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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2242 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-27473

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to tenants who, for a legitimate reason, refuse access to their homes for energy-efficiency improvements to be carried out and subsequently face the risk of eviction.

As stated in the answer to S5W-27472 on 27 February 2020, if, in advance of the backstop date, the tenant has not changed, and has legitimate reasons to refuse access for installing measures, the regulations allow the landlord to seek an exemption based on this precise situation.

There are further existing safeguards for tenants from eviction. A landlord must provide the correct notice and obtain an eviction order from the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) before a property can be recovered. Depending on the tenancy agreement, there could be penalties for misleading a tenant into leaving.

Of course, should the landlord wish to subsequently let the property again, they will face delay and additional expense to find a new tenant. They will of course need to meet the energy efficiency regulations .

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 .

Question reference: S5W-27467

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has carried out with local authorities about their new enforcement responsibilities regarding the energy efficiency of private-rented properties.

The Scottish Government regularly met with local authorities, individually or as part of a group before and during the 2019 consultation and continues to have discussions with local authorities.

The Scottish Government set up a short life working group on enforcement, made up of representatives of local authorities, that met several times to discuss and inform proposals for enforcement before and after the 2019 consultation.

The Scottish Government continues to take part in a number of local authority forums to discuss the role of local authorities in enforcement.

Senior officers from the Scottish Government met with COSLA on a number of occasions to discuss the role of local authorities in enforcing the regulations for energy efficiency in the PRS.

The Scottish Government will publish draft guidance in April and will use this to continue engagement with local authorities and key stakeholders.

Question reference: S5W-27464

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the implementation of the regulations that require private landlords to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least E for their properties by 1 October 2020.

The draft regulations require that new tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) must meet an EPC rating of E from 1 October 2020.

The Scottish Government expects local councils to take a targeted approach to enforcement. This means initially gathering evidence about non-compliance; identifying and eliminating barriers to improvement by landlords; and considering how these regulations can be used to strengthen existing programmes.

The Scottish Government will develop a toolkit to support local authorities’ gathering of information and a guidance document to provide scenarios and practical assistance to local authority staff involved in applying the regulations within their area.

This learning will then be used to shape policy development in partnership with local authorities strengthening enforcement over time.

Question reference: S5W-27422

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements exist for the recycling or disposal of decommissioned wind turbine blades.

The Scottish Government strongly supports the circular economy and while Scottish Ministers do not directly have responsibility for what are commercial decisions by operators, or the industry standards for blades manufactured outside of Scotland, but we are encouraging the industry to consider opportunities to improve the sustainability of components utilised within projects located in Scotland.

As regards infrastructure to undertake recycling of wind energy components we are aware of 'Renewable Parts', a recycling and repair centre in Lochgilphead which opened in 2018. The centre aims to significantly reduce the level of waste from decommissioning wind turbines by refurbishing parts for resale. Onshore wind is the lowest cost form of electricity generation at scale and the Scottish Government strongly encourage the reuse, recycling and recovery of resources.

Question reference: S5W-27377

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government in the last three years regarding HS2.

Over the last three years, Transport Scotland and Department for Transport officials have been working in partnership with HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to deliver a joint UK and Scottish Government commitment to identify options that could improve capacity and reduce journey time on the rail routes between Scotland and England.

Officials last met their UK Government counterparts on 18 December 2019 as part of a regular set of meetings at which they discussed infrastructure options for high speed rail to improve speed, capacity, connectivity and resilience on rail routes between England and Scotland. The next scheduled meeting is due to be held on 5 March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-27386

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the rail network's capacity to increase the number of passengers using it, and whether it will publish the findings of any such assessment.

As a result of the significant investment made in Scotland’s Railway infrastructure, stations and services, we have seen patronage grow by 35% in the last ten years.

Our National Transport Strategy, which was published on 5 February, sets out the future direction for transport and reflects the declaration of the global climate emergency with climate change action identified as a priority.

https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/national-transport-strategy/

We are fully committed to increasing public and sustainable transport options across the country. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), due to report Spring 2021, is underway and is currently identifying the transport interventions required to provide Scotland with a network fit for the 21st Century, which will inform Scottish Ministers’ investment decisions for the next 20 years. Any decisions on future funding of transport infrastructure in Scotland will be informed by the outputs of STPR2 and through the normal cycle of government spending reviews.

In terms of rail capacity assessment I would refer the member to Network Rail’s Scotland Route Study publication:-

https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Scotland-Route-Study.pdf

Question reference: S5W-27385

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the frequency of rail services in areas that currently have an hourly service.

Question reference: S5W-27384

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make improvements to Sunday services provided by any future rail operators.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that our rail services deliver the best possible connectivity for the people of Scotland. Over the last ten years we have significantly improved both the frequency of weekday and Sunday services. In addition, we have introduced Sunday services on routes which were not served before. We remain committed to further such improvements, subject to affordability and rail industry deliverability constraints.

Question reference: S5O-04155

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will grow the live music industry in Scotland, given the closure of the O2 ABC.

Question reference: S5W-27379

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to support disabled people who wish to stand for electoral office.

Political parties should support their disabled candidates with additional costs , however we recognise that this may not always be possible.

In February 2016 the Scottish Government launched the Access to Elected Office Fund to provide support for disabled people seeking to stand for selection or election in the 2017 local government elections. The Fund offered financial assistance to disabled people to help meet the additional costs they face when seeking election. It was initially delivered on a pilot basis by Inclusion Scotland however, after achieving positive outcomes, the fund has been continued for local and Scottish Parliamentary elections to 2021.

For the 2017 local authority elections, 44 disabled people were supported by the Fund with 39 becoming official candidates. Of those, 15 disabled people were elected to local councils, covering a wide geographical area and a range of political parties and impairments.