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-07070

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it first became aware of potential issues with the dual-fuel engines ordered from the Finnish company, Wärtsilä, for the delivery of two ferries for the CalMac fleet.

Question reference: S6W-06900

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what exemptions it anticipates will be included in the regulations requiring the private rented sector to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by (a) 2025 for new tenancies and (b) 2028 for all.

Question reference: S6W-06901

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce the proposed regulations requiring the private rented sector to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by (a) 2025 for new tenancies and (b) 2028 for all, and how the regulations will be enforced.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy commits to introducing a Bill in the current session of the Scottish Parliament which, amongst a range of powers, will enable the application of minimum energy efficiency regulations in the private rented sector (PRS) from 2025. All PRS homes will be required to meet the standard, equivalent to EPC C, by 2028. We plan to hold a consultation on such regulations in the coming year, which will include how they will be enforced.

Question reference: S6W-06902

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the total cost of bringing the private rented sector up to an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by 2025 for new tenancies and 2028 for all, and how much funding it will be providing to assist the private rented sector to comply with this new requirement.

Modelling undertaken using the National Household Model (NHM), and by applying a minimum cost approach to achieving EPC C, indicates that it could cost up to £1.7bn to retrofit the private rented sector housing (PRS) stock to an EPC C, or as near to this standard as is technically feasible. The modelling methodology is available here .

It should be noted that the Scottish Government is proposing that private-rented and owner-occupied homes will be required to reach a minimum energy standard equivalent to EPC C. Accurate estimated costs to the PRS sector will therefore depend on our final approach to regulation – including any cost-effectiveness and technical-feasibility, or exemptions that may apply. We will undertake a full range of impact assessments ahead of introducing any legislation.

We have committed to supporting property owners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and are encouraging property owners to contact Home Energy Scotland who offer free impartial energy efficiency advice, and may be able to offer tailored advice for stone built properties. They are also the route to Scottish Government funded loans, in Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan: overview - Home Energy Scotland . Home Energy Scotland can be contacted on Freephone 0808 808 2282 or through their website https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/home-energy-Scotland

Question reference: S6O-00845

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provided to Scene Stirling and other organisations as they prepared Stirling’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2025.

Question reference: S6W-06421

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) social, (b) local authority and (c) private-occupied housing of the number of domestic dwellings that will be covered by the Heat in Buildings Strategy and require upgrades on energy efficiency or new low-emission heating technologies.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy is the foundation for delivering the heat transition in Scotland. It makes clear the Scottish Government’s intention to use regulation as part of a policy package that will ensure all buildings reach a good standard of energy efficiency by 2033, and use zero emissions heat by 2045. Regulations will also support delivery of the statutory 2030 target and the scale of decarbonisation in the buildings sector set out in the Climate Change Plan update. The breakdown of numbers of dwellings that will require upgrades in different periods and across different tenures depends in part on the detail of how regulations are implemented, meaning at this stage the requested analysis is not possible. We will consult on regulatory proposals prior to introducing legislation, and this process will be accompanied by appropriate impact assessments.

Question reference: S6W-06416

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the proposed National Public Energy Agency will be operational; how many full-time dedicated staff it will employ; what its annual budget will be, and when it anticipates that the virtual agency will move to being a standalone organisation.

As set out in the Scottish Government's A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22, published on 7 September 2021, we made a commitment to create a National Public Energy Company. We will work to have a virtual agency established this year, and a dedicated physical agency by September 2025. The virtual agency will be in place throughout the transition period until the standalone Agency is in place.

This is an ongoing area of work, and as a first step we launched a consultation in December 2021 which closed on 8 February to help inform development of the design of the new body. Consultation responses are currently being analysed and further details will be released as the work evolves.

Question reference: S6O-00814

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report showing that Scotland lost on average four shops a day in 2021.

Question reference: S6W-06420

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reserves of an independent Scottish central bank would be funded entirely from an independent Scottish budget.

Question reference: S6O-00778

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for a flexible skills and education system that can help meet net zero targets, as referred to in its Programme for Government 2021-22.