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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: S5W-27106

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what additional powers it requires to retain and increase job numbers and increase Scotland's presence in offshore wind projects.

At an Offshore Wind Supply Chain Summit on 16 January 2020, it was announced that as part of the upcoming Crown Estate Scotland ScotWind Leasing process, the first such leasing round since devolution of the Crown Estate Scotland to Scottish Ministers, applicants will be required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS). The SCDS will demonstrate how applicants plan to tap into the potential offered by Scottish based suppliers. Crown Estate Scotland is currently considering what potential consequences will be established for non-compliance with the terms laid out in the applicant’s SCDS.

The powers associated with the Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanism, which are an obvious driver of new economic development, remain reserved to the UK Government. Its continued operation, design and requirements on successful developers will continue to have a major influence on offshore wind development and related economic activity. We have stressed to BEIS the need to reform this mechanism in a manner that better reflects total value added for the Scottish and UK supply chains – at present, when awarding contracts, CfD would appear to place no weight on bid quality at the final stage and instead places all weight on the levelised cost of energy. While the latter has had benefit for consumers, in terms of driving efficiency of the technology and the prices paid for electricity, this approach has pushed commercial risk down the supply chain and put enormous pressure on cost, leading to imports from areas with lower labour costs, weaker regulation of employment conditions and less stringent climate standards.

As things stand, UK Ministers are unlikely to have to draw upon funds allocated for use in CfD auctions, because prices submitted are below wholesale market prices. We argue that UK Ministers should use their unused budget and powers over CfD to target stimulation and route to market for technologies such as floating offshore wind, as well as marine energy, island wind and to better support the offshore wind supply chain – something that Scottish ministers would certainly be doing if circumstances were different and these powers devolved.

Scottish Ministers have also been calling for proactive action from the sector for some time and while there have been successes, we are still seeing yards across the country struggle to secure contracts. That is why we have committed to using every lever at our disposal, to the maximum, to ensure that our renewables supply chain benefits from the expected significant expansion of offshore wind in our waters. We will continue to explore all of these issues through the consultation on our Draft Sectoral Marine Plan and Offshore Wind Policy Statement.

Question reference: S5W-27080

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on wild salmon and the wider marine environment of 73,000 farmed salmon escaping from the Mowi fish farming site off Colonsay in January 2020.

The Scottish Government was disappointed by the reported escape of farmed salmon at a Mowi Scotland site near Colonsay in January 2020. We are clear that the containment of farmed fish in Scotland is of crucial importance in minimising the potential impact of aquaculture on the marine environment.

The main risk posed by escaped farmed salmon is introgression with wild salmon, a species in decline across the North Atlantic, though there are other important considerations such as disruption of the local ecosystem and competition with wild salmonids.

Through the Technical Standard for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture and the considerations of the Salmon Interactions Working Group, we are reviewing the regulation around containment in order to better mitigate the risk from farmed fish escapes.

Question reference: S5O-03945

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to address reported staffing shortages in prisons.

Question reference: S5O-03842

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of public authorities not taking the necessary action to clear waste from the M90 Commerce Park at Lathalmond near Dunfermline, what action it can take to address local residents' environmental concerns.

Question reference: S5O-03776

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-26033

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether adequate regulations and safeguards are in place to ensure that the public are protected when buying pre-paid funeral plans.

The Scottish Government believes that the regulation of the pre-paid funeral plan market should be strengthened. As a reserved matter, we have urged the UK Government to take action to ensure there is sufficient protection in place for people taking out funeral plans.

We are therefore pleased that HM Treasury has recently consulted on amendments to the legislative framework which would bring all funeral plan providers within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA). We will continue to call on the UK Government to take action in this area.

Question reference: S5W-26163

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Business Improvement District (BID) model is sustainable for supporting and regenerating town centres into the future.

Question reference: S5O-03667

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current regulatory framework for insolvency practitioners is effective.

Question reference: S5O-03577

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether trade union access and the promotion of collective bargaining, as set out in the Fair Work First principles, are conditions for companies receiving government financial support, including grants from enterprise agencies.

Question reference: S5W-25132

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of traffic levels on both approaches to the Queensferry Crossing; what its response is to reports of frequent queues, and what action it can take to alleviate these.

Transport Scotland is undertaking an evaluation of the Forth Replacement Crossing Project, in line with our published guidance for major infrastructure projects. This will compare conditions including traffic flows, one year after motorway regulations came into force in February 2018, with forecasts made during project design and development. We anticipate that the evaluation report of the first year will be completed in early 2020. Further evaluations will be undertaken at 3 and 5 years.

Some of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that assists with the new controlled motorway stretching from the M90 Junction 3 to Newbridge is still in its infancy and will improve journey time reliability as more of the system goes live. This includes the ramp metering at both Ferrytoll and Queensferry junctions, which should assist the traffic flow on the mainline and decrease delays caused by joining traffic during peak periods. This ramp metering will hold traffic on the slip road joining the Queensferry Crossing section of the M90 to allow the mainline flow to take priority. This should link in to the traffic lights at the exit slip to the new Queensferry roundabout, discouraging drivers from using the slips as a rat-run. The ITS will also vary the mandatory speed limits across this section of the network depending on traffic volume, which again should assist with flows.