Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-27668

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of new on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, particularly the use of cross-pavement cable gullies for EV charging cables, in expanding the number of EV charge points and infrastructure in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27671

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the commitment in the Fair Fares Review to develop policy to consider the best way to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum, including delivery of the one-year £2 million funding commitment for 2024-25 that was announced in October 2023.

Question reference: S6W-27670

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Plugged-in Communities Grant Fund will reopen for applications in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-27253

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to decarbonising the heating of at least one million homes by 2030.

The Scottish Government has already confirmed to Parliament – at the launch of our consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill in November 2023 – that decarbonising 1 million homes by 2030 is not achievable. This was based on a reassessment, in the face of the continuing cost of living crisis and higher energy prices, of what would be fair and feasible to achieve over the short term.

Our target for all buildings to be zero carbon by 2045 remains. Shifting more of the transition to clean heat into the early 2030s allows us to benefit from the technological innovation already taking place to build workforce capacity, consumer demand and economies of scale required.

Question reference: S6W-27242

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent correspondence it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding the impact of its Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme in reducing emissions from private car use and improving air quality levels.

Question reference: S6W-27259

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to protect 30% of Scotland’s land and seas by 2030.

The Scottish Government committed at CoP26 to protecting and effectively managing at least 30% of Scotland’s land, freshwaters and sea for nature by 2030 (known as the 30 by 30 target). Delivery of the 30 by 30 target is a cornerstone of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan which aims to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and substantially restore it by 2045.

The spatial element of 30 by 30 target has been achieved in the marine environment with 37% of Scottish seas within the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) network. The Scottish Government has committed to putting in place fisheries management measures for existing MPAs where these are not already in place for key coastal biodiversity locations outside of these sites.

On land, 18.2% of Scotland is currently within a protected area for nature. We are currently working with stakeholders to identify how we will close the gap in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27260

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the water quality in freshwater lochs and waterways ahead of the summer bathing water season.

Bathing water quality samples are taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) at each bathing water throughout the bathing season from 1 June to 15 September. Bathing water classifications are calculated at the end of each bathing water season and apply for the duration of the following season. They are calculated using data from the four previous years. There are three freshwater sites designated as Bathing Waters in Scotland: Luss Bay (Loch Lomond) and Dores (Loch Ness), both designated in 1999 and classified as sufficient and Loch Morlich, designated in 2008 and classified as excellent. A pre-season sample is also taken during the last fortnight in May.

Question reference: S6W-27252

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to secure 11GW of installed offshore wind by 2030.

Scotland has a current total reported potential pipeline of over 40 GW of offshore wind projects.

Our Offshore Wind Policy Statement (2020) set out the Scottish Government’s ambition for 8-11 GW of offshore wind in Scotland by 2030. This is currently being reviewed in light of the significant market ambition of around 28 GW across 20 projects demonstrated by the private sector via the ScotWind leasing round.

We remain committed to achieving the ambitions as set out in the 2020 Offshore Wind Policy Statement, and will invest up to £500m over the next five years to develop the infrastructure and supply chain critical to growing Scotland’s offshore wind sector.

Question reference: S6W-27241

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Holding Answer by Fiona Hyslop on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of speed cameras in improving driver behaviour, in light of Safety Cameras Scotland’s reported decision to deactivate 119 speed cameras across Scotland’s transport authorities.

Question reference: S6W-27263

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has provided options for increasing access to environmental justice in Scotland.