- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 27 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the National Marine Plan Review 2021, and when it will publish its decision on whether it will amend or replace the current National Marine Plan.
Answer
Scottish Ministers have carefully considered the findings of the 2021 National Marine Plan Review. In our Programme for Government 2022-23, Scottish Ministers committed to start the process of developing a new National Marine Plan, to address the global climate and nature crises by carefully managing increasing competition for space and resources in the marine environment. Scottish Ministers will formally commence this process via the publication of its Statement of Public Participation and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy in the coming weeks.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s December 2020 report on regional marine planning, following Marine Scotland’s internal review.
Answer
We continue to carefully consider the report and recommendations made by the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee as regards regional marine planning and are working to finalise our formal response, which will be published this Autumn.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its 10-year islands connectivity plan, and what assessment it has made of any impact of not having done so on people in remote and island communities, particularly in relation to the adequacy of ferry services.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09901 on 15 August 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
There is an existing Ferries Plan in place until December 2022.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10006 by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2022, in light of it stating that it has not yet assessed the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and not providing a suggestion of a figure, whether it has at least assessed the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 within an approximate range or figure, or whether it has no estimate of the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
Answer
The costs of global failure to address the climate emergency would be enormous and the Scottish Government is committed to leading the way in delivering early action to reduce emissions while at the same time positioning Scotland to secure and share the opportunities from the transition. The next Climate Change Plan, a draft of which will be published next year, will include costs of delivering emissions reductions to meet the statutory targets between 2025 and 2040. The Scottish Government has not set out a pathway to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and hence does not yet have a basis for a cost assessment of achieving that goal. The Climate Change Committee suggest “the net costs of the transition (including upfront investment, ongoing running costs and costs of financing) will be less than 1% of GDP over the entirety of 2020-2050”. We believe this is a reasonable estimate while noting that the cost totals and profile for Scotland may differ due to our stricter statutory targets and the likelihood that our pathway to net zero may diverge from that taken by the UK as a whole.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the comparable costs of running an air source heat pump in a non-retrofitted, non-fabric refitted average property, compared with a gas boiler.
Answer
Scotland has a varied building stock, with many different ages and types of properties. Homes are built with various levels of insulation, with many having altered the building fabric since construction (for example by installing double glazing). This makes defining a ‘non-retrofitted home’ challenging. The most consistent approach to comparing the running cost of a heat pump to the running cost of a gas boiler is to compare the relative cost of heat from each system, taking into account their differing efficiencies.
Under the recently announced Energy Price Guarantee, the unit rate of gas for the average consumer is 10.3 p/kWh, compared to 34.0 p/kWh for electricity. While estimates of the energy efficiency of heat pumps vary, air source heat pumps are typically considered to be two to three times more efficient than gas boilers. Therefore, we estimate broadly that a home with the average heat demand would face an estimated annual cost of around £1,900 using a gas boiler, compared to around £2,000 using an air source heat pump. This estimate is illustrative and subject to uncertainty. It is based on average household demand for heat and varies in line with assumed levels of gas and electricity prices, as well as the assumed efficiencies of the respective heating systems.
The Heat in Buildings Strategy proposes to set minimum energy efficiency standards alongside heating system change, so that the energy efficiency of our housing stock will be improved ahead of, or in tandem with, a zero direct emissions heating system being installed. This approach will reduce the running cost of zero direct emissions heating systems, such as heat pumps. We therefore don’t expect that heat pumps will be installed in properties unless the energy efficiency is at an appropriate level, which is currently being developed through external research.
Electricity policy and regulation is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government is calling on the UK Government to take urgent action to rebalance gas and electricity prices such that the running costs of zero direct emission heating systems are more favourable compared with fossil fuel incumbents.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the combined generating capacity in GW will be of the projects that it anticipates will be constructed under the ScotWind leasing round; whether it remains of the view, set out in its 2020 Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy, that "...an overall national limit on generating capacity of 10GW was required as a mitigation measure”, and what the total actual investments in the Scottish supply chain will be, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport's reported statement in January 2022 that ScotWind "will secure investment in the Scottish supply chain of at least £1 billion for every GW of power".
Answer
Following the clearing announcement on the 22 August 2022, the ScotWindleasing round has identified 20 offshore wind projects with a potential overall capacity of 27.6GW. Based on the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) submitted with the leasing applications, developers have committed to invest around £1.4bn per project.
Before construction, these projects will go through project development and consenting processes, respond to geographical and technological requirements, and find a route to market. For this reason, it is not possible to have a clear indication at this time of what will be constructed and the combined generating capacity.
The Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) assessed a potential generation figure of 10GW and therefore does not comment on additional generation or impacts. The SMP-OWEis subject to an Iterative Plan Review (IPR) process, which allows Scottish Government to review the conclusions of the Plan against new available information. Through the IPR process we will consider the impacts of the new potential generation figure of 27.6GW.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been received to the Just Transition Fund to date; whether it will provide the full list of locations for advertising the fund; when the application process for the first £20 million closes, and when the first £20 million will be awarded to successful applicants.
Answer
The application window for the first year of the Just Transition Fund closed on 15 July 2022, with a total of 102 proposals received.
The Fund was advertised through the Scottish Government’s website and social media platforms, as well as through local partners, including: Aberdeenshire Council, Moray Council; Aberdeen City Council; Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce; Moray Chamber of Commerce; and the Just Transition Partnership. The Fund was also advertised through the ‘Find Business Support’ portal.
Applicants were notified about the outcome of their proposals on 6 September 2022, but the full list of projects won’t be published until after the mourning period following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10026 by Richard Lochhead on 22 August 2022, who or which body will judge whether a bidding organisation is “headquartered, or demonstrate[s] a strong connection to at least one of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray"; what its written definition is of “a strong connection”; whether Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and/or Moray local authorities are able to bid into the fund, and, if so, whether they count as the partner that “must be based or have majority of operations in one of the regions”.
Answer
Scottish Government officials assess whether each bidding organisation to the Just Transition Fund is “headquartered, or demonstrate[s] a strong connection to at least one of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray". Only proposals that meet this criteria are considered for funding.
Aberdeenshire Council, Moray Council and Aberdeen City Council were all able to bid into the fund. They can count as the partner that is based or has operations in the region, however that is not mandatory and any private organisation can be considered as the local partner organisation.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10025 by Richard Lochhead on 22 August 2022, whether it anticipates the reported approximately 70,000 jobs currently sustained in the north east by oil and gas to remain in the north east by 2030, whether in oil and gas and/or renewables.
Answer
The Robert Gordon University report – Making the Switch, funded through the North-East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF), estimates between 70,000 and 80,000 people are directly and indirectly employed in the offshore energy sector in Scotland, with around 65% working or based in the North East.
This report highlights over 90% of the workforce has medium to high skills transferability between adjacent energy sectors, such as offshore wind, the use of hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. This indicates the North East is well placed to capitalise on the opportunities associated with the energy transition and could become either a UK or Global Energy Hub, with the expected result of the energy workforce remaining broadly stable or increasing by 2030.
The Scottish Government is supporting this transition from the oil and gas sector to renewables and low carbon through a number of programmes, including, but not limited to, the £75 million Energy Transition Fund and our £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray.
The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan is key to ensuring everyone can benefit from the opportunities a Just Transition can create, whether the requirement is to improve on existing skills or retrain to a new or emerging green job.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether funding has continued for Action Against Stalking further to the initial investment of £55,000 in the 2019-20 victim/witness support budget.
Answer
We have continued to increase our funding to Action Against Stalking since 2019. In 2020-21 we provided almost £115,000 in funding and in 2021-22 we provided £100,000.
In March 2022 we announced funding of £495,000 over the period 2022-25 from the new Victim Centred Approach Fund to enable Action Against Stalking to deliver expert support to victims, and continue their work to improve the understanding of, and response to, stalking behaviours.
We are also providing up to £230,000 a year through the Scottish Legal Aid budget, and £384,000 in 2022-23 from the Justice portfolio, to the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre to offer free legal information and advice to women experiencing gender based violence, including stalking and harassment.