- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of money from the Just Transition Fund to date has gone to (a) businesses and (b) community groups.
Answer
Of the £75 million committed from the Just Transition Fund so far, 10.3% has been awarded to community groups and 52.2% has been allocated for awards to businesses.
Of the 52.2% committed to businesses, £25 million or 33% is made up of the Just Transition Fund’s allocation to the Scottish National Investment Bank.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on improving drainage on the A90 from Dundee to Aberdeen in each financial year from 2019-20 to date.
Answer
As trunk road maintenance costs are held on a whole route basis we are unable to provide figures for the section of the A90 trunk road from Dundee to Aberdeen.
However, please see the following table for details of how much was spent on improving drainage on the whole of the A90 trunk road for the financial years 2019-20 onwards. These works are in addition to regular asset inspections undertaken through the maintenance contracts, which then develop and prioritises programmes of works.
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | Total spend |
Total | £612,625 | £92,056 | £564,815 | £122,464 | £1,035 | £1,392,995 |
Please note that these figures relate to drainage-specific works. On occasions where drainage elements were included in larger schemes (e.g. major resurfacing works), we are unable to disaggregate drainage costs in those situations and as such, those figures will not appear in the table above.
Due to the condition of the drainage assets on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) section of the A90 trunk road, there have been no drainage-specific improvement schemes undertaken in this period.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on safety improvements on the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen in each of the last three financial years.
Answer
The following amounts have been spent on safety improvements on the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen in each of the last full three financial years:
Year | Spent |
2020-21 | £102,076.99 |
2021-22 | £102,018.66 |
2022-23 | £610,017.72 |
This spend is delivered through Transport Scotland’s Trunk Road Casualty Reduction programme of works. These figures include costs for investigation and design.
These amounts do not include some elements of wider spend across the North East Operating Company Unit as it is not possible identify those that relate specifically to the A96.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the A90 from Dundee to Aberdeen has been closed due to a lack of adequate drainage in each financial year from 2019-20 to date.
Answer
Records show there has been no instances of road closures due to lack of adequate drainage on the A90 trunk road from Dundee to Aberdeen from 2019-20 to date.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an analysis of the total (scope 1, 2 and 3) carbon cost of replacing fossil fuel boilers in Scotland with air source heat pumps and heat networks.
Answer
We monitor the operational carbon caused both directly and indirectly by the polluting heating systems used in the majority of Scotland’s buildings via the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics ( Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , which provides statistics on the level of emissions by source. Estimates of Scotland’s consumption emissions (broadly analogous to upstream scope 3 emissions) are published in Scotland’s Carbon Footprint ( Scotland’s Carbon Footprint 1998 – 2019 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . However, it is not possible to isolate heating systems from other similar products using this dataset.
We are continuing to investigate how we can improve whole life emissions reporting in Scotland’s buildings.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding properties that cannot reasonably be retrofitted to allow for a heat pump to work efficiently, what decarbonised options will be available to (a) such properties in general and (b) the estimated 40,000 of the 170,000 off-grid homes in Scotland that are not suitable for a heat pump.
Answer
Our Heat in Buildings Strategy recognises that different buildings will require different clean heat solutions and that some properties may have fewer technology options available as a result of location and property type, impact on the fabric of historic buildings and electricity grid capacity. As such, our live consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill takes a technology-neutral approach. Alongside air and ground source heat pumps, we foresee heat networks and direct electric heating systems playing a role in the clean heat transition.
Our proposals also recognise that as a renewable, and potentially net zero energy source, bioenergy may represent the best option to help decarbonise some homes for which clean heating systems are not suitable. We also want to ensure that owners who have taken the proactive step of installing renewable bioenergy systems are fairly treated. This is why, in addition to permitting extra time for those currently using bioenergy to meet the clean heat element of the Standard, we are seeking views on whether a more flexible approach to the use of bioenergy under future regulations is needed. We would need to balance this flexibility with the need to protect and ensure the supply of bioenergy in other sectors of the economy that also rely on bioenergy to remove emissions.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on safety improvements at the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017.
Answer
The Scottish Government has spent £67,232 on the construction of safety improvements on the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017. These safety improvements have been delivered through Transport Scotland’s Trunk Road Casualty Reduction programme of works. This spend was primarily associated with the provision of three vehicle activated signs (VAS) recommended from previous safety studies. Two signs were erected in 2017 with a third sign to supplement the northbound VAS erected in 2021. Other work involved the provision of an additional northbound advance direction sign.
This spend does may not include some elements of wider spend across the North East Operating Company Unit as it is not possible identify those that relate specifically to the A90 at this location.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to decarbonise the rail network between Aberdeen and the Central Belt.
Answer
No date has been set for the decarbonisation of the lines between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and Aberdeen and the electrified network at Dunblane. However, in line with the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, these routes are under consideration for future decarbonisation through electrification by Transport Scotland, with plans at an early stage of development.
As set out in the Decarbonisation Action Plan, the order and pace in which decarbonisation is undertaken has always, and continues to, depend on business cases and available budgets.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the conclusions of the review of the dualling of the A96 will be published.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to improving the A96.
The current plan is to fully dual the route and as part of this process we are undertaking a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme.
The significant interest in the review’s initial consultation generated 11,000 options to improve the corridor. It is only right that it has taken more time than originally anticipated, in order to properly examine and fully appraise these.
It is expected that the draft outcomes from the Review will be consulted on in the coming months, before a final decision can be reached.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the participatory budgeting awards from the Just Transition Fund for the north east and Moray on a just transition.
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with the north east Just Transition Participatory Budgeting Fund partners who co-ordinate and deliver the fund. Officials carry out mid and end of year reviews to ensure the effective management of the fund and the principles of a just transition are followed. Partners produced a report on Year 1 and will produce a summary at the end of Year 2.
We will also undertake an evaluation of phase one of the Just Transition Fund in the 2024-25 financial year aiming to commence the next phase in the following financial year.