Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-01779

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what government business it plans to bring forward for the current parliamentary year.

Question reference: S6W-13222

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the five-year target is for take-up of the Home Energy Scotland Scheme grants announced on 2 December in the Highlands and Islands region.

There is no five-year target for take up of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme in the Highlands and Islands region. The scheme is demand-led and the number of households which can be supported is linked to the annual budget. The budget allocation across the HES loan/cashback scheme and replacement grant and loan scheme together in 2022-23 is £42 million, double the level for 2021-22. The budget for 2023-24 will be set in due course. The budget for the scheme forms part of at least £1.8bn which we have committed to allocating over the course of this Parliament to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures and to support those least able to pay.

The new scheme introduces an increased grant level for households in rural areas, compared to other parts of Scotland. An uplift of £1,500 applies to both the heat pump and energy efficiency grants. This uplift increases the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,000 respectively. The uplift is in recognition of the higher costs faced by rural households associated with the installation of measures (such as increased transportation costs, possible accommodation costs for installers, housing type amongst other reasons) and aims to support with these additional costs.

Question reference: S6W-13321

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people were convicted of shoplifting in each of the last five years, and of those, how many have reoffended within a year of conviction.

The number of people convicted in Scottish courts, where the main charge was Shoplifting, was published on 21 June 2022 in Table 4b of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2020-21 bulletin.

The most recent five years of data are shown in the following table:

Financial year	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21 1
People convicted where the main charge was Shoplifting	6,248	5,661	5,928	5,422	2,673

1. Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be indicative of long term trends.

The number of people reconvicted of Shoplifting within one year of being convicted of the Index crime of Shoplifting was published on 4 October 2021 in Reconviction Rates in Scotland Statistics .

Data are only available for the most recent three years and are shown in the following table:

Cohort	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
People reconvicted of Shoplifting within one year of being convicted of the index crime of Shoplifting	1,137	990	997

Question reference: S6W-13220

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the Home Energy Scotland Scheme grants announced on 2 December 2022 in the Highlands and Islands region.

Replacing the previous cashback arrangements with a standalone grant was a key commitment in the Programme for Government 2022-23 and will offer a more straightforward, flexible and accessible way to access funding for priority measures; particularly in our rural and island areas with additional funding support available through the rural uplift.

To access the grant, applicants must contact the Home Energy Scotland (HES) advice service, which acts as the gateway for this funding and other Scottish Government delivery schemes, including Warmer Homes Scotland. A wide range of marketing activity encourages individuals seeking advice or information on funding support for energy saving improvements to contact HES, including a national marketing campaign currently underway until late January 2023 across TV, radio, press and social media.

The launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme generated substantial media coverage across different platforms, including newspapers, radio and TV. It has also been covered on different Scottish Government platforms, including on the gov.scot website and Net Zero Scotland social media channels (Twitter and LinkedIn). Both of these platforms have substantial reach, with the Net Zero Scotland Twitter having over 20,000 thousand followers.

In addition, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) who deliver the HES advice service and the new grant on behalf of the Scottish Government have promoted the new scheme. Newsletters have been issued to installers to inform them of the changes and they have undertaken various media engagements to promote the new grant offer available.

The Scottish Government and its partners will continue to work together to raise awareness of the new HES Grant and Loan Scheme across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands region. This will include monitoring uptake of the new offer and tailoring marketing material to reflect the new offer available where necessary.

Question reference: S6W-13221

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual target is for take-up of the Home Energy Scotland Scheme grants announced on 2 December 2022 in the Highlands and Islands region.

There is no specific annual target for take up of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme in the Highlands and Islands region. The scheme is demand-led and the number of households which can be supported is linked to the annual budget. The budget allocation across the HES loan/cashback scheme and replacement grant and loan scheme together in 2022-23 is £42 million, double the level for 2021-22. The budget for 2023-24 will be set in due course. The budget for the scheme forms part of at least £1.8bn which we have committed to allocating over the course of this Parliament to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures and to support those least able to pay.

The new scheme introduces an increased grant level for households in rural areas, compared to other parts of Scotland. An uplift of £1,500 applies to both the heat pump and energy efficiency grants. This uplift increases the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,000 respectively. The uplift is in recognition of the higher costs faced by rural households associated with the installation of measures (such as increased transportation costs, possible accommodation costs for installers, housing type amongst other reasons) and aims to support with these additional costs.

Question reference: S6W-13317

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many senior civil servants have received a non-consolidated performance payment and a pay increase in the same year since 2007, and what the total amount was of any such payments.

Pay for staff in the SCS is reserved and operates within the UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework which sets out each year the level of pay increase and non-consolidated performance payments that may apply.

Since 2007, the number of senior civil servants (SCS) who have received a non-consolidated performance payment and a pay increase in the same year is 188. This covers the four calendar years 2007 to 2010.

The total amount of such performance bonuses during the period 2007 to 2010 was £2,503,000 and this represents 320 payments (so some of the 188 SCS will have received a payment in more than one calendar year).

No senior civil servants have received a non-consolidated performance payment alongside a pay increase in the same year since 2010 in line with the Scottish Government pay policy presumption against performance bonuses.

Question reference: S6W-13324

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was allocated to each local authority from the Town Centre Fund Capital Grant in for each year since 2019-20.

In total, £68 million was allocated to local authorities through the Town Centre Fund with £50 million allocated in 2019-20 and £18 million allocated in 2020-21.

Local Authority

Allocation 2019-20

Allocation 2020-21

Aberdeen City

£ 1,351,000

£ 484,000

Aberdeenshire

£ 3,286,000

£ 1,179,000

Angus

£ 1,080,000

£ 387,000

Argyll and Bute

£ 1,242,000

£ 444,000

City of Edinburgh

£ 2,613,000

£ 954,000

Clackmannanshire

£ 683,000

£ 245,000

Dumfries and Galloway

£ 1,529,000

£ 548,000

Dundee City

£ 735,000

£ 264,000

East Ayrshire

£ 1,701,000

£ 611,000

East Dunbartonshire

£ 944,000

£ 339,000

East Lothian

£ 1,275,000

£ 462,000

East Renfrewshire

£ 981,000

£ 353,000

Falkirk

£ 1,976,000

£ 711,000

Fife

£ 4,335,000

£ 1,560,000

Glasgow City

£ 3,010,000

£ 1,096,000

Highland

£ 2,965,000

£ 1,066,000

Inverclyde

£ 660,000

£ 235,000

Midlothian

£ 910,000

£ 331,000

Moray

£ 1,233,000

£ 443,000

Na h-Eileanan Siar

£ 223,000

£ 80,000

North Ayrshire

£ 1,418,000

£ 507,000

North Lanarkshire

£ 3,250,000

£ 1,168,000

Orkney Islands

£ 200,000

£ 72,000

Perth and Kinross

£ 1,983,000

£ 714,000

Renfrewshire

£ 1,459,000

£ 527,000

Scottish Borders

£ 1,421,000

£ 511,000

Shetland Islands

£ 205,000

£ 73,000

South Ayrshire

£ 1,064,000

£ 382,000

South Lanarkshire

£ 2,506,000

£ 902,000

Stirling

£ 1,077,000

£ 387,000

West Dunbartonshire

£ 859,000

£ 307,000

West Lothian

£ 1,826,000

£ 658,000

Scotland

£ 50,000,000

£ 18,000,000

Based on an equal weighting of the number of towns in a local authority (determined by the NRS Settlements and Localities data, where a town is a locality with a population equal to or greater than 1,000 people) and the local authority population.

Question reference: S6W-13218

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to limit the disruption of flights at Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) airports due to the planned strike action on 19 and 22 December 2022.

HIAL worked to limit the impact of the industrial action where possible and were able to keep Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Tiree and Wick John O’Groats Airports fully operational during the strikes. They were also able to facilitate reduced operations at Kirkwall and Stornoway Airports. Safety, however, is paramount and where there are insufficient staff available for airports to operate in a safe and regulatory compliant way, flights are not able to operate.

Question reference: S6W-13219

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with airlines flying in and out of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) airports regarding planned strike action on 19 and 22 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-13591

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10312 by Ash Regan on 29 August 2022, whether any future legislation on legal services regulation reform will include preventing solicitors who are suspended from practising from being advertised by the Law Society of Scotland until the conclusion of their disciplinary process.

The Scottish Government responded to the legal services regulation reform consultation analysis report on 22 December 2022. The response may be viewed at the following link: Legal services regulation reform - consultation analysis: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The response underpins the Scottish Government’s commitment to reforming legal services and to retaining the sector’s independence within a system that provides greater flexibility in how complaints are handled, to benefit both consumers and legal professionals. The response also sets out how the existing regulatory framework for legal services should be modernised to provide users with increased confidence, support growth in the sector and strengthen consumer protections.

I understand that the Law Society of Scotland has written to you directly on this matter however, I can confirm that it is the Law Society’s policy and practice to remove any suspended solicitor from their online searchable database. This is done as soon as they have been suspended, regardless of any outstanding disciplinary processes.

Chamber and committees