- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13830 by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2023, whether it will provide an update on when it expects to publish updated guidance on Good Practice Principles for community benefits from offshore renewable energy developments, and whether it will provide details of the (a) dates of and (b) attendance at the "series of stakeholder engagement sessions to raise awareness of the work and gather initial input".
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17984 on 31 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the number of sewage discharges, broken down by (a) incidence and (b) hours of discharge, into the North Sea from any point within 5 km north or south of Peterhead, in each year since 2017 up to the latest available data; what the approximate volumes were of any such discharges in each year; what assessment has been made of the potential impact of any such discharges on the health of users of the waters within that area; for what reasons there were any such discharges; what action it has taken since 2017 to reduce the number of discharges, and what is currently being done to prevent any further discharges.
Answer
As indicated in Scottish Water’s first annual update to its Improving Urban Waters Routemap, spill data has been published at .
I refer the member to the answer to S6O-02060 on 23 March 2023 for further information on measures taken to improve Scotland’s water environment.
The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the official report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 23/03/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to commence its Deposit Return Scheme on 1 March 2024.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2023
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the report on electricity system stability and security of supply in Scotland.
Answer
Research was commissioned through ClimateXChange on the subject of “Electricity system stability & security of supply in Scotland”, with a contract awarded on 13 October 2022. Analysis and drafting of the report are in progress, with completion expected in the coming months. Once complete, the exact timing for publication will then be confirmed.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government by what year it plans to have electrified the full extent of the East Coast Main Line between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and whether Network Rail has confirmed that it plans to deliver electrification by that year.
Answer
No date has been set for the electrification of the full extent of the East Coast Main Line between Aberdeen and Edinburgh. However, in line with the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan, this route is under consideration for future electrification by Transport Scotland, with plans at an early stage of development.
The Decarbonisation Action Plan commits to all passenger diesel trains being replaced; the order and programme in which that is done will depend on business cases and available budgets. The Plan itself is intended to be dynamic, with regular updates.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme were (a) received and (b) successful, and what continued engagement and support has been offered to unsuccessful applications in relation to future or alternative funding streams.
Answer
The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme received a total of 74 applications with 32 successful projects offered grant funding.
Unsuccessful applicants to the scheme were directed to potential alternative sources of assistance, including available business grants and other funding calls and the SME Loan and Cashback Scheme which provides interest free loans (from £1,000 up to £100,000) to small and medium sized Scotland based businesses.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when each of the 32 winning projects of the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, announced on 18 May 2023, received their funding.
Answer
The successful Hydrogen Innovation Scheme applicants were informed throughout April and May 2023. All grants are paid in arrears, and will be awarded on successful completion of key project milestones.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the support that applicants receive when applying to the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, including any targeted support offered to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answer
Application guidance was made available to all applicants to the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme via the Scottish Government’s Website. In partnership with Energy Technology Partnership and the Enterprise Agencies, the Scottish Government hosted a webinar on 5 July 2022 to provide further guidance to prospective applicants and to direct them to additional sources of support. All applicants to the scheme were able to seek additional support from Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise and/or the Energy Technology Partnership.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when Trucheck cancer-detecting blood tests, which reportedly have 92% to 93.1% accuracy, will be made available on the NHS.
Answer
Any healthcare products being used by NHS Scotland require the undertaking of due diligence to ensure the safety of everyone concerned. This involves seeking clinical advice and undertaking a full health technology assessment (HTA).
In the first instance, all health technologies must be registered with the before being placed on the market.
Following that, we refer enquiries around health technologies to the (SHTG), who are part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland. SHTG undertake HTAs, providing evidence support and advice on the use of new and existing health technologies. This includes analysing the benefits, costs, ease of implementation as well as considering any unintended clinical consequences which may arise.
It is ultimately for the 14 Territorial Health Boards across Scotland to decide whether to procure and apply this intervention as part of their treatment for patients. Health Boards receive support from Healthcare Improvement Scotland and SHTG in making such decisions.
The SHTG has not provided advice on the use of Trucheck to date.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15987 by Patrick Harvie on 23 March 2023, whether it will provide an update on when it will publish the data, in light of reports that it is already being used for policy formulation and implementation.
Answer
We published the data on 23 March 2023 here: