Parliamentary questions
Brian Whittle
810 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that students are supported throughout their educational journey with career advice that aligns with the future economic need for specific roles and skills.
7 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to improve the early diagnosis of (i) Crohn’s disease and (ii) ulcerative colitis.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people in Scotland living with Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare se…
6 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that young people across Scotland have access to facilities that can support their involvement in arts and culture.
30 Oct 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the importance of instrumental music within the education service.
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it anticipates that the UK Procurement Act 2023 will work alongside the (a) Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, (b) Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and (c) Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 will continue to apply to the award of contracts by devolved Scottish contracting authorities.Regulations ma…
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) direct and (b) indirect implications it anticipates that the UK Procurement Act 2023 will have for the (i) Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, (ii) Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and (iii) Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016, for the provi…
Answer · Ivan McKee: Section 119 of the Procurement Act 2023 amends the scope of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016, and Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016, so as to be clear that they extend only to dev…
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what provisions within the UK Procurement Act 2023 it plans to adopt when the Act comes into force in February 2025, and, in the event that it decides not to adopt the Act in full, whether it will outline the basis for such a decision.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Procurement Act 2023 does not generally legislate for the procurement activities of devolved Scottish authorities, and there is no provision within the Act for the Scottish Government to simply adopt it, though the Scottish Ministers will use the powers c…
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the potential impact of the UK Procurement Act 2023 on cross-border procurement when it comes into force, particularly in circumstances where there is more than one awarding body, which are subject to the different procurement …
Answer · Ivan McKee: There has been significant contact at official level on this issue. When devolved Scottish authorities award a contract from a framework advertised and awarded under the terms of the Procurement Act 2023, then relevant elements of the rules established by tha…
30 Sep 2024 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister, in light of the recent reports of an increase in alcohol-related deaths in Scotland, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to reduce excessive drinking.
24 Sep 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that school meals meet or exceed existing nutritional standards.
10 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that green skills are embedded in the provision of further education.
4 Sep 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to protect the provision of instrumental music tuition in schools.
18 Jun 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the provision of midwives by the NHS meets demand.
5 Jun 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points, particularly in rural areas.
23 May 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that children and young people have opportunities to engage with fine arts and performing arts, such as music, drama and art.
23 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the transport secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the potential impact on Scotland’s aviation industry of any proposals to levy an air departure tax on short-haul flights in Scotland.
20 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the former chairman of Prestwick Airport resigned his post to lead a bid to purchase the airport.
19 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26130 by Gillian Martin on 19 March 2024, as part of its work to explore other avenues with the onshore renewables industry to maximise benefits flowing into communities, whether it has specifically considered maintaining community benefit schemes a…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Onshore Wind Sector Deal includes an industry commitment to making community benefit agreements binding at the point of Financial Investment Decision, and to maintaining community benefits and shared ownership agreements as a condition of sale or transfer…
13 Mar 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Audit Scotland report, Decarbonising heat in homes, and the recent report by the Regulatory Review Group regarding the forthcoming Heat in Buildings Bill, what action it is taking to further assess and develop the supply chain for decarbonising buildings.
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many gigawatts worth of battery storage developments have secured planning permission to date.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scottish Ministers have deemed planning permission to be granted to 4.931 GW of Battery Energy Storage System developments made under section 36 of Electricity Act 1989, across 17 applications. Scottish Ministers cannot report on planning permission awarded …
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether productive farmland is an ecosystem service provided by soils.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Yes, soil is a provisioning service for farming as it provides the substrate on which crops (including forage) grow.
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on land value in rural areas of its reported decision to consider battery storage developments as generating stations in relation to planning consents under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.
Answer · Gillian Martin: A letter was issued by the Chief Planner regarding consents and variations to planning permission for energy generating ancillary uses on 27 August 2020. This letter confirmed that the Scottish Government considers a battery installation to generate electrici…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to replicating elements of the onshore wind sector deal, such as maintaining community benefit schemes and community shared ownership agreements as a condition of the sale or transfer, in other renewable technology sectors, such as battery energy storage s…
Answer · Gillian Martin: Building on the success of our Good Practice Principles and our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme, the Onshore Wind Sector Deal represents a significant step forward in ensuring our journey to net zero benefits people across Scotland, and is part of a jus…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for battery storage sites were granted by the Energy Consents Unit between 2013 and 2023.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Energy Consents Unit consented 14 applications for Battery Energy Storage Systems between 2013 and 2023.
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers non-domestic battery energy storage to be a "small scale renewable" under the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy 11(a) sets out that development proposals for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emissions technologies will be supported. These include energy storage, such as battery storage and pumped storage hydro, and…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the development of a national strategy for energy storage developments in the context of planning.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Following extensive engagement and consultation, and then approval by the Scottish Parliament, we published and adopted our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) in February 2023. NPF4 signals our key priorities for ‘where’ and ‘what’ development should t…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the preservation of farmland for future food security is in the public interest.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scotland’s farmland and farming sector have a critical role to play in Scotland’s food security, producing food for consumption in Scotland, and increasing our economic resilience through exports of food and drink worth £7.6 billion in 2023. Scotland’s Nation…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the spatial principles in the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) in order of priority.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: It would not be appropriate for us to rank the National Planning Framework 4 Spatial Principles in order of priority. NPF4 comprises a package of policies and an integrated strategy to bring together cross-cutting priorities and achieve sustainable developmen…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to developing a more detailed national strategy and spatial plan for energy storage developments that identifies (a) peak energy demand times on the grid, (b) the locality of such demands on the grid and (c) the length of hold time required for the dispatc…
Answer · Gillian Martin: Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government, with National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) responsible for electricity system planning and electricity network planning across GB. As set out in the UK T…
7 Mar 2024 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) how many meeting room bookings within the Scottish Parliament estate have been made in each of the last two years, broken down by those that were made by (a) ministers or ministerial staff, (b) SPCB staff, (c) non-ministerial MSPs or MSP staff and (d) anyone else.
Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): There were 6983 meeting room bookings in 2022 and 8852 bookings in 2023. For the purposes of this response these numbers have been adjusted to reflect bookings for meetings only. Bookings for activities such as MSP sponsored events, maintenance, broadcasting…