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: S5W-25763

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support local authorities in maintaining the current provisions for recycling glass, including kerbside collections and bottle banks.

Question reference: S5W-25881

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve road safety on the A75.

The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland is currently progressing a number of actions to further improve safety on the A75. These actions involve collision reduction measures at Ardachie Straight, approximately 5 miles west of Newton Stewart, including enhanced reflective road studs and vehicle activated traffic signs to warn road users of the bend and to reduce speed. We are also investigating collision reduction measures at the junction with the A751 which includes improved junction signing, road markings and foliage removal. It is anticipated that this will be implemented this financial year. Investigations are on-going for a controlled pedestrian crossing in Crocketford following the public meeting held earlier this year. It is anticipated that any facility will be delivered in the next financial year (2020/21) subject to local consultation.

Question reference: S5O-03711

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it tackles non-native invasive species.

Question reference: S5W-25882

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what improvement work is planned for the A75, and what the (a) cost and (b) timeline is for this.

In the current financial year the Scottish Government will invest approximately £2 million on road maintenance schemes on the A75. In addition, there are also road safety improvement schemes being progressed. This financial year these include accident reduction measures at:

A75 Ardachie Straight - estimated to cost £115,000, subject to road space being available, and;
A75 junction with the A751 - estimated to cost between £50,000 - £70,000.

Investigations are also on-going for a controlled pedestrian crossing in Crocketford following the public meeting held earlier this year. Estimated cost and timescales for this will be determined upon decision of what type of facility is suitable.

Transport investment has to be supported by robust evidence and the South West Scotland Transport Study is also being progressed. This study is considering the rationale for improvements to all modes of transport on key strategic corridors, including that served by the A75. The study will provide recommendations which identify transport interventions to be considered in more detail through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. The output of the review will provide Scottish Ministers with a programme of potential transport investment opportunities over the period 2022 – 2042 and will support the vision, priorities and outcomes of the new National Transport Strategy.

Question reference: S5W-25805

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25088 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019, where the 40% of the ChargePlace Scotland network serving small towns and rural areas is located, broken down by Parliamentary constituency and region.

At end-August 2019, 445 chargepoints on the ChargePlace Scotland network were located in areas designated as accessible small towns, remote small towns, accessible rural or remote rural as set out in the Scottish Government’s six-fold urban/rural classification. The following table provides a breakdown of these chargepoints by Local Authority area.

Local Authority	Number of Chargepoints 1
Aberdeen City	6
Aberdeenshire	30
Angus	15
Argyll and Bute	30
City of Edinburgh	11
Clackmannanshire	6
Dumfries and Galloway	16
East Ayrshire	8
East Dunbartonshire	1
East Lothian	33
East Renfrewshire	4
Falkirk	2
Fife	27
Highland	49
Inverclyde	3
Midlothian	11
Moray	12
Na h-Eileanan an Iar	16
North Ayrshire	17
North Lanarkshire	9
Orkney Islands	17
Perth and Kinross	29
Renfrewshire	2
Scottish Borders	27
Shetland Islands	13
South Ayrshire	8
South Lanarkshire	22
Stirling	16
West Dunbartonshire	3
West Lothian	2
TOTAL	445

1 in locations designated as accessible small towns, remote small towns, accessible rural or remote rural as set out in the Scottish Government’s six-fold urban/rural classification.

Please note, the data presented includes areas of low population density within or nearby urban centres meaning some cities have chargers located in areas designated as accessible small towns.

Question reference: S5W-25762

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) risk and (b) potential consequences of its proposed deposit return scheme leading to consumers choosing to purchase larger (i) alcohol and (ii) other bottle types.

The Scottish Government published “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Regulatory Impact Assessment” (BRIA) on 9 July 2019. That BRIA concluded that any impact on consumer choice, including a shift towards purchasing larger sized products, is likely to be small. The decision to pursue a scheme design which maximises consumer convenience and targets a high capture rate should help to mitigate this impact.

Question reference: S5W-25803

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide further details of the £7.5 million fund for the electric vehicle charging network announced on 29 August 2019.

The £7.5m Strategic Partnership between the Scottish Government, SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks includes Scottish Government funding of £5m and at least an additional £2.5m from the network companies to support the delivery of trial projects. The trial projects are currently under development and once finalised, will be announced ahead of financial year 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-25804

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25088 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of the £30 million in grants given to local authorities.

The following table provides a breakdown of grant funding awarded to all 32 Local Authorities from financial year 2012-13 to 2019-20 (inclusive) for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes £12.1 million awarded to 5 Local Authorities (City of Edinburgh Council, Dundee City Council, Falkirk Council, Glasgow City Council and Stirling Council) through our Switched on Towns and Cities projects which will deliver both charging infrastructure and provide funding for electric vehicles for public sector fleets.

Local Authority	Grants offered
Aberdeen City Council	£ 1,007,500.00
Aberdeenshire Council	£ 1,075,500.00
Angus Council	£ 803,000.00
Argyll & Bute Council	£ 678,000.00
Clackmannanshire Council	£ 481,000.00
Dumfries & Galloway Council	£ 1,084,000.00
Dundee City Council	£ 3,757,597.00
East Ayrshire Council	£ 987,000.00
East Dunbartonshire Council	£ 633,000.00
East Lothian Council	£ 1,192,000.00
East Renfrewshire Council	£ 400,000.00
Edinburgh Council, City of	£ 3,248,447.68
Falkirk Council	£ 3,186,157.00
Fife Council	£ 1,261,000.00
Glasgow City Council	£ 3,963,500.00
Highland Council, The	£ 2,916,000.00
Inverclyde Council	£ 411,000.00
Midlothian Council	£ 472,000.00
Moray Council	£ 556,000.00
North Ayrshire Council	£ 637,500.00
North Lanarkshire Council	£ 629,000.00
Orkney Council	£ 448,000.00
Perth & Kinross Council	£ 1,432,546.67
Renfrewshire Council	£ 1,261,500.00
Scottish Borders Council	£ 824,000.00
Shetland Council	£ 400,500.00
South Ayrshire Council	£ 766,000.00
South Lanarkshire Council	£ 1,007,500.00
Stirling Council	£ 3,370,562.00
West Dunbartonshire Council	£ 458,000.00
West Lothian Council	£ 773,500.00
Western Isles / Eilean Siar Council	£ 441,000.00

Question reference: S5W-24858

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent since September 2016 to make public sector buildings more energy efficient.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has made available the funds listed below to the value of £80,526,000 to support public sector energy efficiency.

Fund

Made Available Since September 2016

Notes

Non Domestic Energy Efficiency Procurement Framework and Project Support Unit

£866,000

Supports public bodies to implement energy efficiency retrofit projects using Energy Performance Contracts

Since 2016, £32 million of capital investment in public sector energy efficiency projects has been supported.

The capital funding used is provided by the PSEELS or by Public Bodies capital funds.

Scottish Government Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (PSEELS) delivered by Salix Finance Ltd

£18,400,000

Interest free loans for public energy efficiency measures. Energy efficiency investment is delivered on an “Invest to Save” basis.

These loan funds are revolving, whereby loan repayments are used to fund subsequent projects.

Scottish University Carbon Reduction Fund and Universities for the Future

£39,000,000

Loan fund for installation of energy efficiency measures in universities

Energy Efficient Scotland Pilots and Decarbonisation Fund

£17,260,000

Pilot projects designed to increase understanding of design, delivery and impact of energy efficiency approaches.

Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland

£5,000,000

Loan scheme for registered social landlords to install energy savings improvements.

Total

£80,526,000

Question reference: S5W-25643

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in superfast broadband in the last five years, also broken down by parliamentary region.

Telecommunications, including all regulation and legislative responsibility for broadband, is reserved to the UK Parliament and UK Ministers under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. However, the Scottish Government has invested its own resources in Scotland’s Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme (DSSB), recognising that insufficient funding had been allocated to the task of addressing poor coverage arising from market failure.

Alongside our partners, we have invested more than £400 million in the DSSB programme, with the Scottish Public Sector contributing £164.9 million of the total expenditure to supplement investment in the programme by the European Union, BT and UK Government. The programme has provided access to fibre broadband to over 940,000 premises to date, with over 90% of those premises capable of accessing download speeds of at least 24 Megabits per second (Mbps).

As this is a national programme, it is not possible to provide an accurate financial breakdown by Scottish Parliamentary region, although to date 151,437 premises in the South Scotland region have been supported to obtain access to superfast broadband of at least 24Mbps, that would not have able to do so in the absence of the DSSB programme.