- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much the Edinburgh Eastern constituency has received from the CashBack for Communities fund since it was established, and what projects this funding has supported.
Answer
Edinburgh Eastern has received £1,903,792 from the Cashback for Communities fund since 2008.
Eight CashBack Partners have delivered projects within Edinburgh Eastern Constituency from 2008 to 2024. They are: Boxing Scotland; Edinburgh Young Carers; Scottish Football Association; Scottish Rugby; SportScotland (Facilities Fund); Street Soccer Scotland; Youth Scotland and YouthLink Scotland.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much support has been provided through the Energy Transition Fund in each of the years in which the fund has operated, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) fund recipients and (b) amounts awarded in each case.
Answer
The Energy Transition Fund was launched in 2020 and provides support for four major projects based in the Aberdeen City region. The following table sets out funding awarded to date, broken down by project and financial year.
| | Funding awarded (£million) | |
Project Name | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | Total to date | Allocated 2024-25 |
Energy Transition Zone | 0.05 | 2.38 | 9 | 5.541 | 16.971 | 2.505 |
Global Underwater Hub | 0 | 1.823 | 1.811 | 0.768 | 4.402 | 1.178 |
Net Zero Technology Transition Programme | 0 | 1.597 | 6.574 | 6.157 | 14.328 | 2.094 |
Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub | 4.5 | 0 | 1.35 | 4.37 | 10.22 | 3.8 |
Total per year | 4.55 | 5.8 | 18.735 | 16.836 | 45.921 | 9.577 |
The Scottish Government also provides planning for and support to the energy transition through a range of other vehicles. These include the Just Transition Fund, Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and the development of a Just Transition Plan for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster which will be published shortly.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister (b) Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and (c) Lord Advocate, and any other ministers, and their officials, last met with the (i) Chief Constable and (ii) Deputy Chief Constables at Police Scotland, and what was discussed.
Answer
The First Minister last met with the Chief Constable on 16 May 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs was also in attendance. The agenda covered:
- Introduction
- Mental health and policing
- Criminal justice system
- Workforce and operating model
- Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
- Hate crime
I meet the Chief Constable regularly. The last meeting was on 4 June 2024 with Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith also in attendance. The agenda covered:
- Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
- Revised model of policing
- Criminal justice system
- Scottish Resilience Partnership
- Emma Caldwell Investigation – NPCC Request
The Lord Advocate last met with the Chief Constable on 12 March 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith was also in attendance. The Lord Advocate and Chief Constable discussed violence against women and girls in Scotland and how prosecutors and police officers could work together to improve outcomes for victims.
From January 2024, I agreed with the Chief Constable and SPA Chair to publish notes of their meetings, once approved, on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/police-minutes-of-regular-meetings
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the Ministerial Taskforce on Population last met, and what was discussed.
Answer
The Ministerial Population Taskforce meets quarterly to oversee delivery of Scotland’s Population Strategy and it last met on 20 March 2024. Items discussed included: Scotland’s Migration Service, in advance of its launch on 27 March; the linkages between housing policy and population; an update on planned National Records of Scotland statistical and Census publications; and an overview of progress in developing a Rural Delivery Plan. Minutes from the meeting will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27605 by Siobhian Brown on 28 May 2024, whether it has considered alternative approaches to carrying out this research in the event that the re-tendering process is unsuccessful, and whether this has been raised by the (a) Law Society of Scotland, (b) Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and (c) Scottish Legal Aid Board.
Answer
Alternative approaches to the work have been considered at meetings of the research group, which the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, and the Scottish Legal Aid Board are part of, should the tendering process remain unsuccessful. Ministers are also very mindful that the recommendation of the Legal Aid Payment Advisory Panel was very clear that any research carried out should be independent from the Scottish Government and that there are commercial sensitivities around the data being sought. Any alternative approaches would have to be carefully considered to ensure that this independence remains and that legal aid providers have confidence in the data gathering process.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Scotland-based manufacturers on (a) the manufacture and (b) marketing in (i) the UK and (ii) international markets of hydrogen buses manufactured in Scotland.
Answer
Through Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government has regular discussions with Scotland-based vehicle manufacturers, including bus manufacturers, about opportunities for hydrogen fuel cell and other types of zero emission vehicles in the UK and international markets.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with (a) the City of Edinburgh Council and (b) other partners to discuss the housing emergency, and whether it discussed the provision of additional (i) financial, (ii) regulatory and (iii) planning support to alleviate the impact on residents.
Answer
Since taking up post last year, I have met regularly with Councillor Jane Meagher, the City of Edinburgh Council Housing Convener, with our last meeting taking place on 18 April. The housing emergency has been raised in my discussions with other Housing Convenors and housing and homelessness partners as follows:
- Members of the Cross-Party Group on Housing on 27 February
- Councillor Allan Casey and Councillor Kenny McLean, Glasgow City Council on 13 March
- Jenni Minto MSP, Argyll and Bute Council officials and Argyll and Bute registered social landlords and community trusts on 4 April
- Alison Watson, Shelter Scotland on 16 April
- Members of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group on 16 April
- Strategic Homeless Action Partnership in Edinburgh on 1 May
- Sally Thomas and Carolyn Lochhead, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations on 15 May
- Councillor Davie McLachlan, South Lanarkshire Council on 16 May
- Councillor Maureen Chalmers, COSLA on 21 May
- Councillor Judy Hamilton, Fife Council on 5 June
There have also been discussions at official level over recent months with other partners, including the Scottish Housing Regulator, ALACHO, COSLA and Homes for Scotland.
These meetings are used to discuss the homelessness pressures and housing supply matters in Edinburgh and other areas across Scotland, including the decisions by councils to declare a housing emergency. Within these discussions, a range of issues are covered, which have their basis in the proposals developed by local authorities in response to the pressures they are facing. Various financial and planning issues and potential regulatory changes have been discussed at these meetings in the context of reducing the use of temporary accommodation and improving housing outcomes for residents.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £4.65 million awarded through the Energy Transition Fund to Aberdeen City Council to expand its hydrogen bus fleet was used to purchase hydrogen buses that were manufactured in Scotland.
Answer
Hydrogen fuel cell buses in Aberdeen supported by grant funding from the Scottish Government were not manufactured in Scotland. State aid and subsequent subsidy control rules mean that grant conditions could not specify which vehicle supplier the bus operator should use.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions (a) it and (b) its agencies have had with (i) the UK Government, (ii) local authorities, (ii) devolved nations and (iv) other countries on the purchase of hydrogen buses manufactured in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government participates in the UK Hydrogen Propulsion Manufacturing Taskforce. The taskforce works to develop recommendations on how government and industry can maximise investment opportunities for the UK manufacturing of hydrogen propulsion systems. This has included reference to the opportunities for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The taskforce has been paused during the pre-election period for the UK general election.
As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy alongside battery electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when battery electrification is challenging. However, it is up to individual bus operating companies to determine what type of zero emission vehicles best suits their particular circumstances, and for manufacturers to respond to that demand in the way that they think is most appropriate.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it has taken to implement the recommendations of the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls Services, and whether it plans to update the Parliament on its progress.
Answer
The Scottish Government is focussed on addressing violence against women and girls which is why we are implementing Equally Safe, our strategy to prevent and address all forms of violence against women and girls, specifically violence, abuse, and exploitation directed at them because of their gender.
The Scottish Government response to the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Services was published in November 2023 and can be found here ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/violence-against-women-and-girls-joint-statement-with-cosla ). Since then we have established a VAWG Sustainable Funding Project Board to take forward our commitment to develop a flexible and stable funding model for VAWG services and the Review’s report will be considered as we develop a new funding model.
