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: S3W-33842

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Scottish Futures Trust has had regarding funding the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

Question reference: S3W-33669

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 May 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a report on energy performance of non-domestic buildings, as required by section 63(6) of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S3W-33670

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 May 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a report on energy performance of domestic buildings, as required by section 64(6) of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Section 64(6) of the act requires Scottish ministers to publish a report within 12 months of commencement of this provision on its plans to utilise these powers. This means that ministers must publish this report by 31 March 2011.

The Scottish Government consulted on options for the use of these regulation making powers in its consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which was published in October. The final action plan will include information on the next steps in regard to developing our approach to the use of these regulation making powers.

Question reference: S3W-33666

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 May 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it has sufficient legal powers to set up minimum energy efficiency standards in housing and, if so, under what statute.

Sufficient legal powers to set minimum energy efficiency standards for new dwellings are available through the Building (Scotland) Regulations. These regulations are made under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. These regulations apply to new dwellings, regardless of tenure.

Section 64 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 provides wide ranging enabling powers for Scottish ministers to introduce requirements to assess the energy performance of existing houses and to require action to be taken based on those assessments.

These powers include provision for regulations to specify the living accommodation to which the regulations apply. This enables ministers to specify regulations covering both the privately rented and the owner-occupied housing sectors.

Given the wide ranging nature of these powers, there are no plans to seek further legal powers relating to the energy performance of housing.

Question reference: S3W-33667

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 May 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it has sufficient legal powers to set minimum efficiency standards in the private rented sector and, if so, under what statute.

Question reference: S3W-33668

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 May 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it has sufficient legal powers to set minimum energy efficiency standards in the owner-occupied sector and, if so, under what statute.

Question reference: S3W-33378

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 April 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33183 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 April 2010, how many of the 180 graduate nurses who took up employment with NHS Grampian in 2009-10 took up a post as a band 5 nurse.

Question reference: S3W-33376

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 April 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33183 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 April 2010, how many of the 143 graduate nurses who took up employment with NHS Grampian in 2007-08 took up a post as a band 5 nurse.

Question reference: S3W-33377

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 April 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33183 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 April 2010, how many of the 223 graduate nurses who took up employment with NHS Grampian in 2008-09 took up a post as a band 5 nurse.

Question reference: S3W-32905

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 28 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to promote energy from waste by means of the integration of waste management with combined heat and power or district heating systems.

Scotland''s Zero Waste Plan is currently being finalised and will be published this summer. Implementing zero waste policies will encourage better resource utilisation through promotion of waste prevention; minimisation; re-use and recycling, and recovery where waste prevention, re-use or recycling is not feasible.

Consequently, waste recovery, including making use of thermal energy from waste processes, forms part of an integrated Zero Waste Strategy. Where energy from waste is used, it is important that it is used efficiently and to do so will invariably involve use of both heat and power generated from the plant.

SEPA has produced environmental permitting guidance to be considered by applicants who propose energy-from-waste plants. This makes it clear that new thermal treatment facilities should not impede recycling or waste prevention opportunities, and that they maximise the recovery of energy.

The practical implications of the guidance are that plants should only treat residual waste after all reasonable efforts have been made to extract recyclable materials, and that they should recover and use the energy derived from waste efficiently, including utilising heat in industrial applications and/or district heating systems.