Parliamentary questions
Liam Kerr
2,165 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light if the reported commitment made by Alex Salmond in 2006 that if he were to become Scotland's First Minister in 2007 the first decision he would make, within 100 days, would be to dual the road between Ellon and Peterhead, whether it still plans to dual this section of the A90, …
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I am not appraised of the quote in question and nor are my officials in Transport Scotland.
24 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it decided that allocating (a) £2 million and (b) the later amount of £5 million to the Climate Justice Fund was the "right" amount to allocate, and what pre-existing strategy it was following, or outcomes or targets it was aiming to achieve.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Climate Justice Fund aims to support communities facing the impacts of climate change under a justice-based approach. The decision to allocate £2m of it to address loss and damage was based on the scale of the need, the lack of funding from others, and th…
24 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the next Climate Justice Fund independent evaluation will be conducted and concluded, and whether it will include analysis of (a) the £2 million loss and damage funding announced around COP26 and (b) the £5 million loss and damage funding announced at COP27.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The next evaluation is planned for the end of the current funding cycle (to March 31 2026) and will include all funding that has been allocated from within the Climate Justice Fund. The evaluation will cover whether or not the funding has achieved it’s strate…
24 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13828 by Michael Matheson on 24 January 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether it consulted (a) Wood Mackenzie (b) Rystad and (c) Westwood Global Energy as part of the development of its Draft Energy Strategy and J…
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government drew on data from Wood Mackenzie and other organisations in developing the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. As we committed to in the Bute House Agreement, the Scottish Government is undertaking in-depth analysis work t…
24 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13349 by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023, whether it is the case that it can now confirm how much funding will be allocated to the Climate Justice Fund in financial year 2023-24, and, if it is not the case, whether it will provide a draft figure, p…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: I can confirm that budget for the Climate Justice Fund is currently expected to be £6m for Financial Year 2023-24 subject to parliamentary approval of the budget.
24 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many ScotRail passengers experienced delays during their train journey in 2022, broken down by the main reason for the delay.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The information that is recorded and available in relation to delays and cause attribution across train operators is published routinely by the rail industry economic and safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), on its data portal. This can be ac…
24 Jan 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what was discussed in official meetings that took place on 4 October 2022 between the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture and various European delegates.
23 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average daily demand for electricity is in Scotland; what it projects the demand will be in 2030, and whether it will provide the evidence on which this projection is based.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The current average daily demand for electricity in Scotland (a 12-month rolling average figure, for the 12 months ending November 2022) is 70.4 GWh. This data is from National Grid Electricity System Operator’s data explorer and is published on Scottish Ener…
23 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide any data it has on which Scotland-based industries are the largest emitters of carbon in Scotland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency publish detailed data on industrial carbon dioxide emissions. There are three different, but complementary, sources of such data with each defining industries in different terms. The firs…
23 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on which dates the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans has visited police stations, fire stations, courts or prisons in the North East Scotland region since his appointment in May 2021, and whether it will provide specific details of each visit.
Answer · Keith Brown: All Ministerial engagements, including visits to police stations, fire stations, courts and prisons, is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ .
20 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the study to map the net zero gap skills on Scottish islands, as referred to on page 12 of the Carbon Neutral Islands Project Progress Report, commenced as intended in December 2022, and, if not, when it is expected to do so.
Answer · Lorna Slater: As stated in the previous answer to S6W-13831 on 26 January 2023 this work is in its early stages. Initial meetings were held in December 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for …
20 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13620 by John Swinney on 17 January 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether another budget line was reduced in order to allocate a further £60.9 million to deliver Hulls 801 and 802 in its draft Budget, and, if so, …
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government’s capital budget increased from £5.8 billion in 2022-23 to £5.9 billion in 2023-24, a rise of £115 million. In my previous response, I explained the process the Scottish Government undertakes when agreeing annual budgets. It considers …
19 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent to date on a Biodiversity Investment Plan, as set out in the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, and how many civil servants have worked on delivering this.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Following the recent publication of the draft biodiversity strategy, a delivery plan is now being developed and this will include the development of an investment plan. The delivery plan is being led jointly by Scottish Government and NatureScot officials, dr…
19 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any external organisations or individuals have provided paid consultancy services to date in relation to the development of a Biodiversity Investment Plan, as set out in the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, and, if so, which external organisations or individuals have done so.
Answer · Lorna Slater: No organisations or individuals have provided paid consultancy services in relation to the development of a Biodiversity Investment Plan.
18 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12923 by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023, which refers to "key areas of work completed to date", where information on these completed works is published, and whether it will provide the results of this work.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Outline Business Case will, when fully endorsed, be published on the Transport Scotland website as is normal practice. Transport Scotland would not routinely publish the other completed areas of work including the development of a concept timetable. Howe…
17 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any new staff will be recruited in 2023 to support the delivery of the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and, if so, at what grades, and in what numbers.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Workforce planning for the next phase of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan is ongoing and therefore we are at present unable to provide a comprehensive overview of recruitment for 2023.
17 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any new staff will be recruited in 2023 to support the delivery of climate change initiatives, and, if so, at what grades, and in what numbers.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Delivery of this Government’s climate change initiatives, including our updated Climate Change Plan, Climate Change Adaptation Programme and emerging Just Transition Plans, is integrated into the work of teams right across the Scottish Government, our agencie…
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11868 by Patrick Harvie on 17 November 2022, whether it knows the precise locations of the (a) 170,000 off-gas-grid households and (b) approximately 40,000 households unsuitable for air source heat pump technology, and, if so, which region or island…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The research in question was based on archetypes rather than individual properties. As such, it is not possible to precisely identify the location of the 170,000 off-gas-grid households and the 40,000 households directly from the data outputs. Before introdu…
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the outcomes in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021 of Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters 2020; what its (i) direct and (ii) indirect costs were; what its budget was for the Year; how many events were held in each local authority area; on what date each event occurred, a…
Answer · Neil Gray: 2020 was designated Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, a year that would spotlight, celebrate and promote opportunities to experience and enjoy Scotland’s unrivalled coasts and waters, encouraging responsible engagement and participation. The visitor oppor…
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions ministers have met with the developers of onshore windfarms in each of the past five years; which companies ministers met with, and when, and which ministers were involved in these meetings.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Since May 2016, the Scottish Government has maintained a public record of all ministerial engagements, overseas travel, car journeys, domestic travel and gifts received. This includes meeting dates and attendees. The Member for North East Scotland can find t…
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which of its vehicles, and those of its agencies, based in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Aberdeen and (d) Dundee it projects will not comply with Low Emission Zone rules when they come into force.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There are only five vehicles in the entire SG and wider SG agency fleet which would not comply, zero in Glasgow, two in Aberdeen and three in Edinburgh, out of a total fleet of 197 vehicles.
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Workplace Parking Levy, how much money the policy has collected since March 2022; how many local authorities (a) currently implement the policy and (b) have signalled their intention to introduce the levy in the future.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a discretionary power for local authorities to implement workplace parking licencing (WPL) schemes. It will be for local authorities to decide whether they wish to implement WPL locally and to shape proposals to su…
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions (a) ministers and (b) its staff have flown (i) out of and (ii) in to Prestwick Airport since 2013, broken down by year.
Answer · Ivan McKee: There have been five flights out of Prestwick since 2013: Calendar year Ministers Officials 2013 0 2 2014 1 1 2015 0 1 2016 0 0 2017 0 0 2018 0 0 2019 0 0 2020 0 0 2021 0 0 2022 0 0 and six flights into Prestwick since 2013: …
16 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any analysis or assessment on the potential of nuclear energy in Scotland in the last 12 months; what the results of any such analysis were; what conclusions it has made about the impact of nuclear-generated energy for Scotland, and, based on any evidence, what…
Answer · Michael Matheson: As set out in our recent draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan the Scottish Government’s position on traditional nuclear energy has not and will not change. Given our long-standing position on nuclear, any such analysis would not be value for money …
13 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10553 by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2022, what the ScotRail budget for Rail Passenger Services (a) is for 2023 and (b) was in each of the years set out in the answer; how much of the budget remained unspent at the end of each of those years, or, …
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The draft budget for rail passenger services for (a) 2023-24 is £458 million, as published in December and remains subject to the Parliamentary approval process. The following table sets out (b) budget against expenditure and explanations for variances that …
13 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the contract with CEMRE to build two ferries, to serve the Islay route, in Turkey, whether there are any clauses stipulating that Scottish, UK, EU or other European businesses should form part of the supply chain where possible.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13041 on 10 January 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-commit…
11 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) work has been undertaken and (b) funding has been provided to explore the development of steel mills that could produce high-quality scrap steel from decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government commissioned independent research into the state of the steel sector in Scotland from the University of Warwick. This report is available to read online and can be found here . Decommissioning at Scottish ports should be undertaken …
11 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any assessment has been conducted and will be published regarding its support to Scottish industry in relation to the research and development, manufacturing of, and the required skills to ensure the long-term maintenance of wind turbines.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan set out a series of actions, including the development of a refreshed Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan by the end of 2023. Alongside this, as part of the ScotWind leasing round, developers were required …
11 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish the updated guidance, Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) makes clear that we encourage developers to offer community benefit and shared ownership opportunities as standard on all renewable energy projects. As set out within the ESJTP, the Scottish Governme…
11 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the development of an investment prospectus to support the move to a net zero energy system, as referred to in its Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, which was published on 10 January 2023, when work on the prospectus is expected to (a) begin and (b) be compl…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The development of an investment prospectus, as mentioned in the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan , originated as a recommendation from the Just Transition Commission, in its ‘Making the Future – Initial Report of the 2 nd Just Transition Com…