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-27185

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on its (a) Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and (b) renewable energy targets, what its position is on the proposal for the introduction of Sustainable Industry Rewards in Auction Round 7 of the Contracts for Difference process.

Question reference: S6W-27186

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on its (a) Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and (b) renewable energy targets, what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding Auction Round (i) 6 and (ii) 7 of the Contracts for Difference process.

Question reference: S6W-27386

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which minister will take decisions on any matters relating to the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio that the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has recused himself from.

Question reference: S6O-03423

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the culture secretary has had with the finance secretary regarding future funding for culture, in light of its commitment to invest an additional £100 million in the sector.

Question reference: S6W-27031

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current status is of the Climate Emergency Economic and Investment Leadership Group that was announced in the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.

The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provided an important springboard for net zero skills planning and significant progress has been made since its publication, notably in strengthening the evidence base through the CESAP Pathfinders, which provides a better understanding of the skills requirements in the transition to net zero, focusing on investment, demand, and provision across the CESAP sectors.

A separate Economic and Investment Leadership Group has not been established however, an Implementation Steering Group (ISG) was established in 2021 to bring together senior experts from across industry, academia, and public-sector agencies. The group has fostered collaboration and promoted innovative approaches in priority sectors for building a fair, green and growing economy.

Significant work has also started on the commitment for Scottish Government to take responsibility for skills planning at a national level and to strengthen regional skills planning. This commitment will be a key mechanism for supporting the transition to net zero.

Question reference: S6W-27032

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans to establish a Green Jobs Skills Hub, as outlined in the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.

The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provided an important springboard for net zero skills planning and we have made good progress since its publication, notably in strengthening the evidence base through the CESAP Pathfinders , which provides a better understanding of the skill requirements in the transition to net zero, focusing on investment, demand, and provision across the CESAP sectors.

While a standalone Green Jobs Skills Hub has not yet been established, Skills Development Scotland continue to engage with employers across Scotland to disseminate evidence and insights to support them in the transition to net zero.

Skills Development Scotland also established additional online capacity through My World of Work to enable individuals to search for green skills and green job opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-27120

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government who the member in charge is of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-26693

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 29 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for electricity generators under 50MW were submitted to planning authorities under the Electricity Act 1989 in (a) 2015, (b) 2019, (c) 2022 and (d) 2023.

Applications for electricity generating stations with a capacity of 50MW or less submitted to planning authorities are determined in accordance with procedures set out under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Consent under the Electricity Act 1989 is exclusively required for electricity generating stations with a capacity greater than 50MW.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of applications for electricity generating stations with a capacity of 50MW or less submitted to planning authorities under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. However, this information could be obtained from individual planning authorities.

The Scottish Government does publish information on the total number of planning applications for electricity generation determined by planning authorities. The number of applications determined in each year is recorded from 1 April to 31 March.

Number of planning applications for electricity generation
Year	Major	Local
2014-15	21	626
2015-16	17	561
2016-17	10	178
2017-18	9	123
2018-19	9	180
2019-20	12	94
2020-21	26	123
2021-22	31	106
2022-23	42	177

1 The figures provided for 2014-15 to 2019-20 do not include applications which were determined using a processing agreement.

2 Major applications are any development where the generating capacity exceeds 20MW but does not exceed 50MW.

Further information on planning applications determined by Planning Authorities can be found at: The Scottish Government - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-26670

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to each NHS board in each of the last three years to support an increase in the provision of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors.

In the last three years, the Scottish Government has invested £19.6 million of additional funding specifically to increase the provision of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. This funding consisted of £5.1 million in 2020 to 2021 and £14.5 million in 2021 to 2022. It was allocated based on the percentage of patients with Type 1 diabetes within each given NHS Board area relative to the Scottish population. This data was taken from the Scottish Diabetes Survey 2020, which can be found here: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Diabetes-Scottish-Diabetes-Survey-2020.pdf .

The £5.1 million of additional funding in 2020 to 2021 was allocated as per the breakdown below:

Health Board	Total funding
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	£308,700
NHS Borders	£91,325
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	£123,625
NHS Fife	£293,550
NHS Forth Valley	£252,725
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£872,025
NHS Grampian	£461,050
NHS Highland	£279,975
NHS Lanarkshire	£581,100
NHS Lothian	£663,275
NHS Orkney	£17,150
NHS Shetland	£19,675
NHS Tayside	£298,600
NHS Western Isles	£24,725
Total excluding VAT	£4,287,500
Total including VAT	£5,145,000

The £14.5 million of additional funding in 2021 to 2022 was allocated as per breakdown below:

Health Board	Total funding
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	£824,253
NHS Borders	£269,404
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	£371,118
NHS Fife	£832,513
NHS Forth Valley	£719,165
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£2,478,769
NHS Grampian	£1,327,914
NHS Highland	£808,477
NHS Lanarkshire	£1,669,927
NHS Lothian	£1,886,890
NHS Orkney	£46,940
NHS Shetland	£49,008
NHS Tayside	£849,048
NHS Western Isles	£66,577
Total excluding VAT	£12,200,000
Total including VAT	£14,640,000

It is important to note that this funding was in addition to and not a replacement for local budgets. As you will be aware, the Scottish Government provides baseline funding to NHS Boards, and it is for individual Boards to determine how best to utilise this funding to meet the needs and priorities of their local populations. This includes ensuring those with Type 1 diabetes have access to the most appropriate treatment and care, including diabetes technologies.

Question reference: S6W-26669

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is putting in place for any patients with diabetes who have taken part in a hybrid closed loop system study and have recently been informed that they must revert to their previous care once the study has completed, due to a lack of funding.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes is able to access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million specifically to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies. It is important to note that this funding is in addition to baseline funding for NHS Boards.

We continue to work closely with Diabetes Managed Clinical Networks, including NHS Lothian, to identify and resolve any issues raised by NHS Boards regarding accessing diabetes technologies.