Parliamentary questions
Pauline McNeill
2,364 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
17 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has carried out with tenants to raise awareness of their right to live in rented property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least E by 1 October 2020.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020. Citizens’ Advice Scotland (CAS) was part of the working group to develop the proposals, alongside the Existing Homes Allianc…
17 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a fine is a sufficient deterrent where a private landlord has failed to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least E for their property by 1 October 2020.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The regulations require that new tenancies must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020. The modelled average cost of upgrading stock with an EPC rating of F or G to meet an EPC E is around £1,140. There is a broad range of support and incentives to help…
17 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the implementation of the regulations that require private landlords to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least E for their properties by 1 October 2020.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020. The Scottish Government expects local councils to take a targeted approach to enforcement. This means initially gathering ev…
17 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the take-up of financial assistance available to people who want to make energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Home Energy Scotland (HES) are currently running a campaign to raise awareness of the available financial assistance, through a combination of social media, radio adverts and direct mail to highlight the support that is available to improve the energy efficie…
17 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the consultation on energy efficiency and condition standards in private-rented housing.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The “ Energy efficiency and condition standards in private rented housing: A Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme Consultation : Analysis of responses to the public consultation exercise ” was published on 14 November 2017. The report can be accessed at: …
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Siemens regarding leading edge erosion on its 3.6 MW offshore turbine blade.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government are aware of the issues around leading edge erosion, but have had no specific discussions with Siemens on this topic.
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements exist for the recycling or disposal of decommissioned wind turbine blades.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government strongly supports the circular economy and while Scottish Ministers do not directly have responsibility for what are commercial decisions by operators, or the industry standards for blades manufactured outside of Scotland, but we are e…
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many wind turbines have been decommissioned since 2010, and how the parts were recycled or disposed of.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government do not hold information on the number of wind turbines which have been decommissioned since 2010. Regarding disposal, I refer the member to answer to question S5W-27424 on 11 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions a…
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many wind turbine blades are expected to be decommissioned in the next 10 years, and what plans there are for their recycling or disposal.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government do not hold information on the number of wind turbines blades which are expected to be decommissioned in the next 10 years. At present, up to 85% of wind turbine parts can be recycled and the Scottish Government strongly encourage the…
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of projected demand for wind turbine decommissioning, and whether it has any evidence that turbine blades are wearing out more quickly than anticipated.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The operations and maintenance of wind farms is a matter for the operator therefore the Scottish Government does not hold any information on projected demand for wind turbine decommissioning. To date, only one wind farm in Scotland has been decommissioned an…
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the renewables industry about wind turbine decommissioning.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The operations and maintenance of wind farms is a matter for the operator. The Scottish Government regularly engages with wind farm operators and encourages the sector to reuse, recycle and recover resources wherever possible. However the Scottish Government…
12 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates the findings of the voluntary review into Glasgow homelessness services, which was agreed with Glasgow City Council in June 2019 in relation to its failure to provide temporary accommodation, will be published.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The voluntary review into Glasgow homelessness services is a partnership approach by Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council focused on improving practice around the failure to provide temporary accommodation to homeless households. The voluntary review …
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government in the last three years regarding reducing journey times to London on the West Coast Main Line.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Working Group has identified options in Lancashire and between Abington and Glasgow that, in conjunction with HS2, could also increase capacity and achieve an air competitive Glasgow to London journey time of approximately 3¼ hours. The Working Group is …
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to support disabled people who wish to stand for electoral office.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Political parties should support their disabled candidates with additional costs , however we recognise that this may not always be possible. In February 2016 the Scottish Government launched the Access to Elected Office Fund to provide support for disabled …
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what poverty-proofing assessment it has undertaken on each of its climate change policies.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A number of impact assessments which consider socioeconomic factors are undertaken for new Scottish Government policies and strategies, where appropriate. This includes the Fairer Scotland Duty, Equalities Impact Assessments and Child Rights and Wellbeing Im…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make improvements to Sunday services provided by any future rail operators.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that our rail services deliver the best possible connectivity for the people of Scotland. Over the last ten years we have significantly improved both the frequency of weekday and Sunday services. In addition, w…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the rail network's capacity to increase the number of passengers using it, and whether it will publish the findings of any such assessment.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As a result of the significant investment made in Scotland’s Railway infrastructure, stations and services, we have seen patronage grow by 35% in the last ten years. Our National Transport Strategy, which was published on 5 February, sets out the future dire…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the frequency of rail services in areas that currently have an hourly service.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27384 on 26 February 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is undertaking with the public regarding the impact of its climate change policies.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scotland’s response to the global climate emergency must be a truly national endeavour. There is a significant role for the whole of Scottish society in supporting transformational change. For this reason, constructive dialogue with the Scottish public must b…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government in the last three years regarding HS2.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Over the last three years, Transport Scotland and Department for Transport officials have been working in partnership with HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to deliver a joint UK and Scottish Government commitment to identify options that could improve capacity and re…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce reliance on gas boilers and increase the use of alternative heating sources.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government currently funds a number of schemes to support the uptake of renewable and low carbon heat, including support for heat networks and for individual households and businesses to install low carbon heating. Where we currently provide fund…
10 Feb 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what public awareness raising it has undertaken regarding alternative heating sources to gas boilers.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Home Energy Scotland (HES) programme provides free, expert and impartial advice to householders to help overcome the understanding and awareness barriers to uptake of renewables, with much of that support focussed on alternatives to fossil fuel heating sy…
28 Jan 2020 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a single consent form to allow benefit claimants to agree to share their data for the purpose of benefit take-up.
14 Jan 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the transfer of powers to Scotland following Brexit.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has had countless discussions with the UK Government on this crucial issue. I most recently raised this during a bi-lateral meeting with Michael Gove and at the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) on ? 9 Januar…
17 Dec 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to calls for it to no longer offer contracts to private firms that employ people on zero-hours contracts.
16 Dec 2019 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent people with mental health conditions becoming homeless.
11 Dec 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that there are regular breaches of the time limits aimed at preventing delay in High Court trials.
2 Dec 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to support the re-establishment of the O2 ABC venue in Glasgow.
21 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what bids it has received from Glasgow City Council, or the local authority's arms length external organisations, for support from the Ending Homelessness Together fund in each year since 2017.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have not received any bids for funding from the Ending Homelessness Together Fund, which has been established to support transformation and transition as we deliver the changes set out in the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan. However, the followin…
21 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of sub-zero temperatures being recorded in the city in November 2019, what its response is to calls for night shelters in Glasgow to open before 1 December.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: As set out in my letter to you dated 27 November, I support the views of organisations across the homelessness sector in Glasgow that this kind of emergency accommodation is not what we should be aspiring to. The third sector organisations working in this sec…