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: S5W-02699

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the suggestion in its 2016-17 Programme for Government that it will require £10 billion worth of investment to eliminate energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty and its investment of £500 million from capital stimulus funds toward this, how it will fund the additional £9.5 billion required.

The Programme for Government set out that Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme will be a 15-20 year programme to improve the energy efficiency and increase the use of low carbon heat in Scotland’s homes and our public, industrial and commercial buildings. Resources to fund this programme will need to come from a mix of public and private sources and further detail on the programme will be set out in the draft Energy Strategy which will be subject to public consultation at the end of the year.

Question reference: S5W-02125

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many acres of woodland are required to help prevent flooding and assist in water basin management, and what is the estimated cost of this planting.

The Scottish Government has identified priority catchments where woodland should be planted to help prevent flooding and assist in water basin management. This information is available on the following website at: http://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-maps/. This however does not specify the area of woodland needed to meet these objectives.

In 2016-17 the Scottish Government has allocated a budget of £30 million towards the costs of woodland planting including a bespoke ‘Woodlands for Water’ grant that provides an increased level of grant in priority catchments equivalent to 90% of standard costs.

Question reference: S5W-02062

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to receive the results of its assessment of the impact of shale drilling and whether it plans to publish the findings in full.

The Scottish Government is taking a cautious and evidence-led approach to unconventional oil and gas. Our moratorium ensures that no hydraulic fracturing (fracking) or coal bed methane extraction can take place in Scotland. The Scottish Government has commissioned a series of independent research projects to examine potential environmental, health and economic impacts to inform our evidence-led approach. The reports are due to be published later in 2016, with the public consultation taking place during winter 2016-17.

Question reference: S5W-02126

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) score is for each of the Climate Challenge Fund grants for the 116 projects announced on 23 March 2016, and what the SIMD score is for all grants announced to prior to the 22nd round of grants.

The Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) delivers a range of environmental and community benefits and support local action across the country, including in Scotland’s most deprived communities.

Of the projects announced on 23 March 2016, 70 of the 116 awards were to projects based in the lowest five Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) deciles. The value of these awards was £5,727,683, which is 60% of the total CCF budget. In addition, the decile receiving the highest number of awards was decile one with 20 awards, with the value of these awards at £1,627,847 (17% of the total CCF awards).

A detailed breakdown of all Climate Challenge Fund grants, since 2008, by SIMD is included below:

Number of Awards per SIMD decile*:

CCF Awards per SIMD Decile

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

CCF TOTAL	92	61	94	76	120	118	101	98	47	66

CCF 2008-11	25	16	28	32	50	51	48	31	21	30
CCF 2011-12	12	4	16	14	17	22	14	18	6	9
CCF 2012-16	35	24	37	24	39	34	31	31	16	22
CCF 2016-17	20	17	13	6	14	11	8	18	4	5

Value of Awards (£) per SIMD decile*:

CCF £ per SIMD Decile

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

CCF TOTAL	11,248,677	5,526,273	1,828,549	1,944,104	3,921,648	3,981,240	3,235,674	3,499,546	1,951,857	2,378,424

CCF 2008-11	2,095,293	1,223,564	1,828,549	2,858,949	3,137,201	2,704,841	3,107,207	1,709,809	2,389,524	2,318, 587
CCF 2011-12	1,266,314	321,045	912,110	1,117,174	896,386	1,352,490	577,413	498,260	376,190	778,931
CCF 2012-16	6,259,223	2,453,530	4,018,815	1,944,104	3,921,648	3,981,240	3,235,674	3,499,546	1,951,857	2,378,424
CCF 2016-17	1,627,847	1,528,134	861,004	394,225	830,960	800,860	758,122	1,099,145	330,078	573,214

* Please note: CCF postcode information is gathered from fund applicants. As far as possible this postcode will represent a focus of project activities (be this a community centre, allotment or office) rather than a home address of the applicant.

Question reference: S5W-02127

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 13 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide (a) an update on its actions toward developing a district heating system and (b) details of the budget allocated to the loan fund for this purpose.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00903 on 4 July 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Our Heat Policy Statement, published in June 2015, sets a clear policy framework for investment in decarbonisation of heat. The Heat Policy Statement announced that we would designate energy efficiency as a National Infrastructure Priority. The cornerstone of this will be the Scottish Energy Efficiency programme. It also maintained our ambition for 1.5 terra watt hours of affordable low carbon heat to be supplied through district or communal heating by 2020.

The Heat Network Partnership, funded by Scottish Government, supports a strategic approach to deliver a step change in the scale of heat networks in Scotland through supporting local authorities to develop district heating strategies as well as providing advice and support to businesses, the public sector, local authorities and community groups.

To deliver on our district heating ambitions, project specific support is provided through our programmes such as the District Heating Loan Fund, which is specific to district heating, and broader low carbon programmes such as the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, which has supported a number of district heating projects.

The District Heating Loan Fund commenced in 2011 and, to date, has committed over £10 million in loans to 40 projects across Scotland. A list of the projects can be found on the Energy Savings Trust website:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/grants-loans/district-heating-loan).

The Special Working Group (SWG) of the Expert Commission on District Heating, established to consider potential regulatory frameworks for district heating, reported this Summer (http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/03/7493). We welcome the report from the SWG and are considering these recommendations as part of the development of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme with our commitment to SEEP having been reiterated in the programme for government announced by the First Minister on 6 September 2016. We will work with industry, local government and heat user representatives to develop regulations in such a way that they support development and do not act as a barrier at this early stage in the growth of the heat supply market, nor place excessive costs on the sector that could be passed on to consumers.

Question reference: S5F-00216

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Climate Change Committee's Reducing emissions in Scotland 2016 progress report.

Question reference: S5W-02149

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 8 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it will incorporate the findings of the recent Scottish Youth Parliament report, Our generation's epidemic, into its work on mental health.

We welcome the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP)’s latest research - ‘Our Generation’s Epidemic: Young people’s awareness and experience of mental health information, support and services’. This research has been undertaken as part of the SYP’s 'Speak Your Mind' campaign on mental health.

We have taken note of the recommendations that are for the Scottish Government, and will consider these as part of our on-going public engagement on the new Mental Health Strategy. During that public engagement, we have worked closely with the Scottish Youth Parliament to ensure that young people have the opportunity to contribute their views on matters that affect them. We have found the SYP’s work, including a discussion day event on 19 March 2016, hugely valuable in ensuring we have the views of a cross-section of young people in Scotland on mental health issues.

Following our careful consideration of all the views we have received, the new Mental Health Strategy will be published in late 2016.

Question reference: S5W-02048

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 8 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) discussions it has had with the UK Government and (b) action it can take to match the funding provide by the EU for rural and environmental initiatives through the (i) LEADER, (ii) LIFE and (iii) other programmes if the UK leaves the EU.

While we welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement on EU funding on 12 August 2016, it still left considerable uncertainty. The UK guarantee is limited only to some schemes for a few short years, leaving Scotland almost £750 million short of what we are due to receive as members of the EU. This includes no assurances on any CAP Pillar two contracts (including LEADER) which are signed after the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later in 2016.

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity and I have both written to UK Ministers setting out our significant concerns that the guarantees provided do not go far enough, asking the UK Government to extend these. We have sought urgent discussions to resolve the remaining funding issues at the earliest opportunity.

Scottish Government and HM Treasury officials have met once since the Chancellor’s announcement and will continue to engage with HM Treasury to seek to resolve this uncertainty around EU funding.

The Scottish Government will be considering future funding arrangements for these and other programmes, alongside all other funding commitments, as part of the forthcoming budget process and future Spending Review.

Question reference: S5W-02185

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many climate officers (or equivalent job role) each local authority has employed in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-02043

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 25 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28992 by Aileen McLeod on 11 January 2016, on what date the gamebird licensing and legislation report will be published.