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.

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Question reference: S6O-01051

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the A96 dualling project.

Question reference: S6W-07827

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the technology neutral stance of Home Energy Scotland takes account of research that reportedly suggests that homeowner decision making can be delayed and often aborted in relation to renewable products where the buyer has insufficient understanding of the product and there is a lack of unbiased information support to aid the decision-making process.

Home Energy Scotland exists to provide homeowners with impartial and bespoke information about their home energy and renewables options to encourage action to reduce energy use, fuel bills and carbon emissions and increase comfort. The advice services are designed to address well-known barriers to action including costs, lack of confidence and information about options and installers, and potential disruption.

It is important that homeowners are given impartial information about all of their options, including for example, replacement of existing fossil fuel heating systems, to ensure they are as informed as possible and make the right choice for them. Home Energy Scotland also has a role to encourage the uptake of low and zero emission heating systems to meet climate change targets and this is one of the reasons as to why the specialist renewables support services exist. In this regard, Home Energy Scotland does not have a technology neutral stance with regards to which heating systems it is actively raising awareness of.

Within Home Energy Scotland there are specialist renewables advisors with training on home renewables systems, home energy efficiency and solutions for historic buildings. These specialists provide an in-depth service to Scottish homeowners, including on-site visits to assess their home and talk through recommendations in person. Reports and fact sheets are issued to homeowners explaining how best to improve the energy efficiency of their home and which renewables systems may be suitable, alongside fuel bill and carbon saving estimates.

Homeowners are given bespoke information on the next steps to take and other support services accessed via Home Energy Scotland. This includes, for example, how to find renewables installers, where they can read customer reviews of installers, and the Green Homes Network, where they can find case studies of other homeowners who have already made improvements to their home. Members on this network are also willing to speak directly to other homeowners, or host them for a visit, to further share their experiences. Homeowners are also given information about the various financial support routes which are open to them including the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland loan and cashback that helps homeowners with the costs of home energy improvements and renewables systems.

Question reference: S6W-07979

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a Housing Net Zero Technical Steering Group, in line with the recommendation by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce (ZEST).

As covered in the response to S6W-07980 on 26 April 2022, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish Local government elections. The response will address the recommendation of establishing a Housing Net Zero Technical Steering Group.

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

Question reference: S6W-07981

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will announce its review of the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing, in light of the reported need for certainty for social landlords to be able to plan for the required transition to net zero emissions.

As covered in the response to S6W-07980 on 26 April 2022, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish Local government elections. The response will address the review of Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

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

Question reference: S6W-07980

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report.

Question reference: S6W-07982

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to commission a sector capacity assessment of the estimated net cost of the energy transition in the social housing sector, in line with the recommendation by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce, and if it does, by when it will do so.

As covered in the response to S6W-07980, the Scottish Government’s response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report will be published after the Scottish local government elections. The response will address the recommendation of commissioning a sector capacity assessment of the estimated net cost of the energy transition in the social housing sector.

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

Question reference: S6W-07520

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how Scotland's reliance on nuclear power to generate its electricity compared with that of the other UK nations in 2020, and (a) whether and (b) by when it plans to replace nuclear-generated energy in Scotland with energy generated by renewables in Scotland.

The information you have requested is publically available at the taken originally from National Grid - : .

In addition to that, the recent announcement of ScotWind has seen aspirations from consortia to develop up to 25GW of offshore wind capacity. This will allow us to make huge progress in further decarbonising our energy supply while securing commitments from ScotWind developers to invest at least £1bn in Scotland’s supply chain for every gigawatt of power.

The Scottish Government is clear that nuclear energy represents a bad deal for consumers and our priority continues to be to support energy efficiency, develop Scotland’s huge renewable resource and to promote storage and flexibility.

Question reference: S6W-07823

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what ongoing research is being undertaken to keep abreast of emerging low carbon heating technologies for off-gas-grid homes that would improve opex and capex performance compared to existing solutions.

The Scottish Government’s approach to zero emissions heat technologies is based on a wide range of evidence, including modelling of the suitability of different technologies across the whole Scottish housing stock, and consideration of wider energy system interactions.

We maintain an active Heat in Buildings Research Programme to identify gaps in our knowledge base and produce high-quality research to understand the challenges and solutions in the heat transition.

We have commissioned research to examine the potential of energy storage technologies to reduce running costs for households using zero emissions heat. The research considers how bill savings can be made by pairing storage technologies with onsite generation, and by storing off-peak electricity for later use. This research will be published in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-07828

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the "green jobs" that it expects oil and gas workers to transition to will attract the same or similar salary and benefits as the jobs undertaken as oil and gas workers.

We are working to deliver our Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) in the context of a fast-moving energy landscape, and will publish a draft ESJTP in autumn 2022. As our first Just Transition Plan, the ESJTP will set out what is needed to deliver a just transition for the sector, in line with the Scottish Government’s approach to just transition. This includes work to support retention and creation of access to green, fair and high-value work, as well as ensuring access to required skills and retraining opportunities. As part of this, we will identify the opportunities and risks of the transition, including those associated with transitioning jobs.

Throughout this, we remain committed to ensuring green jobs are good, green jobs, drawing on fair work principles, complying with high workplace standards and paying fair wages. That is true across the economy, but especially important in sectors vital for reaching net zero, such as the energy sector where much public investment is targeted.

Question reference: S6W-07825

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring is undertaken of energy advisory bodies to ensure homogeneity of advice across Scotland.

Energy Saving Trust operates the suite of energy advice services for home owners, SMEs and community groups on behalf of the Scottish Government.

To deliver this across Scotland the services are delivered by advice centre contractors through 5 regional advice centres and a centralised team covering out of hours. Each advice centre delivers the services to a consistent set of standards which are required by Energy Saving trust in the contract they have with the advice centre contractors.

The quality and consistency of advice provided by the programmes is directly monitored by EST. This monitoring includes the quality and relevancy of advice provided by an advisor, who are tasked with asking questions to understand each customer, their circumstances, their home/premises and their energy behaviours. This is so they can ensure advice topics they discuss are relevant and useful for each individual customer. Advisors use the same EST approved resource documents and facts and figures to ensure each topic they advise on is consistent.

The Scottish Government has regular contact to ensure EST are meeting pre-agreed targets and maintaining the high standard of the advice that is expected of these services.