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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: S6F-01063

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support the return of disability sport in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6O-01025

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support people who are experiencing poor mental health as a result of long COVID.

Question reference: S6W-07878

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its seafood strategy.

Question reference: S6O-01008

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to support the food and drink supply chain in order to increase the percentage of Scottish products in the food and drink that it is responsible for supplying to local authorities, NHS boards and other public bodies.

Question reference: S6W-07197

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of the potential for solar energy capacity in Scotland has been carried out since the publication of the Climate Change Committee 5th and 6th carbon budget reports, and whether any such assessment will be made publicly available.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that energy generated from solar PV can play in contributing to the decarbonisation of Scotland’s energy supply and in securing a just transition to a net zero by 2045.

In developing the vision for the future of solar as part of the forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan we will draw on internal analysis and work closely with the sector to explore the potential for solar energy capacity in Scotland .

Question reference: S6W-07204

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether biodiversity enhancement from solar farms will be included in its review of agriculture support schemes.

Question reference: S6O-00941

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that building standards on construction of new housing developments maximise energy efficiency and opportunities for renewable energy generation.

Question reference: S6W-07202

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether permitted development rights for solar installation will be extended to at least 1MW, from the current 50kW, to match the approach in England and Wales.

The Scottish Government is currently, as part of its programme of planning reform, undertaking a review of permitted development rights (PDR) including those associated with energy generation.

As part of the phased programme for review of PDR we will review the current provisions relating to various types of energy generation, including solar panels and other approaches such as ground and air source heat pumps, to consider whether these remain fit for purpose and whether amending them could help to achieve Scottish Government’s ambitions for renewable energy and achieving net-zero emissions by 2045.

Question reference: S6W-07201

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported decision of the UK Government to reduce business rates for renewable technologies, whether it has conducted any assessment of the potential impact of a similar policy intervention in Scotland.

Under the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, solar panels, wind turbines and storage batteries are already exempt from rating where they are used for the generation, storage, transformation or transmission of power, where the power is mainly or exclusively ‘for distribution for sale to consumers’.

The Scottish Government delivers the most generous non-domestic rates relief for renewable generators that offer community benefit, as well as to all small scale hydro generators. Responding to the climate crisis, we are also expanding eligibility for the Business Growth Accelerator to include the installation of solar panels as a qualifying property improvement. The Business Growth Accelerator provides relief for 12 months on the rateable value increase associated with a qualifying improvement that has been made to a property.

We await the outcome of the UK Government’s Business Rates Review: Technical Consultation with interest.

Question reference: S6W-07203

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the running and installation costs for consumers who are required by legislation to adopt heat pumps.

The Scottish Government has not made any legislation that would require the adoption of a heat pump in any building.

Rather, as part of our Heat in Buildings Strategy, we have proposed that all homes will be regulated to use zero emissions heating systems by 2045. Such systems include, but are not limited to, heat pumps.

As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), the average cost of installing a heat pump is currently around £10,000 with, approximately, an additional £2,000 for energy efficiency measures to support the efficient performance of the heat pump. However, the cost of conversion to zero emissions heating systems is likely to vary across properties according to property type, size and condition.

The BRIA also explains that the impact on operating costs is also likely to vary across properties, with some seeing a slight increase in energy bills while others experience a reduction. The impact that installing a heat pump will have on energy bills is dependent on the relative price of electricity and the fuel being displaced, the relative efficiency of the heat pump and the heating system being replaced, and a number of other factors, including the design and quality of system itself, user operation, and the energy efficiency of the property in which it is installed. Wider system costs, for example upgrading energy networks, may have an impact on consumer bills.

We recognise that in decarbonising our homes we must not make fuel poverty worse, and the Heat in Buildings principles set out in the Fuel Poverty Strategy commit to delivering measures to help those in fuel poverty to manage their running costs.

Further analysis of the estimated capital and running costs of zero emissions heating systems has been undertaken as part of the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Heat in Buildings Strategy, which can be accessed at: Heat in buildings strategy: business and regulatory impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The member may also be interested in an independent report, commissioned by the Scottish Government, that assessed the suitability of low carbon heating technologies in residential buildings in Scotland. The report can be accessed at: Executive Summary - Low carbon heating in domestic buildings - technical feasibility: report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government will produce a range of further impact assessments when we introduce legislation requiring zero emissions heating systems.