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: S5O-04227

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 5 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action has been taken to secure contracts and future employment at Burntisland Fabrications.

Ministers do not participate in operational decisions of BiFab, but continue to work with BiFab’s majority shareholder, in pursuit of a strong pipeline of works for BiFab, to deliver economic benefits and skilled employment opportunities.

EDF have announced BiFab is to be awarded fabrication work for jackets on its Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) project. Contract terms are being finalised between BiFab and Saipem, and these discussions are progressing positively.

That work, alongside successful fabrication contracts for First E&P and EDPR’s Moray East project provide opportunities to show BiFab is back in business.

Question reference: S5O-04244

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on tourism of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Question reference: S5O-04186

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour on quad bikes and similar off-road vehicles.

Question reference: S5O-04115

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met BBC Scotland and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S5W-26964

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in drafting the terms of reference and appointing a chair for the public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh.

Question reference: S5W-26857

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what commitment to create Scotland-based jobs has been made by the developers that are members of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council.

Renewable energy developments are a vital part of Scotland’s transition to a low carbon economy. Whilst the Scottish Government cannot comment on the specific employment commitments of developers, I can say that SOWEC has an ambition to increase offshore wind jobs in Scotland to more than 6,000 by 2030. This would represent a 75% increase on 2019 figures and is in line with the sector's commitments set out in the Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

Question reference: S5W-26858

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council has met, broken down by (a) venue, (b) who attended and (c) what was discussed.

All minutes of SOWEC meetings, including details of attendees are proactively published at (hyperlink here please) However, to aid the member. I can say that the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) has, to-date, met on four occasions:

On 9 May 2019, the Council met at the Scottish Parliament with the following individuals in attendance: myself, my co-chair Brian McFarlane(SSE Renewables), Claire Mack (Scottish Renewables), Guy Madgwick (Red Rock Power Ltd), Andrew Jamieson (ORE Catapult), Isla Robb (Scottish Enterprise), Alan Duncan (Scotia Supply Chain Ltd), Colin Maciver (Crown Estate Scotland), Jim Brown (Energy Skills Partnership), and officials. At this meeting, the Council agreed to its reformed structure and to a draft Terms of Reference.

On 20 June 2019, the Council met at the Scottish Parliament with the following individuals in attendance: myself, my co-chair Brian McFarlane, Claire Mack, Guy Madgwick, Andrew Jamieson, Isla Robb, Alan Duncan, Colin Maciver, Jim Brown, Gillian Morrison (Highlands and Islands Enterprise), Ross Mackenzie (Dundee City Council), Nick Sharpe (Scottish Renewables), and officials. At this meeting, the Council agreed to its Strategic Vision and Goals.

On 21 August 2019, the Council met at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh with the following individuals in attendance: myself, my co-chair Brian McFarlane, Claire Mack, Niall Stuart (Hutcheson Associates Ltd), Andrew Jamieson, Isla Robb, Alan Duncan, Colin Maciver, Jim Brown, Nick Sharpe, Andrew Macdonald (Offshore Wind Growth Partnership), and officials. At this meeting, the Council discussed its communications strategy and its ambition to engage with MSPs and MPs in the future.

On 21 November 2019, the Council met at the Scottish Parliament with the following individuals in attendance: myself, my co-chair Brian McFarlane, Claire Mack, Niall Stuart, Andrew Jamieson, Isla Robb, Alan Duncan, Colin Maciver, Jim Brown, Nick Sharpe, and officials.

At this meeting, the Council discussed its proposed budget for 2020 and its intention to work collaboratively with the Oil and Gas Industry Leadership Group on supply chain development as the sector tkes forward its own route map for decarbonisation of production.

Question reference: S5W-26862

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with SSE regarding the number of Scotland-based jobs that will be created to fabricate infrastructure for its Seagreen project.

Question reference: S5W-26861

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what sponsorship (a) it and (b) its agencies provided to the Scottish Green Energy Awards on 5 December 2019, and how much this cost.

Question reference: S5W-26860

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 14 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many officials from (a) it, (b) Scottish Enterprise, (c) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and (d) Crown Estate Scotland attended the Scottish Green Energy Awards on 5 December 2019, broken down by grade, and how many attended as guests of other organisations.

Scottish Enterprise (Scottish Investment Bank)	£4,300 + VAT sponsorship package
Highlands and Islands Enterprise	£6,660 + VAT sponsorship package
Scottish National Investment Bank	£7,350 + VAT sponsorship package