Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-02637

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the education secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to reduce instances of vaping in schools.

Question reference: S6W-21949

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to commissioning "population research on the long term effects of air pollution", as committed to in the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 report.

In March 2023, the Scottish Government commissioned a literature review to assess the evidence on health impacts of low level air pollution in countries with ambient air pollution levels comparable to Scotland. Following publication of this literature review, which will take place before the end of 2023, views will be sought from the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 health working group on whether additional research is needed to aid further understanding of health impacts.

As indicated in the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 2022-23 annual progress report, which was published on 27 September 2023, these discussions will be completed by spring 2024.

Question reference: S6W-21383

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what proportion of species at risk of extinction it considers there is currently (a) sufficient and (b) insufficient data on (i) abundance and (ii) distribution.

The IUCN Red List classifies species at risk of global extinction into nine categories: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct. NatureScot, working with stakeholders, have identified approximately 12,000 species in Scotland which fall into one of these categories, of which around 75% (8,381) are considered to be of Least Concern and not, therefore, considered to be at imminent risk of extinction.

1,748 species have been assessed as at some risk of extinction, with 148 assessed to be Critically Endangered, 295 Endangered, 673 Vulnerable and 632 Near Threatened.

Historically, monitoring of species has been influenced by various factors including the taxa, visibility and popularity, which has resulted in some data deficiencies, including in respect of some critically endangered species. NatureScot is working with stakeholders to address this, including through projects such as Species at Risk, which aims to bring all taxa onto a level playing field and focus more attention toward the lesser-known species. With new datasets and analytical tools becoming available, we are able to present trends in status for more species than ever before.

Our Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 recognises the importance of good quality biodiversity data to achieving our goals, and together with NatureScot we are providing £580,000 over two years to support the Better Biodiversity Data Project, led by the National Biodiversity Network Trust. The project will establish a Scottish Data Hub which will bring together biodiversity data from a range of sources and make it more accessible for analysis. More information on this is available at: https://nbn.org.uk/news/better-biodiversity-data-project/ .

Further details can also be found in the latest State of Nature Scotland Report for 2023, a collaborative work between government agencies and eNGOs, published on 28 September 2023. The report is available at: https://stateofnature.org.uk/countries/scotland/ .

Question reference: S6W-21443

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20825 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023, how many kilometres of rail track were electrified in each of the last five years.

Electrification is commissioned at the completion of works and last schemes to be commissioned were Shotts Line Electrification (74km) and Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa Electrification (110km). Work on the development, design and construction of further electrification has continued throughout the 5 year period and a further 23 km will be commissioned this year on the Glasgow - Barrhead line. Work is also under way on the East Kilbride route.

Question reference: S6W-21472

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20817 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023, whether any minister has met with original equipment manufacturers of electric vehicles in the past three years.

Question reference: S6W-21488

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted a climate impact assessment of its Infrastructure Investment Plan for the period 2021-26, and, if so, when the assessment will be published.

Annex C of the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP), published February 2021, used a taxonomy approach to assess planned infrastructure spend into low, neutral and high carbon categories, drawing on the annual carbon assessment of the capital budget. The 2022-23 annual IIP progress report, published June 2023, considers Major Capital Projects within the IIP in the context of the climate change targets.

Scottish Ministers accept that the IIP material published to date falls short of the requirement on Ministers in section 94A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, where they publish an Infrastructure Investment Plan, to also publish “an assessment of the extent to which investment in accordance with the plan is expected to contribute to the meeting of the emissions reduction targets”. Urgent work is underway to ensure that the duty is discharged in full and as soon as possible. The Scottish Government is also working with Environmental Standards Scotland to resolve this issue.

Question reference: S6W-21382

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20814 by Lorna Slater on 12 September 2023, how much of the investment in battery recycling/reprocessing has been made in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-21473

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20826 by Neil Gray on 12 September 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what proportion of the Scottish National Investment Bank’s investment activity has been used to support companies able to demonstrate savings in both carbon emissions and material consumption.

The Scottish National Investment Bank sets out its approach to assessing its impact in its annual Impact Report.

The member may wish to note the Bank reports on the amount of capital it has committed against each of its missions and the impacts delivered across its portfolio.

The Bank’s Impact Report 2023 is available at: https://www.thebank.scot/impact-report .

If the member has further questions about the operational detail of the Bank’s approach to impact, he may wish to contact the Bank directly.

Question reference: S6W-20824

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown by local authority area of (a) the number of loans granted through the Energy Saving Trust e-bike loan scheme in each year since it was launched, (b) the value of those loans and (c) how many loans have been defaulted, and the value of any defaults.

The following data is accurate up to the end of July 2023:

Number and value of loans by local authority:

LOCAL AUTHORITY	PAID (£)		NUMBER PAID		TOTAL PAID (£)	TOTAL NUMBER PAID
LOCAL AUTHORITY	BUSINESS	DOMESTIC	BUSINESS	DOMESTIC
Aberdeen City		£ 224,230		73	£ 224,230	73
Aberdeenshire	£ 6,000	£ 501,946	2	161	£ 507,946	163
Angus		£ 251,294		82	£ 251,294	82
Argyll and Bute		£ 414,650		123	£ 414,650	123
City of Edinburgh	£ 96,968	£ 855,070	17	293	£ 952,038	310
Clackmannanshire		£ 56,145		15	£ 56,145	15
Dumfries and Galloway	£ 5,299	£ 475,894	2	166	£ 481,193	168
Dundee City	£ 51,600	£ 239,540	2	73	£ 291,140	75
East Ayrshire	£ 4,200	£ 113,792	1	36	£ 117,992	37
East Dunbartonshire		£ 185,556		57	£ 185,556	57
East Lothian		£ 189,454		66	£ 189,454	66
East Renfrewshire	£ 5,748	£ 154,435	1	52	£ 160,183	53
Falkirk	£ 3,000	£ 108,675	1	36	£ 111,675	37
Fife	£ 6,000	£ 583,523	1	193	£ 589,523	194
Glasgow City	£ 50,795	£ 533,500	10	172	£ 584,295	182
Highland	£ 82,089	£ 1,061,270	13	336	£ 1,143,359	349
Inverclyde		£ 50,703		19	£ 50,703	19
Midlothian	£ 2,925	£ 103,596	1	35	£ 106,521	36
Moray		£ 245,367		82	£ 245,367	82
Na h-Eileanan Siar		£ 44,297		17	£ 44,297	17
North Ayrshire	£ 3,799	£ 184,288	1	67	£ 188,087	68
North Lanarkshire	£ 4,999	£ 101,277	1	38	£ 106,276	39
Orkney Islands	£ 6,000	£ 58,947	1	20	£ 64,947	21
Perth and Kinross	£ 55,858	£ 1,026,956	9	292	£ 1,082,814	301
Renfrewshire		£ 138,619		45	£ 138,619	45
Scottish Borders	£ 10,875	£ 376,075	2	130	£ 386,950	132
Shetland Islands		£ 33,799		14	£ 33,799	14
South Ayrshire		£ 217,413		86	£ 217,413	86
South Lanarkshire	£ 2,199	£ 225,768	1	81	£ 227,967	82
Stirling	£ 21,931	£ 349,147	3	111	£ 371,078	114
West Dunbartonshire		£ 78,666		31	£ 78,666	31
West Lothian	£ 6,000	£ 108,839	1	43	£ 114,839	44
GRAND TOTAL	£ 426,284	£ 9,292,732	70	3,045	£ 9,719,016	3,115

Number and Value of Impaired or Defaulted Loans by Local Authority:

Note - Loans are considered to be in default after two missed payments and impaired after three consecutive missed payments

	DEFAULT		IMPAIRED
LOCAL AUTHORITY	Count	Value (£)	Count	Value (£)	Total Count	Total Value (£)
Aberdeen City	2	£ 4,249	2	£ 4,099	4	£ 8,348
2018-19			1	£ 3,000	1	£ 3,000
2019-20	1	£ 2,500			1	£ 2,500
2022-23	1	£ 1,749	1	£ 1,099	2	£ 2,848
Aberdeenshire	6	£ 20,217	3	£ 9,700	9	£ 29,917
2018-19			1	£ 6,000	1	£ 6,000
2020-21	5	£ 17,518	1	£ 1,700	6	£ 19,218
2021-22	1	£ 2,699	1	£ 2,000	2	£ 4,699
Angus	2	£ 5,699	2	£ 4,659	4	£ 10,358
2020-21	2	£ 5,699	2	£ 4,659	4	£ 10,358
Argyll and Bute	3	£ 13,149	1	£ 2,899	4	£ 16,048
2019-20	1	£ 1,750	1	£ 2,899	2	£ 4,649
2020-21	2	£ 11,399			2	£ 11,399
City of Edinburgh	3	£ 5,907	3	£ 7,085	6	£ 12,992
2018-19	1	£ 2,029			1	£ 2,029
2019-20	1	£ 1,579			1	£ 1,579
2020-21			1	£ 2,000	1	£ 2,000
2021-22	1	£ 2,299	1	£ 2,595	2	£ 4,894
2022-23			1	£ 2,490	1	£ 2,490
Dumfries and Galloway	5	£ 16,255	4	£ 13,746	9	£ 30,001
2019-20	2	£ 7,138	2	£ 6,999	4	£ 14,137
2020-21	1	£ 2,519			1	£ 2,519
2021-22	1	£ 3,000			1	£ 3,000
2022-23	1	£ 3,598	2	£ 6,747	3	£ 10,345
Dundee City	2	£ 24,415	1	£ 4,949	3	£ 29,364
2018-19			1	£ 4,949	1	£ 4,949
2019-20	1	£ 21,600			1	£ 21,600
2020-21	1	£ 2,815			1	£ 2,815
East Ayrshire	2	£ 6,148	3	£ 10,299	5	£ 16,447
2019-20	1	£ 2,000	1	£ 1,800	2	£ 3,800
2020-21			2	£ 8,499	2	£ 8,499
2022-23	1	£ 4,148			1	£ 4,148
East Dunbartonshire	1	£ 4,398	1	£ 3,000	2	£ 7,398
2020-21	1	£ 4,398			1	£ 4,398
2021-22			1	£ 3,000	1	£ 3,000
East Lothian			2	£ 5,399	2	£ 5,399
2019-20			1	£ 2,900	1	£ 2,900
2020-21			1	£ 2,499	1	£ 2,499
East Renfrewshire	2	£ 4,900			2	£ 4,900
2019-20	1	£ 2,000			1	£ 2,000
2020-21	1	£ 2,900			1	£ 2,900
Falkirk	2	£ 9,113	1	£ 3,298	3	£ 12,411
2021-22	1	£ 3,795	1	£ 3,298	2	£ 7,093
2022-23	1	£ 5,318			1	£ 5,318
Fife	6	£ 14,923	5	£ 16,249	11	£ 31,171
2018-19	2	£ 5,998	1	£ 2,999	3	£ 8,997
2019-20	2	£ 4,725	1	£ 2,800	3	£ 7,525
2020-21	1	£ 1,700	1	£ 6,000	2	£ 7,700
2022-23	1	£ 2,500	2	£ 4,450	3	£ 6,950
Glasgow City	8	£ 22,299	3	£ 17,095	11	£ 39,394
2019-20	2	£ 8,400			2	£ 8,400
2020-21	3	£ 6,148	1	£ 5,495	4	£ 11,643
2021-22	1	£ 3,753			1	£ 3,753
2022-23	2	£ 3,998	1	£ 5,700	3	£ 9,698
2023-24			1	£ 5,900	1	£ 5,900
Highland	16	£ 53,878	3	£ 13,056	19	£ 66,934
2018-19	1	£ 3,796			1	£ 3,796
2019-20	6	£ 21,061	2	£ 9,398	8	£ 30,459
2020-21	8	£ 23,423	1	£ 3,658	9	£ 27,081
2021-22	1	£ 5,598			1	£ 5,598
Inverclyde	1	£ 3,000	1	£ 1,600	2	£ 4,600
2018-19			1	£ 1,600	1	£ 1,600
2019-20	1	£ 3,000			1	£ 3,000
Moray	2	£ 3,699	3	£ 8,179	5	£ 11,878
2018-19			1	£ 1,280	1	£ 1,280
2020-21	1	£ 1,699	1	£ 4,100	2	£ 5,799
2021-22	1	£ 2,000			1	£ 2,000
2022-23			1	£ 2,799	1	£ 2,799
Na h-Eileanan Siar			1	£ 3,698	1	£ 3,698
2020-21			1	£ 3,698	1	£ 3,698
North Ayrshire	2	£ 6,409	3	£ 7,148	5	£ 13,557
2018-19			1	£ 3,000	1	£ 3,000
2019-20	1	£ 1,709			1	£ 1,709
2020-21	1	£ 4,700	2	£ 4,148	3	£ 8,848
North Lanarkshire	1	£ 1,798	1	£ 3,000	2	£ 4,798
2021-22	1	£ 1,798	1	£ 3,000	2	£ 4,798
Perth and Kinross	11	£ 54,794	8	£ 32,397	19	£ 87,191
2018-19			4	£ 17,499	4	£ 17,499
2019-20	6	£ 19,695	2	£ 6,299	8	£ 25,994
2020-21	2	£ 8,099	2	£ 8,599	4	£ 16,698
2022-23	3	£ 27,000			3	£ 27,000
Renfrewshire			1	£ 2,849	1	£ 2,849
2021-22			1	£ 2,849	1	£ 2,849
Scottish Borders	3	£ 12,427			3	£ 12,427
2018-19	1	£ 3,998			1	£ 3,998
2019-20	1	£ 6,000			1	£ 6,000
2020-21	1	£ 2,429			1	£ 2,429
Shetland Islands			1	£ 5,929	1	£ 5,929
2021-22			1	£ 5,929	1	£ 5,929
South Ayrshire	1	£ 3,778	3	£ 6,098	4	£ 9,876
2019-20	1	£ 3,778			1	£ 3,778
2020-21			3	£ 6,098	3	£ 6,098
South Lanarkshire			3	£ 8,448	3	£ 8,448
2019-20			2	£ 5,448	2	£ 5,448
2020-21			1	£ 3,000	1	£ 3,000
Stirling	4	£ 23,098	3	£ 5,246	7	£ 28,344
2020-21	3	£ 11,098	1	£ 1,645	4	£ 12,743
2021-22			2	£ 3,601	2	£ 3,601
2022-23	1	£ 12,000			1	£ 12,000
West Dunbartonshire			2	£ 4,199	2	£ 4,199
2021-22			1	£ 3,000	1	£ 3,000
2022-23			1	£ 1,199	1	£ 1,199

Question reference: S6W-20829

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on classifying different end uses for steel as either socially beneficial or harmful.

Chamber and committees