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-23012

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22527 by Gillian Martin on 9 November 2023, what the energy output would be of the current live applications, broken down by local authority area.

With reference to the answer supplied to question reference S6W-22527, the 311 organisations being supported by CARES with an ‘Active’ project status are in varying stages of development. Some are undertaking early scoping and feasibility exercises, while others have grant funding committed. Local Energy Scotland (LES) measures new energy generation by installed capacity in kilowatts (kW) based on the maximum rated output of each project, as opposed to Energy Output which refers to energy generated over time in kilowatt hours (kWh).

The installed capacities of projects are provided in the following table. Note that these figures relate only to active projects where CARES funding has been offered, as the capacities of projects before this stage can change as a result of revisions in design, budget or supplier availability.

All Projects	All projects
Local Authority	No.	total kW
Aberdeen City	10	252
Aberdeenshire	18	2673
Angus	3	61
Argyll and Bute	25	30132
Clackmannanshire	2	41
Dumfries & Galloway	18	581
Dundee City	8	4134
East Ayrshire	14	297
East Dunbartonshire	1	20
East Lothian	5	8082
East Renfrewshire	2	41
Edinburgh City	14	272
Falkirk	3	89
Fife	15	7855
Glasgow City	13	245
Highland	43	33523
Inverclyde	1	20
Midlothian	3	61
Moray	14	16215
North Ayrshire	9	8922
North Lanarkshire	6	122
Orkney Islands	11	248
Perth & Kinross	10	203
Renfrewshire	2	38
Scottish Borders	18	44635
Shetland Islands	9	169
South Ayrshire	7	87
South Lanarkshire	9	188
Stirling	6	102
West Dunbartonshire	1	20
West Lothian	3	61
Western Isles	8	71057
Total	311	230448

Question reference: S6W-23013

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22338 by Neil Gray on 7 November 2023, what specific guidance the Energy Consents Unit uses when completing a data check.

Officials in the Energy Consents Unit (“ECU”) use internal process guidance to check that the data input by developers into the carbon calculator accords with the relevant information referenced in the application documentation and its environmental impact assessment report (“EIA report”). Once the data is checked, the submission is formally received and then thereafter available for scrutiny in the public domain by using the reference code published in the EIA report. The data check includes:

1. Checking that the number of wind turbines and capacity output of each turbine accords with the information provided in the EIA Report.

2. Checking that the operational period accords with the application information

3. Checking that the capacity factor is credible and backed up by evidence in the EIA report.

Question reference: S6W-23022

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22380 by Gillian Martin on 30 October 2023, what the (a) name, (b) remit and (c) membership is of each working group that the Minister for Energy and the Environment chaired.

I recently chaired the short-lived Rural Energy Consumers Working Group, Non-domestic Energy Consumers Working Group and Priority (previously known as Vulnerable) Energy Consumers Working Group. Information on each of these groups can be found on the Scottish Government website at the following links:

Energy: Rural Energy Consumers Short-Life Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Energy: Non-Domestic Energy Consumers Short-Life Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Energy: Vulnerable Energy Consumers Short-Life Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-23014

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22334 by Neil Gray on 7 November 2023, on what date is expects to publish the outcomes.

Question reference: S6W-23023

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22380 by Gillian Martin on 30 October 2023, what the outcomes were of each of the working group meetings chaired by the Minister for Energy and the Environment.

Question reference: S6W-23020

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22357 by Gillian Martin on 2 November 2023, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the funding will be allocated.

Our recent announcement of up to £500 million in commercial and grant investment will support market certainty, helping to create a highly productive, competitive economy, providing thousands of new jobs, embedding innovation and boosting skills. We are working closely with our partners in the Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank to develop an approach that will allow us to respond at pace to market needs.

Decisions on spending for 2024-25 and future years are subject to the outcome of the Scottish Budget process and associated approval by the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6O-02817

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to review property factor legislation.

Question reference: S6W-22848

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Auditor General’s reported observation that the Scottish Government will no longer be able to deliver all of its planned infrastructure investment or double its maintenance budget, what assessment it has made of any impact that this will have on the Lothians region.

The Scottish Government welcomed the briefing from Audit Scotland and remains firmly committed to infrastructure investment as a key factor in securing inclusive economic growth and delivering high-quality public services. The UK Government did not inflation-proof their Capital budget which has resulted in the Scottish Government facing a 7.0% real-terms fall in our Barnett funding over the medium-term. This has significantly impacted our ability to deliver all our capital infrastructure commitments.

We have been consistently open about the challenges facing the Capital budget and tough decisions will need to be taken at the 2024-25 Budget to ensure we remain fiscally sustainable. Therefore, we committed to refreshing the multi-year capital spending envelopes up to 2026-27 and resetting the infrastructure project pipeline, alongside the 2024-25 Budget. To achieve this, Scottish Ministers are focused on targeting the available capital funding to deliver the right mix of infrastructure that will deliver value-for-money and contribute to the three core missions set out in the Policy Prospectus: tacking poverty and protecting people from harm; a fair, green and growing economy; and the provision of high-quality public services across the whole of Scotland. In taking decisions, the full impact of investment against national outcomes will be considered, including geographical need. Any decisions regarding the reprioritisation of capital spending will be presented to Parliament in due course.

Question reference: S6W-22688

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it applies when prioritising the capital funding allocation for the building of new health infrastructure.

NHS Boards are allocated approximately £150 million of formula capital funding which is used to maintain their estate and refresh and replace their equipment base.

The remainder of the portfolio’s capital allocation is mainly directed towards delivering the capital projects that were included in the Scottish Government’s five year Infrastructure Investment Plan which was published in February 2021.

Question reference: S6W-22568

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the potential impact of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill on the Scottish Government's international development work.