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: S4W-29228

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the timetable for the (a) moratorium on underground coal gasification (UCG) and (b) independent review of UCG that is to be conducted by Professor Campbell Gemmell.

The Scottish Government announced a moratorium on UCG on 8 October 2015. The moratorium will create the opportunity to take forward a period of evidence-gathering. The independent examination of the issues and evidence surrounding UCG which is being led by Professor Campbell Gemmell will help the Scottish Government formulate future policies or actions. The independent review is expected to report its findings in summer 2016.

Information on the independent review of UCG can be found on the Scottish Government website at

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/onshoreoilandgas.

Question reference: S4W-29223

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 15 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the operation of the (a) West Coast Main Line and (b) Lamington Viaduct was included in its winter resilience planning.

Question reference: S4W-29224

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 15 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail Alliance and Transport Scotland to confirm the structural integrity of bridges on trunk roads and main rail lines as part of winter resilience planning.

Question reference: S4O-05288

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed social care with the City of Edinburgh Council.

Question reference: S4F-03153

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 January 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2016

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will conduct a review of flood defences in conjunction with local authorities in light of this winter’s flooding incidents.

Question reference: S4W-28714

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) schedule, (b) agendas, (c) list of spokespeople in attendance and (d) recorded attendance of stakeholder workshop meetings to facilitate consultation on the public health impact assessment in respect of the moratorium on unconventional gas extraction and fracking.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The public health impact assessment on unconventional oil and gas extraction is an independent piece of work being delivered by Health Protection Scotland. Health Protection Scotland has published information about the stakeholder workshops on its website, which is accessible at:

http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/enviro/unconventionalgas.aspx?subjectid=49.

Question reference: S4W-28713

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) college courses and (b) apprenticeship places specialise in training for the (i) energy efficiency and (ii) low-carbon sector.

Data on the number of college courses specialising in training for the (i) energy efficiency and (ii) low-carbon sector is not held centrally. The Scottish Funding Council is responsible for collecting data on college students and courses in Scotland. I will ask the Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council to write to you with the information you have requested.

The main energy efficiency and low carbon Modern Apprenticeship (MA) frameworks are wind turbine, gas and energy efficiency. Please see the table below for the figures for 2015-16 quarter two for these frameworks.

Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Sector Frameworks Quarter Two (1 April to 21September 2015)

Frameworks	Starts	In Training	Completion
Gas Heating and Energy Efficiency	16	16	0
Wind Turbine Tech	2	35	2

While the above are the main low carbon and energy efficiency specific frameworks, some individuals on other MA frameworks, such as construction or plumbing may then go on to take industry/vendor specific courses that allow them to specialise in low carbon or energy efficiency units. For example, a fully qualified roofer might then go on to be trained to install solar panels. However, as these are delivered outside MA frameworks, Skills Development Scotland does not track who has completed these units, and as such cannot provide figures for this.

Question reference: S4W-28715

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) funding and (b) staffing has been allocated to conducting the public health impact assessment in respect of the moratorium on unconventional gas extraction and fracking.

The public health impact assessment on unconventional oil and gas extraction is an independent piece of work being delivered by Health Protection Scotland. Full details of the funding which will be provided have not yet been finalised, but will cover the additional costs incurred by Health Protection Scotland in the course of this work.

The Health Protection Scotland environmental public health team, who are experienced in providing advice on a wide range of environmental risks to health, are leading this work. A full time dedicated scientific researcher has been employed to support it. A range of other organisations are also providing support, including NHS Health Scotland, the Scottish Health and Inequalities Impact Assessment Network, and the Scottish Public Health Network. Technical advice is also being provided by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the British Geological Survey, the Health and Safety Executive, local authority planning officers and local authority environmental health officers.

Question reference: S4W-28448

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 11 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 92), that "there is an ambition for a further 14,000 homes" to be connected to district heat networks by 2020, whether it will confirm where the developments will be located and how it will support them.

Since March 2014 over 2,000 homes have connected to communal or district heating schemes including:

The Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village, with 750 homes connected;

Several Wheatley Group developments in Glasgow, connecting over 800 homes;

Continued expansion of existing heat networks in Aberdeen, Wick, Lerwick and Banchory.

A list of district heating projects in development was published on the Heat Network Partnership web-page earlier in 2015 and is available on the following link: http://www.districtheatingscotland.com/hnp-projects-map-in-development.

Many district heating schemes are still at an early stage of development and currently it is not possible to provide details on all of them, however intelligence garnered from local authorities, social landlords and the Energy Savings Trust indicates that there is the potential for an additional 14,000 homes to connect over and above those schemes already identified in the pipeline.

There is a comprehensive range of support available to support the development of district heating schemes through the Heat Network Partnership, the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, the Local Energy Challenge Fund and the District Heating Loan Fund.

Examples of projects in development which these programmes are engaging with include:

Continued expansion of existing networks could connect a further 2,000 households or more by 2020, with potential for wider expansion in the long-term;

Eight district heating projects awarded Local Energy Challenge Fund development support, with initial connections planned for over 2,000 households;

The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme is engaging with a number of large-scale integrated district heating projects to discuss support for the development of detailed businesses cases;

The Heat Network Partnership and Warm Homes Fund have supported strategies, business cases and feasibility studies for over 20 projects, identifying district heating projects which could connect a significant number of households, particularly in multi-storey blocks. Case studies of successful schemes are available on the Energy Saving Trust website: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/warm-homes-fund and selected studies available on the Heat Network Partnership website: www.districtheatingscotland.com.

A number of these projects represent a step change in the scale of district heating, located in urban areas with significant potential for long-term development of integrated networks connecting households, public, commercial and industrial buildings and potential for future expansion. In addition, small-scale rural renewable projects make up around 10% of household connections. The District Heating Loan Fund continues to support these projects by providing low interest loans, enabling rural businesses and social housing schemes to access the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Question reference: S4W-28466

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is monitoring the reported increase of rents in the farming sector.

The Scottish Government monitors annual changes in farming sector rent through its statistical surveys. Results are available in the Tenanted Agricultural Land in Scotland publication which is usually released in late April of each year.

The latest published figures show that in 2014:

The average rent (across all holdings) was £38 per hectare;

For holdings in Less Favoured Areas (LFA), the average rent was £25 per hectare;

For holdings in non LFA, the average rent was £125 per hectare.

In 2014, on average:

Rents increased by 6% (4% in real terms);

For LFA holdings, the average increase was 10%;

For non LFA holdings, the average increase was 1%.

The next set of farming sector rent statistics (collected from the 2015 December agricultural survey) are scheduled for publication in April 2016 and will be available on the Scottish Government’s website using the following link:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/agtenancy.