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-22901

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings it has had with (a) SPT and (b) the ScotRail Alliance regarding the use of smart ticketing.

The Scottish Government's National Transport Agency, Transport Scotland, has regular meetings with SPT and Abellio ScotRail regarding the use of smart ticketing.

Transport Scotland officials are working with SPT and Abellio ScotRail to deliver smartcard interoperability between bus, rail and subway, with weekly technical meetings in place to oversee this. In addition more strategic meetings have been held with SPT (February 2019) to ascertain areas of potential collaboration to improve smart ticketing services, and the last meeting with Abellio ScotRail was held this month to discuss ScotRail's smart ticketing Programme.

Question reference: S5W-22755

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service regarding reports that the 140-day target date from full committal for criminal trials to begin is being breached.

Question reference: S5W-22639

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Government to discuss HS2 and its impact on Scotland; what the outcome was, and how many meetings there have been since 2007.

Officials of the Scottish Government last met their UK Government counterparts on 10 April 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. Since 2007 there have been 102 meetings between the two governments either at ministerial or official level.

Question reference: S5W-22641

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the West Coast Main Line and reducing travel time from Scotland to London.

Scottish and UK governments have discussed and identified a number of infrastructure enhancement options, including high-speed rail and signalling optimisation, to improve resilience, capacity and line-speed on the West Coast Main Line to reduce journey times between Scotland and London. Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with DfT officials to discuss issues of interest, and to convey the Scottish Government’s aspirations for cross-border rail services.

Question reference: S5W-22359

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Ofgem regarding the regulator's vulnerable customers strategy.

The Scottish Government has engaged extensively with Ofgem to make the case for Scottish consumers to be at the heart of its revised Consumer Vulnerability Strategy and to ensure Ofgem delivers on its statutory duties for all Scottish consumers.

I plan to meet with Ofgem’s Chair, Martin Cave, this May, to build on this engagement and to continue discussions around Ofgem's work to make the energy market work better for consumers in Scotland, in particular those in vulnerable circumstances and fuel poverty.

However, our discussions with Ofgem are only one strand of the work the Scottish Government is doing in collaboration with partners to engage and protect all energy consumers today and in the future.

Scotland’s Energy Strategy, which I published in December 2017, and which has been widely welcomed by stakeholders, identified consumer protection and engagement as a strategic priority and included a commitment to develop an action plan to look into consumer considerations in more detail across the energy sector. The Scottish Government has and continues to work in partnership with Ofgem, consumer group representatives and industry to shape a consumer-focused approach to Scotland’s transition to a low carbon economy.

Building on the work of the 2016 and 2018 Scottish Energy Summit the Energy Consumer Vision and Action Plan will be published in May 2019. This will complement the recently published Vision for Scotland's electricity and gas networks and is consistent with the Scottish Government’s desire to reduce fuel poverty, and reflect the needs of vulnerable consumers across mainland Scotland and our islands.

The vision for Scotland's electricity and gas networks can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/vision-scotlands-electricity-gas-networks-2030/

Question reference: S5W-22362

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Ofgem regarding the timing of the regulator's targeted charging review on investment in renewables, energy efficiency, innovation and onsite generation for businesses.

My officials and I engage regularly with Ofgem to discuss a range of matters, including the effect of its Targeted Charging Review and other regulatory processes and consultations on consumers and investors.

We recognise the uncertainty that the Targeted Charging Review is currently creating, particularly when set alongside other Ofgem reviews, such as its review of forward looking charges.

We shall continue to engage with Ofgem at official and ministerial level on these matters, and will respond to any concerns raised with us by Scotland’s consumers or, indeed, other stakeholders in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-22361

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any assessment of the impact that Ofgem’s targeted charging review will have on investment and innovation in onsite flexible generation in order to support a future flexible energy system.

The Scottish Government response to Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review consultation pointed out that certain groups of consumers, particularly those whose consumption is lower, would, under Ofgem’s proposals, pay more than they do today in order to prevent them from paying an increasingly higher share of the costs in the long term.

This group could contain users with onsite flexible generation, which, under the current charging framework, can be used to minimise the level of electricity drawn from the grid, and, in turn, the contribution made to wider network costs. The Scottish Government has suggested to Ofgem that more should be done to segment these groups, and to better understand the short term impact on low and vulnerable users particularly.

While we support Ofgem’s aim to ensure a fair distribution of costs, we also wish to avoid reforms that would discourage or decrease investment in renewable energy and the development of a more flexible energy system.

Question reference: S5W-22360

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Ofgem’s targeted charging review, and whether it will make a submission to it.

The Scottish Government responded in early February to Ofgem’s consultation on its “minded to” decision on the Targeted Charging Review, following discussions with a range of stakeholders.

Our response agreed that current charging arrangements need reform to ensure a fair distribution of costs between those who use and benefit from our electricity networks. However, we also raised concerns about how Ofgem’s proposals might affect those with low levels of electricity usage, many of whom may be classed as vulnerable consumers.

We also believe that the proposed changes to embedded benefits may undermine the development of community renewables, and dampen incentives to invest in renewable energy and storage. This risks reducing our ability in Scotland, and across the UK, to deliver against decarbonisation targets.

Question reference: S5O-03123

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-22406

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its timeframe is for the introduction of land value capture.