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-09310

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury? Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, whether it will be reporting emissions from incineration separately from other energy-related emissions.

Official statistics on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions are published annually and used to monitor progress towards Scotland’s statutory emissions reduction targets. These statistics are based on a disaggregation of the UK Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, which is overseen by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and compiled in line with international scientific guidance.

Currently, the UK Inventory does not allow for the isolation of data for emissions from waste incineration plants as opposed to other energy sector emissions. Decisions around the UK Inventory are a matter for BEIS and are informed by the UK National Inventory Steering Committee, which includes representation from Scottish Government officials.

As we outlined in our response to the independent review, we accept this recommendation and so we will work with BEIS and the UK National Inventory Steering Committee to explore the potential to break down our GHG inventory reporting to provide a separate Energy from Waste source within our future publications.

Question reference: S6W-09289

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which country is Scotland’s largest international trading partner.

Latest HMRC (Regional Trade Statistics) RTS statistics show that in 2021, based on total trade in goods (imports plus exports), Scotland’s largest trading partner was the USA at £5.5 billion. Note this data only includes trade in goods and not services and excludes oil and gas (SITC 3 – Mineral fuels).

Rank	Partner country	Value (£ billion)	% of total
1	UNITED STATES	5.5	14.40%
2	CHINA	4.2	11.00%
3	NETHERLANDS	2.5	6.40%
4	FRANCE	2.4	6.30%
5	GERMANY	2.4	6.30%
6	NORWAY	1.6	4.10%
7	ITALY	1.2	3.20%
8	IRISH REPUBLIC	1.2	3.10%
9	POLAND	1.2	3.00%
10	BELGIUM	1.1	2.90%

[Source: HMRC Regional Trade Statistics 2022 Q1]

Data from Export Statistics Scotland 2019 supports this, showing that the USA was Scotland’s largest export destination in 2019.

Question reference: S6W-09288

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent breakdown by country of Scotland's leading international export destinations.

Scotland’s export performance is published annually in the Export Statistics Scotland (ESS) report at the start of each year and provides the Scottish Government with estimates of Scotland’s international and domestic trade in both good and services, excluding oil and gas. The timing and content of the ESS publication is determined independently of ministers.

ESS relies heavily on company data collected through the Global Connections Survey (GCS). However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the postponement of that survey in 2020 and impacted the publishing the ESS in 2020 and 2021. However, data collection for the GGS 2020 and 2021 data is due to start imminently.

Our most reliable and up to date source of export data is provided by the ESS 2019 report - Export statistics Scotland: 2019 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Based on ESS 2019, the USA is our top international export destination with an estimated value of just over £6bn in total exports.

Table 1: Scotland’s top 20 international export destinations, 2019 (£ million)
Rank	Destination	Total Exports (£ m)	% of Total
1	USA	6,025	17.2
2	France	2,920	8.3
3	Netherlands	2,720	7.8
4	Germany	2,370	6.8
5	Ireland	1,445	4.1
6	Belgium	1,270	3.6
7	Norway	1,100	3.1
8	Spain	1,035	3
9	Italy	850	2.4
10	Australia	740	2.1
11	Singapore	730	2.1
12	UAE	705	2
13	Sweden	700	2
14	Denmark	695	2
15	China	685	2
16	Brazil	640	1.8
17	Canada	640	1.8
18	Japan	620	1.8
19	Switzerland	595	1.7
20	Luxembourg	445	1.3

Question reference: S6W-08983

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by which date in Autumn 2022 it will publish its previously delayed, updated Energy Strategy.

The Scottish Government committed to publishing a refresh of the 2017 Energy Strategy in the Programme for Government and Bute House Agreement. Following the Scottish Government's response to the Just Transition Commission, we committed to publishing a Just Transition Plan for energy, which will be integrated with the forthcoming Energy Strategy Refresh to ensure a cohesive and joined up framework for action.

In Parliament on 29 March 2022, I announced that the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) would be published in Autumn 2022 for consultation. It was previously due to be published in Spring 2022.

The revised timeline will allow time for the development of a robust evidence base. It will also enable consideration of recent, fast-moving events in the energy industry, the impact of the rising cost of energy, and the UK Government's Energy Security Strategy and forthcoming Energy Bill.

Additionally, this summer we are engaging with those most likely to be impacted by the energy transition, in line with our wider approach to just transition. We will be carrying out a number of events to identify what needs to be done to ensure the energy transition is good for Scotland’s people and build consensus that will enable policy makers to develop the best solutions.

Question reference: S6O-01221

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times at accident and emergency departments.

Question reference: S6O-01171

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what impact any real-terms cuts to funding for further education are having on the college sector.

Question reference: S6W-07199

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage cumulative economic growth in Scotland, in terms of increased total GDP, was for the period from May 2007 to December 2019, and how this compares with the equivalent figure for the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-07198

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage cumulative economic growth in Scotland, in terms of increased total GDP, was for the period from May 2007 to May 2016, and how this compares with the equivalent figure for the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-07200

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage cumulative economic growth in Scotland, in terms of increased total GDP, was for the period from May 2007 to December 2021, and how this compares with the equivalent figure for the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-07164

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many renewable heating systems it estimates were installed in homes in each of the last five years, and how many such installations will be required annually over the next eight years to meet the 2030 target under its Heat in Buildings Strategy.

The Energy Saving Trust maintains the Renewable Heat Database for the Scottish Government. The following table extracts domestic renewable heat installations over the period 2016-2020. Data for 2021 are not yet available. These data are derived from registrations under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, and as such likely underestimate the total number of installations due to lower coverage of new build homes.

	Year
Technology	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Air Source Heat Pump	1,305	1,269	1,737	2,243	2,477
Biomass	388	187	102	74	69
Ground/Water Source Heat Pump	150	193	160	175	430
Solar Thermal	170	164	89	135	79
Total	2,013	1,813	2,088	2,627	3,055

Reaching our emissions targets requires a significant acceleration in installation of zero emissions heat technologies in homes and installation of connections to heat networks, recognising the time needed for supply chains to grow. As set out in the 2021-22 Programme for Government, domestic installations must scale up such that the total number of installations between 2021 and 2026 is at least 124,000. The Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out that installation rates will need to peak at over 200,000 per year in the latter part of this decade.