- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray will include funding for current projects and workforce commitments; if so, which ones, and what funding will be available for new projects.
Answer
We will work collaboratively with partners, communities and other stakeholders to take forward the ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray. The delivery of the Fund will exemplify our co-design and co-delivery approach that will be supported by a programme of broad engagement in the area. This Fund is a new commitment which will require detailed policy design work and implementation planning. We will provide further information on the process in due course.
The Just Transition Fund will support and accelerate energy transition, create good, green jobs and maximise the region’s future economic potential. We are determined to tackle climate emergency and mitigate the impacts of the transition on communities across Scotland, and we will work at pace to deliver our sectoral plans for a just transition.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how and (b) to whom it will distribute the ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray.
Answer
We will work collaboratively with partners, communities and other stakeholders to take forward the ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray. The delivery of the Fund will exemplify our co-design and co-delivery approach that will be supported by a programme of broad engagement in the area. This Fund is a new commitment which will require detailed policy design work and implementation planning. We will provide further information on the process in due course.
The Just Transition Fund will support and accelerate energy transition, create good, green jobs and maximise the region’s future economic potential. We are determined to tackle climate emergency and mitigate the impacts of the transition on communities across Scotland, and we will work at pace to deliver our sectoral plans for a just transition.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected outcomes and targets are for the ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray.
Answer
We will work collaboratively with partners, communities and other stakeholders to take forward the ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray. The delivery of the Fund will exemplify our co-design and co-delivery approach that will be supported by a programme of broad engagement in the area. This Fund is a new commitment which will require detailed policy design work and implementation planning. We will provide further information on the process in due course.
The Just Transition Fund will support and accelerate energy transition, create good, green jobs and maximise the region’s future economic potential. We are determined to tackle climate emergency and mitigate the impacts of the transition on communities across Scotland, and we will work at pace to deliver our sectoral plans for a just transition.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, whether there will be an application process to receive funding; if so, how the application process will work; how decisions to allocate funding will be taken, and by whom.
Answer
We will work collaboratively with partners, communities and other stakeholders to take forward the ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray. The delivery of the Fund will exemplify our co-design and co-delivery approach that will be supported by a programme of broad engagement in the area. This Fund is a new commitment which will require detailed policy design work and implementation planning. We will provide further information on the process in due course.
The Just Transition Fund will support and accelerate energy transition, create good, green jobs and maximise the region’s future economic potential. We are determined to tackle climate emergency and mitigate the impacts of the transition on communities across Scotland, and we will work at pace to deliver our sectoral plans for a just transition.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what obligations relating to the installation of replacement boiler systems will be placed on users of gas-fired boiler systems from 2025.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party: Shared Policy Programme sets out that we will phase out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers in off-gas grid homes from 2025 and in on-gas grid areas from 2030, subject to technological developments and decisions by the UK Government in reserved areas.
The Shared Policy Programme also commits to introducing primary legislation, subject to consultation and to limits on devolved competence, that provides a regulatory framework for zero emissions heating (and energy efficiency), and underpinning powers to support this transition and ambitious programme.
The exact operation of the proposed regulations, and any ensuing obligations on current users of gas boilers, is still to be determined but to ensure that the approach is fair, and to avoid unintended consequences, this will be subject to a detailed consultation in 2022.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what it expects the cost to be of the transition to non-gas boiler systems per household; by what method this has been calculated; on whom will responsibility fall to meet these costs, and what financial support will be provided to households to help them meet any of the costs.
Answer
As set out in our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy - partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, the estimated average capital cost of converting a home from a fossil fuel boiler to an equivalent zero emission system such as an air source heat pump is just over £12,000. These estimates are sourced from research commissioned by the Climate Change Committee to inform its Sixth Carbon Budget. The cost for an individual dwelling can differ from this average depending on building type, existing levels of energy efficiency and type of heating system being replaced.
The Scottish Government has committed to introducing regulations for zero emissions heat from 2025, subject to confirmation of devolved competence, technological developments, and action by the UK Government in reserved areas. We will consult in further detail in 2022, but it is envisaged that any such regulations will apply to building owners.
The Scottish Government provides a range of financial support to households to help meet the costs of changing from fossil fuel systems to low and zero emissions alternatives. If they meet certain eligibility criteria, households may be able to access fully-funded support through Warmer Homes Scotland, or local authority-led Area-Based Schemes. For other households interest-free Home Energy Scotland Loans with up to 75% cashback grants are available. However, due to the higher unit cost of electricity compared to fossil fuels such as natural gas, urgent decisions are needed by the UK Government to ensure zero emissions running costs are comparable to fossil fuel heating. These include urgent action on energy prices which must be rebalanced.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a fund to support island and rural communities to end their reliance on fossil fuels, and, if so, (a) what the monetary value of the fund will be, (b) by what method the value of the fund was calculated and (c) by what date the fund will be introduced.
Answer
A number of our existing commitments already contribute towards this goal and will ensure that we deliver a just transition, with economic and social opportunity shared across the country.
For example, the recent Programme for Government outlined our commitment to help three islands become fully carbon neutral by 2040. We are currently engaging with stakeholders to ensure the voices of islanders are heard from outset. This builds on previous commitments, such as the Island Communities Fund, which has supported businesses and community groups to build sustainable island economies.
We are also investing at least £1.8 billion over this Parliament to decarbonise Scotland’s homes and buildings, helping us eradicate poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty. This commitment will benefit communities across the country, including rural communities where we know fuel poverty is a particular concern.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01360 by Graeme Dey on 16 August 2021, for what reason the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has no zero-emission vehicles in its fleet; whether it has provided COPFS with funding to obtain zero-emission vehicles and, if so, how much funding it has provided, and when.
Answer
The 2019-20 Programme for Government outlined our commitment to phase out the need for all petrol or diesel cars in the public sector fleet by 2025 and for all other new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
Crown office and Procurator Fiscals office (COPFS) is committed to moving its entire fleet to zero emission vehicles by 2025, has begun to install EV charging stations and will purchase its first zero emission vehicles before the end of the financial year.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed plan for how the funding for rail infrastructure under the Borderlands City Deal will be spent and in which financial year(s); whether any of the funding will be used for a feasibility study on the rail extension from Tweedbank to Carlisle via Hawick, and, if so, what the timescale is for the (a) commencement of the study and (b) publication of its report.
Answer
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal includes a commitment to progress work to assess the benefits and challenges of extending the Borders Railway. The Deal also states that the Scottish Government will progress the evidence base for extending the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Carlisle through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) process which is ongoing through Transport Scotland. This forms the strategic case for extending the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Carlisle. STPR2 is being funded separately from the Deal and will report later this year. A decision on progressing feasibility work will be made following the conclusion of STPR2.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its cooperation agreement with the Scottish Green Party, whether it will provide an update on the progress of the A90 Montrose link road and whether any changes will be made to the delivery of the project.
Answer
This is a matter for Angus Council as the A90 Montrose link road is a local road project being taken forward by the Council.