Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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 1015 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4O-00513

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding public consultation on the future of the children’s ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

Question reference: S4W-03981

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish Government discretion has been agreed with the UK Government in respect of its energy market reform proposals for long-term financial support for carbon capture and storage deployment.

The Scottish Government is working closely with the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change on the detail of the reforms set out in the Electricity Market Reform White Paper, Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, published on 12 July 2011. This includes agreeing the proposals in the Electricity Market Reform which relate to support for carbon capture and storage deployment.

Question reference: S4W-03982

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 will be reviewed in light of the decision not to proceed with the Longannet carbon capture and storage demonstration plant and the potential impact on the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S4W-03986

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise is reviewing its CCS Cluster Investment Plan and any shared usage of infrastructure in relation to the existing proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects, in light of the cancellation of the Longannet CCS demonstration project.

The UK Government decision not to proceed with the CCS demonstration competition funding for the Longannet project does impact on the infrastructure development scenarios in the CO₂Transport Infrastructure Options study by Scottish Enterprise.

The study is now being reviewed and Scottish Enterprise are in discussion with industry partners how existing infrastructure can be fully utilised to promote Scotland’s opportunity to provide CO₂ storage capacity for CCS projects across the EU. Options for maximising storage potential are being considered in more detail, including the importation of captured CO₂ by shipment from Europe for injection into depleted hydrocarbon fields and deep saline formations within the North Sea.

Question reference: S4W-03984

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether work with the UK Government to assess Scottish projects that have bid for the EU New Entrants Reserve in 2011-12 has (a) progressed or (b) been completed and what conclusions have been reached.

Yes, progress has been made. All the Scottish based projects under the CCS and Renewables themes of the EU New Entrants Reserve have progressed through an initial assessment stage led by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and are currently being assessed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB is performing “due diligence” on the applications and the European Commission will verify the eligibility criteria assessment and re-confirm with member states the public funding contribution for recommended projects, before making its award decisions in the second half of 2012.

Question reference: S4W-03985

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it continues to engage with the European Commission and partner countries to support policy development and secure project funding for Scottish carbon capture and storage projects through the Scottish European Green Energy Centre and what progress has been made since the carbon capture and storage roadmap was published.

Yes, we continue to engage with the European Commission and other member states on the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy and the Scottish Government continues to support prospective Scottish CCS projects to access EU funding, through co-operation with the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC), the UK Government at member state level in Brussels, and independently through direct engagement. I attended and spoke at a SEGEC led CCS event on 9 November in Brussels and attended the Energy Council in Brussels on 24 November as a representative of the UK delegation, alongside the Minister of State, Department for Energy and Climate Change Charles Hendry.

The Scottish Government are working to achieve a trans-European CO₂ transport and storage network with the European CCS Regions Network and also working with European partners in a major project, SITECHAR, funded under the FP7 (EU Research Framework 2007-2013).

The CCS Roadmap was published in March 2010 and a progress report published in May 2011 which can be found at:

Question reference: S4W-03983

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Electricity Generation Policy Statement will be reviewed in light of the decision not to proceed with the Longannet carbon capture and storage demonstration plant and the potential impact on the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising electricity generation by 2030, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, through a combination of renewable electricity and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage.

The Electricity Generation Policy Statement is currently under review in light of the new renewable targets. As part of this review the sections relating to carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be updated. Publication of the revised Electricity Generation Policy Statement is planned this winter.

Question reference: S4W-03980

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether future carbon capture and storage demonstration projects will be funded (a) entirely via general taxation or (b) by consumer levy and whether the Department of Energy and Climate Change has clarified the role of the Scottish Government in determining future financial support for any demonstration projects in Scotland.

Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have confirmed that the allocation of £1 billion set aside for Longannet would now be applied to the following projects as a capital grant, in tandem with EU funding under the New Entrants Reserve and the proposals under Electricity Market Reform. Scottish ministers will work with DECC Ministers on how this package will work in practice, including the detailed design of the contract for difference proposals for carbon capture and storage.

Question reference: S4W-03388

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact on domestic electricity prices will be of 100% demand being met from renewable sources and how it calculates this.

The proposed introduction of a new market mechanism for renewable electricity from 2014, whose details and support levels are yet to be established, means that it isn’t possible yet to estimate the costs of meeting our 2020 renewable electricity target. However, support for renewable energy through the Renewables Obligation is estimated to add between £15 and £20 to the average household electricity bill in 2011.

Ofgem’s Project Discovery has suggested that a greater reliance on renewable sources than on fossil fuels can help minimise the chances of future rises in energy bills. Our aim remains that the support available should be used to help drive down the costs of renewable generation, and that the long term costs to consumers will be kept under control. We also consider that those extra costs are worth paying, as they will help protect consumers in the longer term from the volatility and uncertainty associated with a continued reliance on fossil fuelled generation.

Question reference: S4W-03389

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact would be on electricity prices for consumers in Scotland of paying the subsidy to meet the additional costs associated with Renewables Obligation Certificates.

The costs associated with Renewables Obligation Certificates are passed on to consumers by electricity suppliers. The method and extent to which they pass those costs on to their industrial, business and domestic consumers is a matter for the suppliers in question. However, the effect of the three separate but complementary Renewables Obligations, which came into effect in April 2002, and the fact that most supply businesses have customers in more than one country, means that the costs are shared equally by consumers across the UK.

The Renewables Obligation is estimated to add between £15 and £20 to the average household electricity bill in 2011. Ofgem’s Project Discovery has suggested that a greater reliance on renewable sources than on fossil fuels can help minimise the chances of future rises in energy bills.