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-04242

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) individuals and (b) businesses have used the Low Carbon Transport Loan Scheme to purchase electric vehicles, in each year since the scheme was introduced.

The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency and improving air quality in our cities. To help incentivise this shift, we have, since 2011, provided loans valued over £140 million to the people and businesses of Scotland to make the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles. Last year our interest free loan scheme that supports the purchase of electric vehicles was extended to include used electric vehicles.

Since 2011 the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland has funded the Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL) this interest free loan has supported almost 5500 individuals and businesses in Scotland.

The breakdown between individuals and businesses receiving the LCTL is listed in the following table.

Year	Individual Loans	Business Loans
2011-2012	0	14
2012-2013	0	16
2013-2014	0	9
2014-2015	0	35
2015-2016	58	30
2016-2017	70	104
2017-2018	135	109
2018-2019	325	234
2019-2020	892	353
2020-2021	1141	289
2021-2022	1372	283
Totals	3993	1476

Question reference: S6O-00435

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how its Housing Strategy will support the retrofitting of homes to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty.

Question reference: S6W-03520

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legislation to put into effect the decision to move ScotRail into the public sector when the current ScotRail franchise ends in March 2022.

Further to the answers provided to S6W-00200 on 3 June 2021 and S6W-00776 on 1 July 2021, Scottish Ministers have to work within current UK rail legislation, principally the Railways Act 1993 (the 1993 Act), which neither the Scottish Ministers nor the Scottish Parliament have powers to change.

The Scottish Ministers already have a duty under section 30 of the 1993 Act to provide or secure the provision of passenger rail services where a franchise agreement comes to an end and no further franchise agreement had been entered into in respect of the services. It is this duty that will enable the Scottish Ministers to arrange for a company wholly owned by the Scottish Government (ScotRail Trains Ltd) to provide ScotRail services when the current ScotRail franchise expires. The Scottish Ministers do not need to introduce additional legislation to put this into effect.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6O-00297

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Stirling Council, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6O-00239

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics showing that the number of cyber-crimes recorded has nearly doubled in the last year.

Question reference: S6O-00218

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the expansion of the GlobalScot network.

Question reference: S6O-00174

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on cross-government co-ordination of COVID-19 recovery policies.

Question reference: S6O-00160

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its proposals to establish a publicly-owned energy company that will generate and supply energy.

Question reference: S6W-02325

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to provide information resources to schools in the lead-up to COP26.

Scottish Government collaborates with a range of partners to ensure that schools have the information, advice and support to engage with both COP26 specifically, and climate change issues and climate change education more broadly.

Education Scotland, as the national inspection and improvement agency for education, is taking steps to help schools to engage with the themes of the COP26 summit, and to consider how and in what ways they could further improve their approach to climate education and Learning for Sustainability (LfS) at school level.

Highlights and resources include the following:

'Countdown to COP' will be an online initiative aimed at early years and primary to support engagement with COP26 and its five themes (nature, energy transition, finance, clean transport, adaptation and resilience). Countdown to COP will begin on 13 September and run to 29 October, although resources are not time-sensitive and can therefore be used beyond these dates. Countdown to COP will be promoted through Education Scotland's communications channels and its Local Authorities Network.

Scotland's Assembly , delivered by Education Scotland in partnership with the e-Sgoil initiative and available via the Glow system, will be focusing on COP and hearing from people working in the thematic areas across Scotland.

Education Scotland is working closely with Sustainability Partnerships (a teacher group based in Edinburgh and the Lothians) to develop a template resource pack that can be used by schools, education authorities and others to run their own COP26-style summits both locally and regionally.

The Learning for Sustainability Awards 2021 are being held in partnership with The Daily Record and will help to gather good practice examples of Learning for Sustainability across Scotland. Award categories are: Youth; Practitioner; Leadership; Learning Community; Educational Supporter; and Community Learning and Development.

Local authorities, funded by Scottish Government, also provide a key role in providing their own information resources to schools. A COP26/Learning for Sustainability Local Authority Forum is being run by Education Scotland and enables all 32 local authorities to share and plan activity around COP26 and Learning for Sustainability. Members of this forum are also planning a professional learning programme for post-COP26. One example of information and education resources and activities provided via local authorities is Glasgow City Council's 'Our Dear Green Place' initiative, launched on 12 May 2021. The local authority has put in place a range of resources to ensure access and engagement with both COP26 and Our Dear Green Place resources and professional learning. The resources will be continually updated as practitioner and partner engagement progresses.

An Education Scotland COP26 Partner Forum (jointly chaired with YouthLink Scotland) is providing a means for more than 50 Third Sector partners to co-ordinate their various offers for young people leading up to, during and post-COP26. Partner resources and offers are being shared with schools through a 'Wakelet'.

In addition to the above, Scottish Government funds Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) to provide the Eco-Schools and Climate Ready Classrooms programmes. As part of the lead up to COP26 KSB will be offering three new interactive teaching and training sessions: a week of workshops for upper primary classes; a Continuing Professional Development session for primary and secondary educators; and a climate action workshop for high school pupils and Eco-Committees.

Question reference: S6O-00119

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish the new overseas offices in Warsaw and Copenhagen, as set out in its agreement with the Scottish Green Party.