Parliamentary questions

Willie Rennie

1,353 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

19 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what events it will permit on Remembrance Sunday.

1 Oct 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

24 Sep 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

21 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on older people of reduced contact with family and friends as a result of COVID-19.

17 Sep 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

11 Sep 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

3 Sep 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings or discussions it has had with (a) Ineos, (b) Petrochina and (c) Petroineos since 1 January 2020, broken down by date; what matters were raised; which ministers were involved, and whether it will place a copy of the minutes of each meeting in the Scottish Parliament Informa…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at the following web address: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ The Scottish Government is committed …

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been approached for a loan by Petroineos in 2020 and, if so, (a) on what dates, (b) what meetings or discussions it has had with the company regarding this; (c) whether it has asked the company to provide details regarding to what extent it has sought to access support fro…

Answer · Michael Matheson: As a responsible government, we have spoken to a range of businesses and trade unions during the pandemic, and subsequent economic crisis, including Petroineos as the operators of the Grangemouth refinery. The downstream oil refining sector is experiencing un…

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it applies conditions regarding (a) environmental standards and (b) reducing emissions to any funding provided to companies seeking support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Our immediate attention has been on health and on ensuring that our businesses remain intact. However, in our response to the recent Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, we set out our commitment to work in partnership with businesses to best align COVID supp…

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement it has with Project Birch, which is a unit that has been established by the UK Government to assess requests by companies for support during the COVID-19 pandemic; whether it will place details of any discussions it has had with the unit in the Scottish Parliament Inform…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 8 June 2020 on economic matters. The letter was copied to the Chancellor. In relation to Project Birch, it specifically asked for engagement “on the businesses you are working w…

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has responded to the open letter that was sent to the First Minister on 28 May 2020 by campaigners regarding the provision of financial support for Petroineos and, if so, whether it will place a copy of this in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government promptly responded to the open letter of 28 May 2020 on 2 June 2020 and a copy of this will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). (Bib number 61787).

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings or discussions it has had since 1 January 2020 with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regarding providing financial assistance to (a) Ineos, (b) Petrochina and (c) Petroineos, broken down by date; which ministers were involved, and whether it will …

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government regularly discusses issues with the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) spanning matters such as business; industry; science; research & innovation; climate change and energy. As energy polic…

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has provided to (a) Ineos, (b) Petrochina and (c) Petroineos since 1 January 2020, and for what reason; what conditions were attached, and how this assistance compares with any previous support provided to the business.

Answer · Michael Matheson: No specific financial support has been provided by Scottish Government to Ineos, Petrochina or Petroineos since 1 January 2020.

27 Aug 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

21 Aug 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

14 Aug 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

6 Aug 2020 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-04248 by Fergus Ewing on 11 March 2020 (Official Report, c.28) for what reason the cabinet secretary did not refer to the review of its position on the proposed expansion to Heathrow Airport in his response.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The question did not ask about the Scottish Government’s position on Heathrow.

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what account it took of its commitments under the Paris climate change agreement prior to signing its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Heathrow Airport in 2016 and, in light of the ruling by the Court of Appeal on 27 February 2020 that the UK Government had failed to carry out an a…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our approach to appraising transport investment in Scotland quantifies the potential impact of projects on the environment. It is for the UK Government to do the same for transport investments in England. The Court of Appeal ruling has no bearing on the vali…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings and correspondence it has had with Heathrow Airport since signing a memorandum of understanding in 2016, and whether it will place copies of this in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17111 on 21 June 2018. 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of FOI/19/02661 on 10 January 2020, what the basis was for it forecasting "improvements to aircraft emissions efficiency of 0.8% per year".

Answer · Michael Matheson: This was based on the Climate Change Committee’s report “Meeting the UK aviation target – options for reducing emissions to 2050” which estimated that the combination of aircraft, Air Traffic Management and operational efficiency improvements could result in …

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on its greenhouse gas emissions targets, what its position is on whether the number of short-haul flights across the UK should be increased.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland’s air connectivity with the rest of the UK is important to business and tourism, particularly where surface alternatives are not conducive to day trips for business such as Inverness-London or Edinburgh-Southampton. The collapse of Flybe followed by …

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the information provided in FOI/19/02661 on 10 January 2020, which suggested that an expansion of Heathrow Airport could lead to an additional 75,000 flights to Scotland's airports over 15 years that would produce 600,000 additional tonnes in emissions, whether it considers …

Answer · Michael Matheson: Routes from Scotland to global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. However, we recognise that more needs to …

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement on 5 February 2020 by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity on 5 February 2020 regarding its transport strategy (Official Report, c.19), in light of the potential impact on its greenhouse gas emissions targets of any decision reach…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The decision to support Heathrow airport’s expansion was one for the Westminster Government and Parliament.

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-00381 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 October 2016 (Official Report, c 16), in light of the First Minister's comment that "the Scottish Government has shown global leadership by including domestic and international aviation in our emissions reduction targe…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Over the four most recent years for which greenhouse gas emissions data is available (2015 to 2018), Scotland’s total emissions fell by 10%. Over this same period, emissions from aviation (both domestic and international) rose by 11% reflecting the positive g…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-00381 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 October 2016 (Official Report, c 16), in light of the First Minister's comment regarding then proposed expansion to Heathrow Airport n that "the UK Government will have to answer questions [about climate change and emi…

Answer · Michael Matheson: It is for the UK Parliament to hold the UK Government to account.

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-03817 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 January 2020, (Official Report, c.18), when it will conclude the review of its position on the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport; whether it will place a copy of its conclusions and all supporting documents in the …

Answer · Michael Matheson: Routes between Scotland and global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. We recognise the need to reduce emiss…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26605 by Michael Matheson on 20 December 2019, whether it remains committed the memorandum of understanding that it signed with Heathrow Airport, and what consideration it has given to withdrawing from it.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Yes, we remain committed to the memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Government and Heathrow. We are clear that expansion of the UK’s only global hub airport should deliver benefits for all the nations of the UK. Routes between Scotland and global…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-03404 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 May 2019, in light of the First Minister's comments regarding the Scottish Government's position about the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport and that the Scottish will " look at all our policies across all areas of…