Chamber and committees

As this is an operational matter relating to account management information, I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to respond to you directly.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government in compliance with European Union State Aid rules. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the purpose of any flight using Scottish airports. The UK Government is responsible for determining which airline or country is allowed to operate flights into the UK.

Our enterprise agencies have advised that they have not supported any project to develop or produce munitions. New guidelines have led to the introduction of additional human rights checks that are being applied to all requests for support. Those checks will also be applied to companies with existing relationships when they make a new request for assistance.

We have committed to review the use of Co-ordinated Support Plans to ensure that children and young people with the most significant additional support needs are receiving the support that they need to reach their full learning potential. We have begun to take forward work with partners to scope out this work and will provide an update in due course.

As this is an operational matter relating to account management information, I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to respond to you directly.

As previously stated in the answer to question S5W-19766 on 15 November 2018, our definition of munitions includes parts or technology which form an integral and essential component of the munition. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Blue light services can be defined as police, fire services, and emergency responders, in the UK and elsewhere, which, in case of an emergency, are allowed to turn on flashing blue lights indicating traffic priority over other motorists.

The Scottish Affairs Office based in Washington DC co-hosted an event on the 4 th June 2019 with the Deputy Head of Mission for the British Embassy, to support wounded US Veterans who were due to visit Scotland as part of the Cateran Yomp. The Yomp takes US Veterans to Scotland for a 54 mile trek through the Highlands to raise money for Veterans’ causes. Members of the US Department of Defence were in attendance along with various Veterans Group representatives. Discussion was focussed on wishing participants well.

We take child and adolescent mental health very seriously. Since 2014, Education Scotland has supported delivery of mental health first aid training by offering a grant to local authorities to undertake the Scottish Mental Health First Aid Training programme. To date, 18 local authorities have been offered the training since 2014.

Education Scotland have completed a draft evaluation of the Mental Health First Aid Training year four programme. Which will include information on the take up of the training by teachers and other schools staff. This is currently being reviewed before being formally signed off.

All evaluation reports for year one to year four of the five year programme will be made available on the Scottish Government website shortly.

The production of natural gas from the North Sea is declining, but remains important for energy system security and flexibility. While Scotland is currently more than self-sufficient in natural gas production, by 2025, the UK is expected to be importing 67% of its gas from outside the UK.

In a hydrogen future scenario, as set out in a scenario in the Scottish Energy Strategy, increased gas demand would be met from a variety of sources by 2050, including a large share of imports of both natural gas from Europe and LNG from world-wide markets. While hydrogen can be generated from electrolysis of water, and there are obvious opportunities for Scotland to harness its very substantial renewable energy resources to this purpose, LNG can also be used to produce hydrogen via a process referred to as ‘steam methane reformation’; this process is thought to be cost-effective and can be rendered carbon neutral when combined with carbon capture technologies.

LNG and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) play a crucial role in supplying energy to the Scottish Independent Undertakings (SIU’s) located in Oban, Campbeltown, Wick, Thurso and Stornoway. These towns have separate networks which aren’t directly connected to the main distribution networks, but maintain the consumer benefits of utilising gas.

Heat accounts for 52% of the energy consumed by Scotland’s homes and businesses, with 79% of Scottish households using mains gas as their primary heating fuel. Both figures show the extent to which Scotland currently relies on natural gas.

Our commitment to energy efficiency, and the growth of more diverse heat networks, means that demand for natural gas is likely to reduce; however, natural gas will remain an important part of Scotland’s energy mix for the foreseeable future. Meeting this demand, and balancing the needs of consumers with a lower carbon secure energy system, will be a key challenge.

Alternative hydrocarbon sources

New and innovative ways of using hydrocarbons are already emerging, and will continue during the coming decades.

Rising demand for alternative hydrocarbon resources in the form of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) could potentially reduce emissions – especially when derived from bio-sources. The marine, power generation, industrial, road transport and residential sectors could all play a part in pushing up demand for these alternatives.

We support the uptake of these energy streams, where the current infrastructure is able to meet the expected growth in demand. Investment could support economic development, safeguarding and creating jobs in the energy sector.

Our transition to net-zero will be just and fair to everyone so that no-one will be left behind. We are now looking across our whole range of responsibilities to make sure we continue with the policies that are working and identify areas where we can go further, faster. However we need the UK Government to act in ‘reserved’ policy areas, such as the regulation of the gas networks, that are not yet devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers. The Committee on Climate Change has been explicit that “Scotland cannot deliver net-zero emissions by 2045 through devolved policy alone”.