, FY 2022-23: 1.9 million and FY 2023-2024 1.9 million. The total number of shipments of…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic contribution of the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant to the Fife economy, including (a) direct employment, (b) supply-chain expenditure and (c) gross value added, in each of the last three calendar years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The latest evidence of the economic contribution from the Mossmorran NGL plant, provided by Shell to Fife Council, shows that the plant employed an average 196 people in 2022, 213 in 2023, and 229 people during 2024.
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on (a) the number of flaring events and their cumulative duration and (b) the causes of flaring at the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant in each of the last three calendar years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The number of flaring events and their cumulative duration over the last three calendar years is shown in the following table 202420232022No of Flaring Events238275202Total Duration (hours)12441934502There are a wide variety of causes of flaring at Mossm…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the continued operation of the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant aligns with Scotland’s statutory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Answer · Gillian Martin: In 2023, Mossmorran’s natural gas liquids plant produced around 0.1MtCO2e, or around 1.5% of Scotland’s industrial emissions. Scotland’s pathway to net-zero will require all polluting businesses to decarbonise over the next two decades where…
28 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement notices or other regulatory actions the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued in relation to the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant since 1 January 2022, and what remedial steps were required in each case.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have not issued any regulatory enforcement action, as defined in Table A of SEPA guidance on the use of enforcement action, against Shell UK Limited FNGL Plant since 1st January 2022.
18 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of waste it has directly generated in each of the last five financial years; how many tonnes of this waste were sent to landfill; how many tonnes it estimates it will generate in 2026, and how many tonnes of this waste it estimates will be sent to England from January 202…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Core Scottish Government reports the following figures for waste generated by its operations across premises over the past five financial years:2019-2020: 1,497 tonnes total waste , includes 92.76 tonnes of landfilled waste2020-2021: 867 tonnes total wast…
18 Jun 2025 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much waste generated by the Scottish Parliament will be transported to England once the Scottish Government's landfill ban comes into effect at the end of 2025, and what excess carbon dioxide will be generated as a result.
Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): Currently no waste generated by the Scottish Parliament is sent to landfill. General waste is sent to the Viridor Energy Recovery Centre in Dunbar and food waste is sent to the Anaerobic digestion centre at Millerhill. Other materials such as paper and glass …
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of its amendment to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, to reduce the threshold at which provisions apply to land from 3,000 hectares to 1,000 hectares, on the (a) likely number of sales and transfers of land and (b) costs to rural busines…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Amendment 38 to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, agreed to by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee at Stage 2, lowered the threshold in relation to the land which community engagement obligations (the primary of these being the land management plans) …
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any consultation with the financial services sector was undertaken during the development of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government undertook a range of consultation to develop the proposals in the Bill. Engagement with landowners and wider stakeholders is set out in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill - Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment and the results of our …
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on the cost of borrowing for rural businesses.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To understand the impact of Land Reform Bill proposals on businesses, the Scottish Government conducted a Scottish firms impact test, involving engagement with landowners, land agents and representative organisations of land-based businesses.Assessment of pot…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it plans to undertake to ensure that any ministerial decisions taken in accordance with the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill are compliant with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A lotting decision only takes place in a situation where a landowner is voluntarily selling their land. The lotting provisions cannot be used to compel an owner to sell land where there is no intention to dispose of it in the first place, nor sell a particula…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the potential impact of prior notification and lotting decisions within the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on individuals employed by landowners on landholdings impacted by the legislation.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To understand the impact of Land Reform (Scotland) Bill proposals on businesses, the Scottish Government conducted a Scottish firms impact test, involving engagement with landowners, land agents and representative organisations of land-based businesses.These …
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make compensation available to any businesses that are materially disadvantaged by the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: As outlined in the Policy Memorandum accessible for the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, landowners will be entitled to apply to the Scottish Ministers for compensation for any loss or expense that is incurred in complying with procedural requirements, attributab…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action a landowner can take in the event that the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is passed and they are placed in breach of contract with a lender as a result.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: As outlined in the Policy Memorandum accessible for the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, landowners will be entitled to apply to the Scottish Ministers for compensation for any loss or expense that is incurred in complying with procedural requirements, attributab…
11 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it is taking to address GP waiting times in NHS Grampian, in light of reports of ongoing staffing shortages, delayed discharges and critical incidents.
6 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the current model of volunteer-led aftercare services for hearing aids, delivered in specific locations on a rota basis, compared with a primary care audiology service providing aftercare and ongoing support closer to home.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is continuing to invest in RNID Near You, which provides an aftercare service delivering hearing aid support, access to information and advice and early detection and prevention through hearing checks, in partnership with the NHS in Sh…
28 May 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further detail regarding the reasons why it is not planning a broader review of the statutory grounds for fatal accident inquiries, in light of the previous review of statutory grounds being undertaken nearly a decade ago and reports of growing public concern over…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the "key drivers" targets in the Climate Change Committee report, Scotland’s Carbon Budgets, that are deemed necessary to achieve net zero emissions by 2045.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37973 on 12 June 2025. 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/…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the recommendations in the Climate Change Committee report, Scotland’s Carbon Budgets.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Following receipt of the Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s report, work is ongoing to consider the advice carefully and at pace. My intention is to lay regulations to set Scottish carbon budgets in legislation as soon as possible following Scottish Minis…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the proportion of new wind farm consents granted since 1 January 2022 that include legally enforceable conditions requiring (a) bird-strike monitoring, (b) adaptive management plans and (c) financial bonds for remedial action.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: In respect of offshore wind farms, three consents have been issued since 1 January 2022. All three have requirements for ornithological monitoring via a condition for a Project Environmental Monitoring Programme (PEMP). In the event that further potential adv…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the implications are of its Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 for the consenting and operation of wind farm developments in areas of high ornithological sensitivity.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Regarding the consenting process for new energy infrastructure, the environmental impacts of developments are examined according to provisions of the Electricity Act 1989, relevant Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, and habitats regulations, alongsi…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the estimated annual number of seabird and raptor collisions at operational (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind farms, broken down by (i) species and (ii) year in each of the last five years.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: As part of their applications for consent under the Electricity Act 1989, developers undertake environmental impact assessment (EIA), including collision risk modelling to estimate annual collisions in respect of ornithological receptors. The results of such …
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of turbine shutdown on demand systems in mitigating bird strikes at onshore wind farms, and what evidence it has evaluated to reach this position.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The mitigation of bird strikes at onshore wind farms is decided on a case-by-case basis. Any mitigation measures provided in the development's application documentation, specifically the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), is subject to statutory and other…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cumulative impact of (a) existing, (b) consented and (c) proposed wind farm developments on (i) kittiwake, (ii) gannet, (iii) white-tailed eagle and (iv) hen harrier populations, and whether it will publish any underlying data modelling.
Answer · Gillian Martin: For offshore wind, as part of the environmental assessment processes undertaken for the updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy, a cumulative assessment considering existing, consented and proposed impacts on protected seabird species is being u…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned or funded since 1 January 2020 into technological or operational measures to reduce bird collisions with wind-turbine blades, and what the total expenditure has been on any such research, broken down by project.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Scottish Government has not funded any projects into technical or operational measures to reduce bird collisions since 2020. Since 2020 Scottish Government has focussed on improving the evidence base on bird collision risk by funding research on establishing …
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the Scottish seabird sensitivity map to reflect the latest population trends and collision-risk research, and, if so, when it expects the revised map to be published.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not currently have plans to update the Scottish seabird sensitivity map. The Scottish seabird sensitivity map was last published in August 2024 following updates in over 2021-2023. There are various streams of work underway throug…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many post-construction ornithological monitoring reports it has received from wind farm operators in each of the last five years, and what summary findings it has identified from any such reports in relation to bird mortality.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: In respect of offshore wind farms, six reports have been submitted to the Marine Directorate – Licensing Operations Team. Reports consider the distribution and abundance of seabirds around wind farms or protected sites and what this may mean in terms of…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any contingencies that have been identified for maintaining electricity system security of supply in Scotland under any potential zonal pricing scenarios that result in lower generation margins within individual zones.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Decisions on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) are reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government has published impact assessments and is updating its analysis ahead of a final decision this summer. We are awaiting sight of this updated m…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potentialimplications of the UK Government’s consideration of zonal electricity pricingfor any progress towards statutory net zero targets in Scotland, and whether itwill publish any underlying modelling or analytical tables.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Decisions on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) are reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government has published impact assessments and is updating its analysis ahead of a final decision this summer. We are awaiting sight of this updated m…