Alexander Burnett

12 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will put in place a moratorium on all battery energy storage system planning applications until the findings of any investigation into the recent fire at the battery energy storage system site at Rothienorman in Aberdeenshire are published.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a moratorium on battery energy storage system developments. There is a statutory structure that must be followed for all decision-making. Where new development proposals come forward, each application …

12 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will investigate the recent fire at the battery energy storage system site at Rothienorman in Aberdeenshire.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: It is the role of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to investigate fires. SFRS attended a 9-tonne lithium-ion phosphate battery fire at Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire on 21 February 2025. It had been damaged in transit and was not installed. The fire w…

11 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35018 by Alasdair Allan on 24 February 2025, whether it will provide an update on what engagement and analysis it has undertaken with the UK Government to understand what the financial impact will be on consumers facing a change in tariff as a resul…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has no powers over the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS). It is the responsibility of the UK Government, Ofgem, and energy suppliers to carry out analysis of the impact of the RTS switch-off and take appropriate action.However, we are com…

11 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for the rest of the UK, for what reason the medication, Givinostat, for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is not available through NHS Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: A conditional marketing authorisation was granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for givinostat (Duvyzat®) on 20 December 2024. A conditional marketing authorisation is an early temporary licence.The pharmaceutical company that…

11 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to backdating the 36-month time limit to claim an Additional Dwelling Supplement repayment to 1 October 2022.

Answer · Shona Robison: Increases to the timelines relating to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Additional Dwelling Supplement were introduced with prospective effect from 1 April 2024, following a process of consultation.The Scottish Government made clear in the initial Decem…

5 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline its funding strategy for health and social care partnerships in the North East Scotland region.

26 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to changing the funding process of distributing community benefit from the current model of local community benefit funds administered by the communities impacted by developments to a central fund distributed by it.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Community benefits from renewable energy developments are voluntary arrangements between communities and developers. Despite the powers to mandate community benefits being reserved to the UK Government, Scotland has made significant progress with a voluntary …

25 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether community councils are statutory consultees regarding applications under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, where the development concerned requires an environmental impact assessment, and, if not, whether it plans to include them.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Statutory consultees are those set out in legislation as requiring to be consulted on submission of an application.Community councils are not referred to as statutory consultees of applications for energy consents under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity A…

28 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has paid out from the £1 million investment in bursaries for GP trainees who stay in rural and island areas for their training.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Scottish Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS) offers a one-off payment of £20,000 to GP trainees who commit to undertaking their training in selected areas and programmes. NHS Education …

28 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many so-called Golden Hello payments for new GPs each NHS board has made in each since these were introduced,

Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Boards are not required to inform the Scottish Government of the number of Golden Hello payments that made to GPs in each financial year. NHS Boards are responsible for all contractual arrangements with their GP practices. The Scottish Government does not…

27 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all rural areas across Scotland have reliable signal coverage for smart meters before the Radio Teleswitch Service ends on 30 June 2025.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter network or the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS). Telecommunications is also a reserved issue.However, the Scottish Government is addressing poor signal coverage through digital infrastructure programmes…

27 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33251 by Ivan McKee on 23 January 2025, how much revenue has been raised from non-domestic rates levied on properties with pylon infrastructure in each of the last three years; whether any other levies are applied to pylons based on their height or …

Answer · Ivan McKee: The estimated non-domestic rates revenue from energy transmission infrastructure from 2022-2023 to 2024-2025 is presented in Table 1. This includes overhead transmission lines and pylons, underground lines, and sub-stations, operating at or above 132kV. We ar…

22 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is reportedly no specific fire safety guidance for battery energy storage systems in Scotland, in light of there being such guidance in England and Wales.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Guidance is covered under The National Fire Chief Council's (NFCC) Grid Scale Planning Guidance for Fire and Rescue Services which covers the UK. These guidelines detail, amongst other things, minimum standards with fire safety systems and design features, wa…

22 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is reportedly no statutory requirement on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to monitor large battery storage unit sites.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Responsibility for fire safety and monitoring at Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) sites rests with the duty holder/site owner. Many BESS locations are unmanned and monitored remotely, meaning there is typically no immediate life risk. Some BESS sites may…

22 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32906 by Alasdair Allan on 16 January 2025, whether it has asked the UK Government to introduce a compensatory scheme for people who have installed spray foam insulation in lofts under the EC04 scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is not aware of any examples of spray foam insulation being installed in lofts in Scottish properties as part of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme. Delivery guidance published by Ofgem indicates that spray foam insulation in …

22 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32906 by Alasdair Allan on 16 January 2025, whether it has asked the UK Government to introduce a compensatory scheme for people who have installed underfloor foam insulation under the EC04 scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We are continuing to seek further information from the UK Government about consumer protections in respect of the ECO4 and GBIS schemes.The UK Minister for Energy Consumers made an oral announcement in the Westminster Parliament on 23 January 2025 stating tha…

15 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26773 by Maree Todd on 7 May 2024, whether its position regarding potentially establishing an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce remains the same.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is not currently planning to establish an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce.However, we are undertaking a range of actions to improve access to diagnosis and support for people with ADHD.The Scottish Government …

15 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what controls exist regarding pricing structure at public electric car recharging stations, in light of reports that the cost of recharging at home is approximately 7p (off peak) to 24p (standard rate) per kWh, while the cost of using a public charger varies from around 79p to …

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has no direct control over pricing at public electric vehicle (EV) charge points and regulation of EV chargers is reserved to the UK Government. The tariffs on the Scottish Government funded ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) EV charging netwo…

13 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings its ministers had with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks in 2024.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Meetings with only SSEN in attendanceI can confirm that ministers have met bilaterally with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks 4 times in 2024.Further detail on ministerial engagements can be found on the Scottish Government’s website:Ministeria…

13 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether developers that construct and maintain pylons are required to pay non-domestic rates on the infrastructure that they install.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Non-domestic rates are a tax levied on the occupiers of non-domestic properties. All non-domestic properties, including specified plant and machinery such as pylons, are liable for non-domestic rates. As such, the occupier of a non-domestic property with pylo…

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the applications that were successful in the latest round of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Maree Todd: The list of successful applicants for Year 3 of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults was published in November 2024. This provides details of the local authority where the organisation is based, the name of the project and the amount of…

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria were applied to the latest round of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults is distributed in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland by Third Sector Interface (TSI) organisations who, working in collaboration with other local partners, are responsible for determining and a…

8 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28714 by Alasdair Allan on 13 August 2024, in light of the minister’s comment that, [although] “energy policy, including smart meter policy, is mostly reserved to the UK Government… the Scottish Government has taken the lead in addressing poor cover…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter network or the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS). Telecommunications is also a reserved issue and radio network upgrades are a commercial matter for mobile network operators and wireless infrastructure p…

8 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32468 by Alasdair Allan on 20 December 2024, whether it will detail what concerns and changes to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme it has raised with the UK Government, and whether this includes introducing a compensatory scheme for individ…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I wrote to the UK Minister for Energy Consumers on 17 October 2024. Scottish Ministers proposed changes to the ECO4 scheme to enable ECO financed work to benefit from stronger management and quality control as part of local and national fuel poverty schemes i…

8 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether patients who have been diagnosed privately with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can receive prescription medication through the NHS, and, if not, what the reasons were for this decision.

Answer · Maree Todd: Patients who have received private diagnoses of ADHD can receive prescription medication through the NHS, via a Shared Care agreement with local NHS providers.However, whilst GPs are responsible for providing patients with appropriate care whether they have b…

7 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the PADmap web portal will go live, to enable people to view local suggestions for the placement of public access defibrillators, in light of the previous announcement that it would be completed by the end of Q2 in 2024.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Resuscitation Research Group’s PADmap web portal is expected to go live by Spring 2025. PADmap will provide organisations and communities with more evidence on the optimal location to place their defibrillators in order to increase their potential i…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many attacks by XL bully dogs have been recorded since 1 August 2024.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not collate data on dog attacks. There is no central database within Scotland or the UK that provides data on dog attacks by type/breed of dog.However, Public Health Scotland collects data provided by NHS Health Boards on the numb…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been charged with not having an exemption certificate for XL bully dogs, following the change in legislation that came into force on 1 August 2024.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: From 1 August to 31 December 2024, 33 charges under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 have been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which make reference to ownership of XL Bully Dogs.It should be noted that COPFS use a live, operation…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to introducing a compensation scheme for individuals who have installed underfloor foam insulation under the ECO4 insulation scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a UK Government scheme that is paid for by energy suppliers and administered by Ofgem. It is a requirement of the ECO scheme that installers meet national retrofit standards and provide a guarantee. The UK Government has…

17 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13815 by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2023, whether Palforzia will be approved as a treatment for peanut allergies through the NHS.

Answer · Neil Gray: Aimmune Therapeutics, the manufacturer of Palforzia®, had indicated an intention to make a resubmission to the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), however to date this has not been received. The decision on whether to submit, and the timing of that submi…