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-31554

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it measures social value in determining planning consent for energy projects.

Question reference: S6W-31552

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what level of consideration it gives to hydraulic head height when determining planning consent for pumped storage hydro projects.

Question reference: S6W-31556

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that pumped storage hydro schemes (a) maximise power generation and (b) minimise water usage, and whether it would prioritise the most water-efficient schemes.

Question reference: S6W-31553

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it prioritises any wider system benefits, including the level of affordable community benefits, of onshore renewable projects when assessing planning applications.

Question reference: S6W-31555

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that communities can benefit from pumped storage hydro projects.

Question reference: S6W-31510

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it will provide an update on how much of the £1.8 billion that was committed for decarbonising buildings through its Heat in Buildings strategy has been (i) allocated and (ii) spent and (b) it is committed to spending any remaining amount during the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6O-04011

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the reasons why it decided against externally reviewing the Community Right to Buy scheme.

Question reference: S6W-31148

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with Crown Estate Scotland about replicating the UK Government partnership announcement with The Crown Estate for future ScotWind leasing rounds.

The Scottish Government already has a well established partnership with the Crown Estate that was fundamental to the Scotwind and INTOG licensing rounds for offshore wind. Our current focus is not on new leasing opportunities but delivering Scotland’s strong pipeline of clean energy and supply chain opportunities.

To support this the Scottish Government and UK Government Department of Energy Security and Net Zero developed a shared objective for Great British Energy to maximise the benefits of its activities in Scotland. Through developing partnerships with existing Scottish public bodies active within the clean energy sector (Crown Estate Scotland, the Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank) organisations will work together to deliver joint objectives to maximise impact and value for money from Scottish projects.

Question reference: S6W-31147

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on timelines for future ScotWind leasing rounds.

Question reference: S6W-31146

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Local Power Plan, and whether it will provide support for local authorities in Scotland to take advantage of any potential opportunities as a result of the plan.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to continue to grow the community and local energy sector and ensure the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland.

On 17 October the Scottish Government signed a Joint Vision Statement with the UK Government which set out a commitment to work together to explore opportunities for GB Energy to support community and local energy in Scotland. This includes considering the role of the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

In line with this Vision Statement, the Scottish Government continues to work with the UK Government to explore opportunities, including for local authorities in Scotland, offered by the Local Power Plan. The Scottish Government looks forward to working with local authorities to ensure that opportunities arising from the Local Power Plan are maximised for local communities.