Dean Lockhart

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) individuals and (b) businesses have used the Low Carbon Transport Loan Scheme to purchase electric vehicles, in each year since the scheme was introduced.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency and improving air quality in our cities. To help incentivise this shift, we have, since 2011, provided loans valued over £140 million to the people and businesses of Sc…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric vehicle charging points have been installed in each year since 2012.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The installation of electric vehicle charge points is supported through a number of funding schemes. Funding supports a number of charging activities: charging by households at home, by business (public and private sector) to support fleet decarbonisation and…

19 Oct 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Stirling Council, and what was discussed.

5 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legislation to put into effect the decision to move ScotRail into the public sector when the current ScotRail franchise ends in March 2022.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Further to the answers provided to S6W-00200 on 3 June 2021 and S6W-00776 on 1 July 2021, Scottish Ministers have to work within current UK rail legislation, principally the Railways Act 1993 (the 1993 Act), which neither the Scottish Ministers nor the Scotti…

28 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics showing that the number of cyber-crimes recorded has nearly doubled in the last year.

22 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the expansion of the GlobalScot network.

15 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on cross-government co-ordination of COVID-19 recovery policies.

7 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its proposals to establish a publicly-owned energy company that will generate and supply energy.

1 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish the new overseas offices in Warsaw and Copenhagen, as set out in its agreement with the Scottish Green Party.

16 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to provide information resources to schools in the lead-up to COP26.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Scottish Government collaborates with a range of partners to ensure that schools have the information, advice and support to engage with both COP26 specifically, and climate change issues and climate change education more broadly. Education Scotland, as the …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Household Recycling Charter that has been agreed with COSLA, and the associated Code of Practice, contain a requirement for local authorities to reduce the frequency of collections of non-recyclable waste.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Household Recycling Charter, agreed in partnership between Scottish Government and COSLA, aims to bring more consistency to recycling services. One of the principles of the charter when designing services is to reduce the capacity provided for wa…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in providing a policy framework to support local government in delivering the commitments that are set out in the Scotland Household Recycling Charter that has been agreed with COSLA.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Across Scotland in 2019 households once again recycled more than they sent to landfilI, and the whole-life carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste reached its lowest level since official recording began. There is however still work to be done to reduce wa…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to use the COP26 in Glasgow as an opportunity to promote Scotland, as a destination for investment, trade and tourism, to the participating nations.

Answer · Ivan McKee: COP26 will put Scotland on the global stage when leaders from around the world come together this November to take collective action in tackling the climate emergency. The opportunity to inspire and galvanise action with people across Scotland is clear. But C…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will introduce legislation to ban single-use cutlery, as referred to in a statement on Scottish Government priorities in May 2021.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As per the Scottish Government statement in May 2021, we will take action to ban single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, and chopsticks), as well as other problematic single-use plastic items such as plates, straws, balloon sticks, stirrers and exp…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £100 million hydrogen technologies investment, referred to in the statement on Scottish Government priorities in May 2021, by (a) year and (b) project.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has committed to dedicate £100 million funding, of the £180 million Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, to accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the next five years and support the realisation of our ambiti…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school children receive instrumental music tuition, and what percentage this is of the total number of school children.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: According to the latest information available from the Improvement Service report on Instrumental Music Services, 56,198 pupils received instrumental music lessons from their local authority service at some point in 2019-20. This equates to around 8.1% of all…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to help companies in high-carbon sectors to transition to low-carbon technologies and services, as referred to in the statement on Scottish Government priorities in May 2021.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a just transition to net zero, which requires working in close partnership with high carbon sectors, businesses and our local communities. The Scottish Government is working alongside high-emitting businesse…

22 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board has met since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and on how many occasions it is scheduled to meet in the next year.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The board has met on nine occasions between March 2020 - May 2021. The next meeting of the board will take place on the 5 th of August 2021 followed by two further meetings before the end of the year.

16 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to provide secure, sustainable and long-term post-COVID-19 pandemic skills and training opportunities.

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the University of Stirling regarding alternatives to hotel quarantine measures for its students who are returning from red list countries.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00728 on 5 July 2021. 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-committees/…

8 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the number of divisional officers working in each local division as detailed in the latest publication of Police Scotland's officer and staff numbers.

8 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often the Council of Economic Advisers has met since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how often it is scheduled to meet in the next year.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Council of Economic Advisers has met virtually on a number of occasions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members calls with officials took place on 8 June 2020, 1 September 2020 and 11 December 2020. A full meeting was held on 29 October 2020 wit…

8 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the remit of the Council of Economic Advisers will be impacted by the Council for Economic Transformation.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Arrangements are being put in place to establish the new Council for Economic Transformation, which will shape and drive our 10 year National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We have already publicly committed to do this within the our first 100 days and…

8 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many members the Council for Economic Transformation will consist of; by what date the membership will be announced, and how often the group will meet.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Arrangements are being put in place to establish the new Council for Economic Transformation, which will shape and drive our 10 year National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We have already publicly committed to do this within our first 100 days and we …

8 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment made in its Economic Recovery Implementation Plan in August 2020, what action it has taken to make it easier for (a) small- and (b) medium-sized businesses to access and compete for public sector contracts, and what impact this has had on the number of such bu…

Answer · Ivan McKee: SMEs and micro businesses are critical to the social, economic and environmental health of Scotland and we are committed to leveraging the full procurement rules to make it as easy possible for SMEs to bid for and win public procurement contracts and/or parti…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the (a) Institute for Aquaculture and (b) Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre and what was discussed.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A Scottish Government official last met with the Institute of Aquaculture on 2 February 2021 when they attended a meeting of the Aquaculture Research Collaborative Hub (ARCH-UK) at which institute representatives are co-leaders. Discussion related to research…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and what was discussed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Ben Macpherson MSP, as Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment, met with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTTNPA) via Microsoft Teams on 17 February 2021. This was a meeting with the Convener (James Stuart) and Chief Executiv…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many accidental house fires there have been in each of the last five years in the Mid Scotland and Fife parliamentary region; how many were caused by electricity, and what steps it is taking to reduce the number of such fires.

Answer · Ash Denham: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires, broken down by local authority, however this data is not broken down into specific causes. These statistics are available o…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to increase the availability of social housing for rural communities.

Answer · Shona Robison: Through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over 4,800 affordable homes were delivered between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in rural and island communities across Scotland. Housing to 2040, published in March 2021, in…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many projects Community Broadband Scotland has supported in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Following an extensive review of how best to deliver support to community networks, it was concluded that – despite helping to deliver a number of successful community projects – Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) was no longer the most viable model. As such,…