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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-16109

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 2 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the unit cost is of producing electricity from (a) renewable sources, (b) fossil fuels and (c) nuclear power.

We would generally use the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE)
generation to compare across technologies.

Although it is from 2016, BEIS have a publication which gives the
costs per MWh of each technology.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads
/attachment_data/file/566567/BEIS_Electricity_Generation_Cost_Report.pdf

Unit costs for electricity production vary from site to site
and are dependent on a number of factors including

the type of generating technology, the age and efficiency of
the technology, the fuel required, the cost of that fuel, and the
cost of finance. A widely accepted method for cost comparison
across technologies is the Levelised Cost of Electricity,
which BEIS last published in 2016 (link above). This looks at a
range of scenarios, but the below
gives an indication of costs for projects commissioning in 2025,
and gives the following unit costs
in response to the question:

a) Renewable Sources:

· Onshore Wind: £61/MWh

· Offshore Wind: £86/MWh

b) Fossil Fuels

· Combined Cycle Gas Turbine: £82/MWh

· Reciprocating Diesel Engines: £187/MWh

c) Nuclear:

· Nuclear: £95/MWh

Since the publication of this report from BEIS it has been apparent
that generation costs have been driven lower (as evidenced
by the 2017 Contracts for Difference auction clearing price
of £57.50 for offshore wind), and the above costs are
likely to therefore be higher than in reality.

Also, expected trends are that fossil fuel (gas, coal, oil)
and carbon prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable
future, resulting in an increasing upward pressure on electricity
generation costs from fossil fuel generation. This is in comparison
to renewable generation which does not require fuel to operate,
and therefore will not have this upward unit cost pressure from fuel.

Question reference: S5W-15416

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 29 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to stop reported reductions in services provided by law centres.

Question reference: S5W-15414

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 29 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for widening access to support in the justice system for people and communities living in poverty.

The Scottish Government’s believes in a safe, just and resilient Scotland. We want to provide a justice system that is fair and equitable for everyone in Scotland.

Widening access to justice for individuals and communities, such as those living in poverty, includes improving information and advice services, giving people greater options to resolve disputes without court action wherever possible, having a flourishing legal services market and, where necessary, providing legal aid for court proceedings.

The Scottish Government is widening access to justice by:

encouraging the use of resolution services such as mediation and arbitration which can be cheaper and less time consuming than going to court
reforming the system of legal aid so that it focuses on those who need it most
simplifying Scotland’s tribunals system to ensure it is user-friendly and independent
working to introduce alternative business structures in the legal services market to improve customer choice
using IT innovation to improve data management, ensuring that people working in the justice system can access the right information at the right time, benefiting the people who rely on the system
making sure that high quality legal advice and general advice and information is available to ensure people can avoid problems or resolve disputes as quickly as possible
The Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Bill, currently before the Scottish Parliament, will increase access to justice by creating a more accessible, affordable and equitable civil justice system for Scotland that:
makes the costs of civil action more predictable,
increases the funding options for pursuers of civil actions; and
introduces a greater level of equality to the funding relationship between claimants and defenders in personal injury actions.

The Scottish Government is reviewing our support for advice services across Scotland to ensure advice is available and accessible to all who need it.

We are considering how existing resources can be best used to deliver improved reach, quality and impact, including exploring the opportunities new technology could provide to offer more accessible and efficient advice services for some people.

We will work closely with Local Authorities to ensure we offer a joined up approach to public funding of advice services.

Demand for advice services across Scotland is growing, particularly due to the impact of UK Welfare changes. We have increased our welfare advice services budget from £3.1 million in 2017-18 to £3.6 million in 2018-19 to enable us to improve our support for advice, informed by key recommendations emerging from the advice services review.

Question reference: S5W-15415

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 29 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for supporting law centres.

Scotland has maintained wide access to legal aid for both criminal and civil justice matters, with those who are eligible able to access public funding for legal representation and advice. The Legal Aid budget allocation for 2017-18 amounts to £126.1million and remains unchanged from the 2016-17 settlement. The Scottish Government will continue to work with the legal profession and others to identify measures to improve and reform Scotland’s Legal Aid system.

Law Centres provide a vital role in providing access to Justice by empowering people and communities to exercise their rights and responsibilities, to resolve disputes and other civil justice problems at the earliest opportunity.

Law Centres are independent of Government and are managed and controlled by users working within communities. Any decision to close or reduce service delivery is a matter for the individual Law Centre and the Scottish Government has no locus to intervene in that decision.

Law Centres often obtain grant support from local and central Government, and other funding sources such as Citizens Advice Scotland and Charitable Trusts. The Scottish Law Centre Association’s view, submitted to the Independent Review of Legal Aid, indicates that many of their most successful cases have been financed by Legal Aid, and this mix of funding is essential to ensure that Law Centres have flexibility and the ability to take on those cases which are onerous and time consuming.

Question reference: S5O-01870

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the industrial action by the University and College Union regarding staff pensions.

Question reference: S5W-14157

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many beds there at the (a) Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow and (b) Children's Ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Question reference: S5W-14171

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many beds there will be at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, when the Children's Ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is closed.

There is no planned change to the inpatient bed complement at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) as a result of the closure of Ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH). NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has provided assurances that there is adequate bed capacity at the RHC to accommodate the demand following the closure of Ward 15. For context, the RHC had a provisional bed occupancy of 69% in 2016-17. In the same period, Ward 15 at the RAH had an average bed occupancy of around 50%; i.e. there was consistent local demand for around 8 inpatient beds with an available capacity at the RHC many times that number. The Health Board has further confirmed that in the most recent period of activity (October - December, 2017) the inpatient bed occupancy at Ward 15 was only 37%.

Question reference: S5W-14056

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13949 by Shona Robison on 19 January 2018, which local clinicians she listened to in making her decision to close the Children's Ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and which clinicians were consulted prior to a decision being taken.

As set out in my response to question S5W-13949 and the Statement I delivered to Parliament on 23 January 2017, I carefully considered all the available information and representations before coming to a final decision.

The proposals attracted overwhelming clinical support and were consistent with national policy, modern clinical standards and best practice. The clinical view was clear that the proposals were in the best interests of local children and that they would result in better clinical outcomes. This was the view of the paediatric clinicians at both Ward 15 and the Royal Hospital for Children whom I met when I visited those facilities on 5 July 2017 and 29 September 2017, respectively, as part of my consideration of the proposals. Following my decision, these views were reiterated in a letter received from the lead paediatric clinicians and the chief nurse for paediatrics at Ward 15 and the Royal Hospital for Children.

Question reference: S5W-13874

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage it is with the development of the National Framework for Families with Disabled Children and Young People, and by what date the framework will be published.

Question reference: S5W-13875

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the consultation on the National Framework for Families with Disabled Children and Young People will open.