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-18068

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when its new Warmer Homes Scotland scheme will be launched.

Question reference: S6W-18071

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many households it estimates will be supported through its new Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme.

The Warmer Homes Scotland successor will be a demand led scheme, i.e. the number of households supported will depend on the number of households contacting the scheme, which reduces the accuracy of any estimates of households that will benefit. Substantial changes in customer volumes are not anticipated in the new scheme in comparison to Warmer Homes Scotland.

Budgets for the scheme will be set annually in line with the Scottish Budget allocation process. For example, if the budget in a given year was £60m, we envisage between 3788 – 4252 households may be supported.

The successor scheme will have a widened eligibility criteria which will allow a broader range of households to access the scheme. The scheme will adopt PAS 2035 standards, delivering whole house retrofit and with a greater emphasis on zero direct emission heating so households will on average benefit from a higher level of interventions per household.

The support offered through WHS sits alongside other help, such as our Home Energy Scotland grant scheme and our Area Based Schemes which provide local delivery of energy efficiency improvements.

Question reference: S6W-18070

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much money will be available for homeowners to use through its new Warmer Homes Scotland scheme.

Budgets for the scheme will be set out annually in line with the Scottish Budget allocation process.

The contract for the Warmer Homes Scotland successor has a maximum value of £728m (ex VAT) over a period of 7 years.

Household intervention rates have not yet been set for the scheme, however these are anticipated to be higher than the current Warmer Homes Scotland scheme.

This support through WHS sits alongside other help, such as our Home Energy Scotland grant scheme and our Area Based Schemes which provide local delivery of energy efficiency improvements.

Question reference: S6W-18165

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 2 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, ahead of the scheduled end in September 2023 of its £5 million funding that it announced in July 2021 to support the reduction of waiting lists in support services for women and girls affected by gender-based violence, and in light of claims by Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre, in its briefing document for MSPs, that the end of this funding would lead to increases in its waiting list and the loss of approximately 60 client appointments each week, whether it plans to extend this funding beyond the currently scheduled end date.

We recognise the vital work that services like Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre do day in, day out to support women and girls. We also understand the difficult circumstances that the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis continues to put on front line services.

The 100 Days (Covid emergency) funding provided frontline services for women and girls affected by gender-based violence with an additional £5 million to deal with additional pressures that occurred during the pandemic. Rape Crisis Scotland was awarded £2,250,000 over two years, for network members. We are working with Rape Crisis Scotland to ensure that there is an extension to their 100 days funding beyond September 2023 until the end of this financial year. We are also supporting them beyond this bridge funding to diversify their funding base.

Question reference: S6W-18166

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 2 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has taken steps to ensure that the transition to the proposed new funding model for specialist services for women and girls affected by gender-based violence does not result in interruptions in funding for rape crisis centres.

In March 2022, the Scottish Government agreed that the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) funding period should be extended by 18 months beyond September 2023, to allow suitable lead in time for a new funding model to be developed, following the conclusion of the Independent Strategic Funding Review.

The Scottish Government established the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of violence against women and girls services to develop a new funding model to ensure victims have access to high-quality, accessible specialist support.

Question reference: S6O-02339

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the second appliance at Methil Fire Station will be withdrawn from service by 4 September 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18164

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the extension of the Delivering Equally Safe Fund until March 2025, whether it has taken steps to ensure that rape crisis centres are able to apply for additional funding before the introduction of its proposed new funding model for specialist services for women and girls affected by gender-based violence.

In March 2022, the Scottish Government agreed that the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) funding period should be extended beyond September 2023, to allow suitable lead in time for a new funding model to be developed, following the conclusion of the Independent Strategic Funding Review.

Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) and its centres will continue to receive Delivering Equally Safe (DES) Funding until March 2025, along with all the other DES funded projects.

Ministers will consider the Funding Review findings when they are published on 6 June.

Question reference: S6O-02307

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it will take to reverse the reported decline of NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-18072

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Holding Answer by Gillian Martin on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what year it anticipates ending fuel poverty, and whether it has set any interim targets to meet this aim.

Question reference: S6W-17815

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason referrals to Warmer Homes Scotland have been paused from 31 March 2023 until October 2023.

The current Warmer Homes Scotland contract is drawing to a close and new applications for the scheme have now ended to allow for the current customer journeys to be completed before the end of the contract. All applications received from 1 April 2023 will be assessed by Home Energy Scotland under the eligibility criteria for the successor scheme and will be passed to the managing agent for delivery when the new contract goes live on 2 October 2023. The successor scheme will run for a minimum of 5 years and the contract includes the option to extend a further 2 years which would see the programme run until October 2030.

Warmer Homes Scotland is continuing to provide energy efficiency measures to fuel poor households. Improvements will continue to be installed up until the end of the current Warmer Homes Scotland contract on 29 September 2023.

The successor scheme expands significantly on the offer of the previous scheme with a greater focus on deep, whole-house retrofit and zero emissions heating where this is not detrimental to the fuel poverty objectives. This new approach requires significant preparation from the managing agent and sub-contractors which will take place between now and October.

Scottish Goernment funded support for households is still available through the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loans Scheme, Area Based Schemes and the Fuel Insecurity Fund.