Parliamentary questions
Liam Kerr
2,165 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been received to the Just Transition Fund to date; whether it will provide the full list of locations for advertising the fund; when the application process for the first £20 million closes, and when the first £20 million will be awarded to successful applicant…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The application window for the first year of the Just Transition Fund closed on 15 July 2022, with a total of 102 proposals received. The Fund was advertised through the Scottish Government’s website and social media platforms, as well as through local partn…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10025 by Richard Lochhead on 22 August 2022, whether it anticipates the reported approximately 70,000 jobs currently sustained in the north east by oil and gas to remain in the north east by 2030, whether in oil and gas and/or renewables.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Robert Gordon University report – Making the Switch, funded through the North-East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF), estimates between 70,000 and 80,000 people are directly and indirectly employed in the offshore energy sector in Scotland, with …
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10026 by Richard Lochhead on 22 August 2022, who or which body will judge whether a bidding organisation is “headquartered, or demonstrate[s] a strong connection to at least one of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray"; what its written definition …
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government officials assess whether each bidding organisation to the Just Transition Fund is “headquartered, or demonstrate[s] a strong connection to at least one of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray". Only proposals that meet this criteria are c…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether funding has continued for Action Against Stalking further to the initial investment of £55,000 in the 2019-20 victim/witness support budget.
Answer · Keith Brown: We have continued to increase our funding to Action Against Stalking since 2019. In 2020-21 we provided almost £115,000 in funding and in 2021-22 we provided £100,000. In March 2022 we announced funding of £495,000 over the period 2022-25 from the new Victim…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been undertaken in the last five years of the effectiveness of its plans to tackle stalking and harassment.
Answer · Keith Brown: A refresh of the Equally Safe Delivery Plan outlining the joint commitment of the Scottish Government and COSLA to preventing and eradicating all forms of violence against women and girls, which includes stalking and sexual harassment, and tackling underpinni…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific investment it has provided to Police Scotland in support of tackling stalking and harassment offences in (a) Scotland and (b) Aberdeen in each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government provides grant in aid funding to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), as outlined in the Annual Budget Bills. In 2022-23 this funding totals over £1.3 billion. It is for the SPA and the Chief Constable to allocate this funding to polic…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many successful prosecutions for stalking and harassment offences there have been in (a) Scotland and (b) Aberdeen in each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23 to date.
Answer · Keith Brown: The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘stalking offences’ is provided in the following table. Number of people proceeded and convicted for stalking offences (where main crime) in Scottish courts, 2018-19 to 2020-21. Scotlan…
22 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total final cost of ScotRail's nationalisation was, in relation to the transfer of operations of ScotRail from Abellio to the nationalised operator.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The decision to bring ScotRail under public control avoided the need to run an expensive and inappropriate rail franchising competition. Though widely acknowledged as a failed model, franchise competitions remain the preferred approach in current UK Legislati…
22 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the combined generating capacity in GW will be of the projects that it anticipates will be constructed under the ScotWind leasing round; whether it remains of the view, set out in its 2020 Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy, that "...an overall national limit on generatin…
Answer · Michael Matheson: Following the clearing announcement on the 22 August 2022, the ScotWindleasing round has identified 20 offshore wind projects with a potential overall capacity of 27.6GW. Based on the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) submitted with the leasing appli…
22 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09822 by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022, what the ScotRail budget has been in each year from 1 April 2016 to 1 April 2023, and, for each year, what proportion of the budget, expressed as a percentage, was allocated to (a) staff costs, (b) rolling st…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not hold the details of ScotRail expenditure broken down by the categories you have requested. The Scottish Government budget for Rail Passenger Services, which covers both ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper, has been published as :…
5 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-08649, S6W-09452 and S6W-09553 by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June and 28 July 2022, whether it can provide a breakdown of the figures provided in response to each of three questions for the North East region.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: ScotRail does not record passenger complaints data by region, but by rail route. The following below table shows ScotRail’s complaints data for routes which serve the North East region. Complaint Type April May June 1st Class 14 21 28 Assisted Travel…
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints were received by ScotRail from (a) passengers and (b) staff between 1 and 31 July 2022, broken down by the reason for the complaint.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The number of passenger complaints received by ScotRail, through their official complaints process, is set out on the following table for the period 1 July to 31 July 2022. The complaints may involve incidents that occurred before 1 July 2022. The figure for…
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any schemes in place to reduce the number of seagulls, particularly herring gulls, nesting in residential areas.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The responsibility for dealing with nuisance gulls on private property lies with the property owner, although local authorities can provide advice and assistance, and have powers under environmental protection legislation to tackle nuisances. Local authoriti…
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to change the law regarding the protection of seagulls, including in particular herring gulls.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government does not have any plans to change the law regarding the protection of gulls, including herring gulls. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides protection for all wild birds. NatureScot has responsibility for the issuing of Gener…
3 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the percentage terms difference between the running costs of heat pumps compared with those of a gas boiler, including what that would mean in cash terms as of August 2022, in light of its proposal to prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems, such a…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net-zero obligation legislated for, and agreed by all parties, in the Scottish Parliame…
3 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of people in Scotland accredited to install and maintain heat pumps (a) at present and (b) that would be required from 2024, should its proposals on prohibiting the use of direct emissions heating systems, such as those that run on fossil fuel, in ne…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Our Heat in Buildings Workforce Assessment Project, published in June 2022, provided an analysis of the current scale of the existing workforce in Scotland trained to fit certain zero emission heating systems such as heat pumps. The report highlighted that …
2 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08116 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2022, whether it will provide an update on whether the "rail improvement project" referred to has now concluded option selection, and, if so, what options have been selected.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The package of enhancements identified via the option selection process is to be confirmed by Transport Scotland by the end of 2022, as part of its endorsement of the Outline Business Cases for both this project and the related project to decarbonise this rou…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the emissions savings that it anticipates will be achieved, should all new builds require to be fitted with alternatives to direct emissions heating systems, such as those run on fossil fuel, from 2024.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government is currently consulting on its final proposals for the New Build Heat Standard. This consultation will inform the final regulations which are expected to be laid during 2023 before coming into force in April 2024. Alongside those regul…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what type of heating systems it will require builders of new buildings to install in place of fossil fuel heating from 2024, should its proposed ban on the use of direct emissions heating systems, such as those run on fossil fuel, in new-build properties be put in place; whether it will …
Answer · Patrick Harvie: As set out in our Part II consultation on the New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) ( New build heat standard consultation: part II - Scottish Government - Citizen Space ), the Scottish Government proposes that from 2024, new buildings must use zero direct emissio…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the electricity grid will have capacity to cope with demand, should its proposed ban on the use of direct emissions heating systems in new-build properties from 2024 be put in place; whether it will provide any data it has on the matter; what action it …
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The regulation and funding of electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. However, we are engaging closely with Ofgem and BEIS to ensure that its policy and regulation recognises and enables Scotland’s world leading net zero target, and this inclu…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it chose 2024 as the proposed date from which the use of direct emissions heating systems, such as those run on fossil fuel, in new build properties will be banned, whether it has carried out research on any potential impact of such a date on builders who have pre-orde…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net zero legal obligations legislated for by the Scottish Parliament. Within the 2019 …
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact would be on (a) the cost of constructing new buildings and (b) the subsequent sale price to the purchaser of the final building, of its proposal to prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems, such as those run on fossil fuel, in new buildings from…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net-zero legal obligations legislated for by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Gov…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the demand in Scotland for electricity will be from 2025, should its proposed ban on the use of direct emissions heating systems in new-build properties from 2024 be put in place, and in light of its projected increase in EV use; what its position is on whether ren…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Security of electricity supply is a reserved policy area, delivered through UK Government electricity policy, Ofgem as the independent GB energy regulator, and National Grid ESO (the GB Electricity System Operator). A mixture of renewables, storage and incre…
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have benefitted from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund as of 30 July 2022, and what the average cost per property is.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Since its launch in August 2020, the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund has committed £15.3 million for the retrofit of 1804 Social Housing properties across Scotland. The fund offers grant support of up to 50% of the total eligible costs of the project, with …
30 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public electric vehicle (EV) charging points were installed in the North East region between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022, broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Transport Scotland holds information on charge points registered on the ChargePlace Scotland network only and by local authority boundary and not by parliamentary constituency. Across the local authority boundary areas that this constituency covers there wer…
28 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce any impact on patients and communities from the reported number of unscheduled closures of community pharmacies in NHS (a) Grampian and (b) Tayside.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: While pharmacy closures can occur, this on the whole represents a small proportion of the network and is often limited to a small proportion of the required model hours. The Scottish Government continue to work with all Health Boards and community pharmacies …
26 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports in principle a United States' nuclear energy company’s reported declared interest in establishing a design office for small modular reactors in the Highlands, and, if so, whether it will notify this to Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Yes. Scottish Government officials are engaged with partners in Highlands and Islands Enterprise to discuss this opportunity.
25 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to enable schools in the north east to educate the renewables energy workforce of the future.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: There are already well-established links between learning in the STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - subjects at school and the cross-curricular theme of Learning for Sustainability (LfS). The Scottish Government has, in collaboration wi…
25 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to invest in renewables in the north east region; by what date, and against what targets.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is providing support to encourage investment in renewables in the north east through a number of funds and programmes. These include, but are not limited to: The £75m Energy Transition Fund is investing in projects that aim to acceler…
25 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the entirety of its £500 million Just Transition Fund will be spent and utilised in the north east and Moray region.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The shared policy programme in the 2021 Bute House Agreement committed to establish a 10-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, with £20 million allocated to year one of the Fund. The published criteria for projects seeking to a…