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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 527 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-08094

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many North Sea oil and gas fields are the subject of decommissioning proposals, and how much it would cost to decommission these over the next three years.

The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regulates the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations and pipelines. A table of draft decommissioning programmes under consideration and approved decommissioning programmes can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-decommissioning-of-offshore-installations-and-pipelines

There are a number of estimates around the potential cost and timing of oil and gas decommissioning activity, including:

Scottish Enterprise and Highland and Islands Enterprise published an Oil and Gas Decommissioning Action Plan in December 2016. This includes an analysis of decommissioning costs and activity. This can be found via: https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/knowledge-hub/articles/publication/oil-gas-decommissioning-action-plan

The Oil and Gas Authority’s Decommissioning Strategy summarises current cost projections, outlines efficiency improvements and transformative options that will support the delivery of Maximising Economic Recovery UK. This can be found via: https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/decommissioning/strategy/

Oil and Gas UK’s Decommissioning Insight 2016 report presents forecasts of offshore oil and gas infrastructure decommissiong in the UK and Norway over the next ten years. This can be found via: http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/decommissioninginsight.cfm

Question reference: S5W-08096

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much private sector investment there has been in North Sea oil and gas (a) exploration and (b) development and production in each of the last three years, and what estimate it has made for each of the next three years.

The Scottish Government Oil and Gas Production Statistics 2015-16 includes estimates of oil and gas production activity in Scotland (including Scottish adjacent waters). It reports production volumes, approximate sales income, operating costs and capital expenditure. This can be found via http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/oilgas1516

Expenditure statistics for the UK Continental Shelf, including short term forecasts to 2018, are produced by Oil and Gas UK and can be found in the Business Outlook Report 2017 via http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/businessoutlook.cfm

Question reference: S5W-08100

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the (a) volume and (b) value of trade of North Sea (i) oil, (ii) oil-related products, (iii) gas and (iv) petrochemicals in each of the last five years.

Statistics on the estimated commodity balances for Scotland, including the North Sea, of oil, petroleum products and natural gas are published at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/oilgas.

Estimates for trade in oil and gas, oil-related products and petrochemicals in value terms can be found via the following sources:

Statistics on the estimated value of exports of oil and gas from Scotland, including the North Sea, are published at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/oilgas.

Export Statistics Scotland, which provide estimates of exports for onshore petrochemicals are published at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/Exports/ESSPublication

Energy in Scotland 2017 was published on 23 February 2017 and provides a detailed overview of energy statistics for Scotland, including oil and gas statistics. This can be found via: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Energy/EIS

Question reference: S5W-08093

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much has been raised by the North Sea (a) oil and (b) gas sector in each of the last three years through (i) royalties, (ii) the supplementary charge, (iii) ring-fenced corporation tax and (iv) petroleum revenue tax, and what estimate it has made for each of the next three years.

Question reference: S5W-08099

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on the North Sea oil and gas sector of a one-dollar (a) rise and (b) fall in the (i) oil and (ii) gas price.

Question reference: S5W-07997

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how the current oil price would have impacted on public services if the country had voted to become independent in the referendum.

Tax revenues from oil and gas production depend on a range of different factors including production, prices and profitability.

Scotland’s economic fundamentals are strong. Even without oil, GDP per head in Scotland is higher than the UK average excluding London.

An independent Scotland would have the opportunity to pursue policies designed to grow the economy and invest in public services.

Question reference: S5W-08097

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the level of exploration there has been in the North Sea oil and gas sector in each of the last five years, and how successful this has been.

Information on the number of exploration and appraisal wells drilled is produced by the Oil and Gas Authority. This information can be found via https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/well-data/

Oil and Gas UK also provide information in the success rates of exploration and appraisal activity. This information can be found via: http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/businessoutlook.cfm

Question reference: S5W-07995

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the future growth prospects for the North Sea oil sector.

The North Sea has a bright future, with up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent of known reserves remaining in the UK continental shelf. Production has increased by an estimated 16% since 2014 and is expected to continue to grow in 2017 and 2018. The oil and gas sector has shown great resilience during challenging global conditions, with average unit operating costs around half their peak level in 2014. Merger and Acquisition activity so far in 2017 has already seen nearly twice as much money invested than across all of 2016, highlighting the continued appetite to invest in the basin.

However, last week’s Oil and Gas UK Business Outlook clearly highlighted the urgent need for fresh capital in the basin if we are to unlock the remaining 20 billion barrels of oil and gas. The UK Government holds the key fiscal levers and the Scottish Government will continue to call for further measures to urgently stimulate activity and investment, which will be of particular help to the hard hit supply chain

We have repeatedly called on the UK government to take steps to incentivise investment and maximise economic recovery. It is encouraging that the UK Government has finally listened to the Scottish Government about the need to ensure ‘the right assets are in the right hands’. This is an area where we have repeatedly called for reform and which the UK Government have been too slow to react, and therefore it is important that we now see urgent action from UK Ministers and not simply the establishment of another talking shop.

Question reference: S5W-06962

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses for social rent (a) were built in 2016-17, (b) have been built since April 2016 and (c) will be built in 2017-18.

In answer to (a) and (b), the financial year 2016-17 runs from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. The number of houses for social rent built over this period are published as part of our quarterly statistics.

The most recent official statistics published on 13 December 2016 and covering the period 1 April to end September 2016, show there were 1,566 new build homes completed for social rent as part of the Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme. However, as well as new build homes, there were also 189 homes delivered for social rent by way of rehab projects and off-the-shelf projects. The next set of quarterly statistics for the period to end December 2016 is due to be published on 14 March 2017.

(c) All local authorities publish a Local Housing Strategy (LHS). This is supplemented with a Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out over a five year period, plans to prioritise delivery of the objectives set out in the LHS. The number of homes for social rent being built in 2017-18 will be determined by the SHIP. These documents are used as a basis for the development of Strategic Local Programme Agreements (SLPAs) between local authorities and the Scottish Government, enabling them to deliver their affordable housing priorities, including homes for social rent, in mixed communities that fit local needs.

Question reference: S5W-06964

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017

All local authorities publish a Local Housing Strategy (LHS). This is supplemented with a Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out over a five year period, plans to prioritise delivery of the objectives set out in the LHS. The number of homes for social rent being built in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21 will be determined by the SHIP. These documents are used as a basis for the development of Strategic Local Programme Agreements (SLPAs) between local authorities and the Scottish Government, enabling them to deliver their affordable housing priorities, including homes for social rent, in mixed communities that fit local needs.