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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-28764

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, what projections it has made of the country's aviation emissions in (a) each year between 2023 and 2030, (b) 2040 and (c) 2045.

Question reference: S6W-28770

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its policy position that the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport should deliver 200 extra flights to airports in Scotland per week.

Question reference: S6W-28767

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK Climate Change Committee’s report to the Scottish Parliament, which was published in March 2024, what its response is to the assertion that there (a) is no strategy for decarbonising aviation and (b) has been no progress in addressing aviation demand growth.

The assertion that there is no Scottish strategy for decarbonising aviation does not take into account that aviation is reserved or that the UK Government’s Jet Zero Strategy applies throughout the UK. Separately, the Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement has now been published and describes actions we will take to contribute to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions. The Statement also emphasises that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and that Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure this aim.

The Scottish Government’s response to the UK Climate Change Committee's report will be published in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-28765

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the assertion in the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, that it expects to follow a similar CO2 emissions reduction trajectory to that set out in the UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy, what consideration it has given to the UK Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report to the UK Parliament that this is “high risk” due to its reliance on nascent technology, and what policy frameworks it will put in place to ensure that emissions reductions in the aviation sector occur if these technologies are not delivered on time and at sufficient scale.

The UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy, with its associated emissions trajectories, will apply throughout the UK. As the Aviation Statement makes clear, it is therefore vital that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure that aim. Scottish Ministers support the harnessing of new technologies across aerospace to meet climate targets. In addition to the technology-related actions in our Aviation Statement, the Scottish Government has established an expert working group to provide recommendations on increasing the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-28766

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in the UK Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report to the UK Parliament that the continued development of airport capacity expansion proposals is currently incompatible with the UK’s Net Zero target, whether it will reconsider its continued support for the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, as set out in its memorandum of understanding with the airport, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the report's recommendation that a UK-wide capacity framework should be developed by the Department for Transport in cooperation with the devolved governments, and be operational by no later than the end of 2024.

The decision to allow Heathrow expansion was taken by the Westminster Government and UK Parliament. The Scottish Government’s Memorandum of Understanding with Heathrow Airport ensures that Scotland will benefit from this major infrastructure project, which will bring significant job creation and investment opportunities to Scotland.

The UK Government response to the Climate Change Committee recommendation on airport capacity expansion provides its reasoning as to why it considers a UK-wide airport capacity management framework is not required.

Question reference: S6W-28769

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK Climate Change Committee's report to the Scottish Parliament, which was published in March 2024, what its response is to the recommendation that it should publish a detailed strategy for decarbonising aviation as soon as possible in 2024, and that this should set out the capability of the technologies that will be prioritised to achieve this aim, whether it expects to achieve this before the end of the year, and, if so, by what date.

The Scottish Government’s response to the UK Climate Change Committee's report, including its recommendations on aviation, will be published in the coming months. Our new Aviation Statement clearly sets out the Scottish Government’s actions to support decarbonising aviation and Ministers’ intention to meet regularly with aviation stakeholders to discuss the progress made on reducing emissions. The Aviation Statement should be considered alongside the UK Government’s Jet Zero decarbonisation strategy, which applies across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-28758

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the data that it published on 15 January 2020 in response to the freedom of information request FOI/19/02661, what subsequent calculations it has made of the emissions that could be generated by extra flights between Heathrow Airport and airports in Scotland if a third runway was built at Heathrow.

Question reference: S6W-28759

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what organisations and companies were met in preparation of the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, and on what dates.

The Scottish Government publicly consulted on developing an Aviation Strategy, based on the questions in the Discussion document to inform the development of an Aviation Strategy (transport.gov.scot) . Officials also held four stakeholder workshops to examine specific issues in more depth. The workshops included representatives from the aviation sector and environmental organisations.

Transport Scotland published the non-confidential consultation responses and an independent analysis of these responses and the stakeholder workshops (which also notes all participants): Aviation Strategy - Analysis of consultation responses | Transport Scotland

Due to Covid restrictions, the consultation noted was conducted online only between October 2021 and February 2022.

Question reference: S6W-28763

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 26 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 14 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in the Transport Scotland paper, Aviation Statement and Key Priorities, that it carries out its work on a "airport-neutral" basis to ensure that it does not act in a way that interferes with competition, what its position is regarding whether this policy applies to airports outwith Scotland, in light of its support for the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, as set out in its memorandum of understanding with the airport.

Question reference: S6W-28200

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the forecast in the Dental Workforce in Scotland 2021 report that the supply of dentists will fall short of the number required to maintain current registration rates.

It should be noted that the Dental Workforce in Scotland 2021 report was published at the height of pandemic interruptions to dental training in Scotland, and we look forward to contemporary data in September 2024.

The Scottish Government has been clear that, as a result of its intervention in response to the pandemic, a full year of undergraduate and vocational training was lost with significant impact on the introduction of domestic workforce to the sector. This was not a decision taken lightly, but was made following recommendation from the Deans of the Scottish Dental Schools as a necessary action to preserve the competence and confidence of graduates impacted by the pandemic. Scottish Government has also been clear that it could take up to five years for repercussions to fully resolve, however vocational training has now resumed in full and dental school outputs are back to pre-pandemic levels.

Despite this interruption, the Scottish Government has maintained a strong track record in growing the NHS dental workforce in Scotland, with 57 dentists per 100,000 of the population, compared to 42 in England and 46 in Wales.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work on a range of initiatives to bolster the NHS dental workforce through consideration of both domestic and international pipelines, as well as of the shape and structure of the workforce required into the future. This work includes collaboration with its counterparts across the UK and devolved governments to improve workforce pathways for international dentists, in addition to harnessing skill mix to improve capacity within dental teams.