Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-34030

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33252 by Alasdair Allan on 23 January 2025, who attended each meeting; whether it will publish any formal minutes that were taken, and what plans there are to next meet.

Please find below a table with a list of who attended each meeting. Any formal minutes will be published on the Scottish Government’s website and at the time of writing, there are no meetings with SSEN scheduled in ministerial calendars.

Any meetings that Ministers have with Transmission Owners as part of expected engagement with industry cover a range of subjects relevant to grid management with no discussion of specific developments, in accordance with Section 8 of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

Minister	Date	What	Attendees
Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work	31-01-2024	Meeting with DNOs (SPEN and SSEN)	Minister for Energy and the Environment Head of Market Development and Commercial, SPEN Head of Connections, Policy & Performance, SSEN SG Officials
First Minister	22-02-2024	Meeting with SSE CEO	First Minister CEO, SSE Head of Public Affairs, SSE SG Officials
Minister for Housing	27-02-2024	Meeting with SSEN	Minister for Housing Managing Director, SSEN Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SSEN Official SG Officials
Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work	07-03-2024	Meeting with SSEN	Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work Managing Director, SSEN Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SG Officials
Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work	21-03-2024	Meeting with ESO, SSEN and SPEN	Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work Director of Networks, NESO Corporate Affairs Director, NESO Network Planning & Regulation Director, SPEN SPEN Official Chair of SSEN Transmission Head of System Planning and Investment, SSEN Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SG Officials
Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work	07-05-2024	Meeting with SSEN, NGET and the NESO	Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work Managing Director, SSEN Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN President, UK Strategic Infrastructure, NGET Head of Corporate Affairs, UK Strategic Infrastructure, NGET Director of Networks, NESO NESO Official SG Officials
Minister for Climate Action	16-07-2024	Meeting with SSEN	Minister for Climate Action Managing Director, SSEN Director of Customers and Stakeholders, SSEN SG Officials
Minister for Climate Action	17-07-2024	Meeting with SSEN and SPEN	Minister for Climate Action Network Planning & Regulation Director, SPEN SPEN Official Managing Director, SSEN SSEN Official Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SG Officials
Minister for Housing and Minister for Employment and Investment	25-07-2024	Joint Housing and Economy Roundtable Discussion	Minister for Housing Minister for Employment and Investment Highlands and Islands Enterprise South of Scotland Enterprise Communities Housing Trust South of Scotland Community Housing Highland Council SSEN Prosper Crerar Hotels Salmon Scotland ASSC Scottish Land and Estates North Ayrshire Council SG Officials
First Minister	24-04-2024	Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB)	Attendees and minutes available on SG website: Scottish Energy Advisory Board - gov.scot
First Minister	20-09-2024	Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB)	Attendees and minutes available on SG website: Scottish Energy Advisory Board - gov.scot
Minister for Housing	23-10-2024	Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan Summit	Minister for Housing Scottish Land and Estates Scottish Empty Homes Partnership Highland Council Perth & Kinross Council Argyll & Bute Council Highlands & Islands Enterprise South of Scotland Enterprise North Ayrshire Council Rural and Islands Housing Association Forum Scottish Land Commission South of Scotland Community Housing Communities Housing Trust SSEN Scottish Federation of Housing Associations Prosper Community Land Scotland Crown Estate Scotland Shapinsay Development Trust Shetland Islands Council Dumfries & Galloway Council Aberdeenshire Council Moray Council East Lothian Council South Lanarkshire Council Stirling Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar East Ayrshire Council Scottish Islands Federation North Ronaldsay Trust Mull & Iona Community Trust Harris Forum Homes for Scotland SG Officials
Minister for Climate Action	21-11-2024	Transmission Roundtable – Session 1	Minister for Climate Action Head of Transmission Stakeholder Engagement & Communications, SPEN SPEN Official SPEN Independent Net Zero Advisory Committee Member, Head (CEO) of Fuel Bank Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN Ofgem COSLA Community Energy Scotland-Scottish Coalition of Community Energy Development Trust Association Scotland- Scottish Coalition of Community Energy Local Energy Scotland Foundation Scotland Shetland Community Benefit Fund Farr North Community Development Trust Finderne Development Trust The Cabrach Trust East Lammermuir Community Council The 9CC Group Solway Firth Partnership Newcastleton & District Community Trust Glenkens & District Trust CEO, Consumer Scotland Director of Enterprise & Community Support, Highland & Islands Enterprise Head of Energy Transition, South of Scotland Enterprise SG Officials
Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy	28-11-2024	Meeting with SSEN	Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy Director of Offshore Delivery, SSEN Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SSEN Official SG Officials
Minister for Climate Action	03-12-2024	Transmission Roundtable – Session 2	Minister for Climate Action Head of Transmission Stakeholder Engagement & Communications, SPEN SPEN Official Head (CEO) of Fuel Bank, SPEN Independent Net Zero Advisory Committee Member Energy Consumers Commission Head of Corporate Affairs, SSEN SSE Ofgem COSLA Community Energy Scotland-Scottish Coalition of Community Energy Development Trust Association Scotland- Scottish Coalition of Community Energy Local Energy Scotland Foundation Scotland Shetland Community Benefit Fund Farr North Community Development Trust Finderne Development Trust The Cabrach Trust East Lammermuir Community Council The 9CC Group Solway Firth Partnership Newcastleton & District Community Trust Glenkens & District Trust CEO, Consumer Scotland Director of Enterprise & Community Support, HIE Head of Energy Transition, SOSE Scottish Enterprise

Question reference: S6W-32665

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, what measures are in place to avoid public funds being used for, and Scottish institutions being implicated in, cases of international corruption.

The measures to mitigate the impact of potential international corruption in the management of public resources in Scotland are found in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), and within the relevant Scottish Government policies and Civil Service Code. Requirements within the SPFM cover the appropriate standards for the handling of all elements of public finances in terms of payments made, received, and in how they are documented and authorised.

The SG engages with external partners and colleagues from the UK Government Public Sector Fraud Authority, the International Public Sector Fraud Forum, Audit Scotland and the Scottish Public Sector Counter Fraud Network. This facilitates the sharing of expertise and current practice in the prevention of fraud and corruption, as well as horizon scanning on future risks, providing assurance on the management of fraud and corruption risk and the protection of public resources.

The Scottish Government has in place a Fraud Risk Management Framework and Counter Fraud Strategy, which both align to the UK government functional standard 013 - Counter Fraud, and the principles of this standard. The SG framework focuses on four areas that determine the Scottish Government’s high-level approach to fraud and corruption. These centre on the areas of:

Governance
Risk assessment
Prevention and detection
Fraud response

This framework and approach can be used to inform assessment and response to any fraud or corruption risks.

Question reference: S6W-32666

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, how it (a) assesses and (b) responds to any corruption risks associated with financial markets and infrastructure projects linked to foreign governments.

a) The Scottish Government’s Counter Fraud Toolkit within the Counter Fraud Framework contains a range of processes for assessing risks associated with fraud and corruption in all areas of public sector spending. These are aligned with the UK Government's Counter Fraud Standards and international best practice on the effective prevention of public sector fraud and corruption.

b) The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) contains the requirements for assessing and responding to the risk of corruption in all areas of public finance and infrastructure spending. Where the risk of fraud or corruption of any kind is identified, the SPFM requires that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent these risks.

Question reference: S6W-34635

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has paid for taxi transport for (a) doctors and (b) nurses who are (i) on-call and (ii) asked to come into work when off duty in each of the last five years, and what (A) national and (B) specific local policies for each board there are governing this.

Question reference: S6W-34111

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the installation cost is for (a) cat’s eyes and (b) emergency telephones on (i) the A90 in the (A) section north of Dundee and (B) other sections and (ii) other trunk roads.

Question reference: S6W-34026

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the national flags that it owns have (a) gone missing and (b) been wilfully damaged in each of the last 15 years.

Question reference: S6W-34024

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which national flags it has purchased in each of the last 10 years.

A breakdown of flags purchased since 2017 is shown in the table below. The Scottish Government does not hold information on flag purchases prior to 2017.

Year of Purchase	National Flag
2017	Scotland
2018	Scotland
2019	Scotland
2019	United Kingdom Iceland
2020	Scotland United Kingdom
2021	Scotland United Kingdom
2022	Scotland Ukraine
2023	Scotland Denmark Ireland France Germany Iceland Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Spain Sweden Ukraine
2024	Ukraine

Question reference: S6W-34028

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures value for money regarding hospitality provision for visitors to its buildings.

As part of wider catering provision in Scottish Government buildings, a catering contract is in-place to ensure value for money for taxpayers. In-line with Scottish Government spending controls, visitor hospitality is only provided in limited circumstances.

Robust contract management arrangements are in place and this includes an annual review of tariffs and costs which are scrutinised by an independent catering specialist to ensure costs are in-line with industry standards and the Consumer Price Index.

Question reference: S6W-34037

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33011 by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025, what oversight or guidance it provides to railway station owners and operators to ensure the safety of passengers and staff, and how it monitors the effectiveness of these measures.

Question reference: S6W-34025

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many flagpoles it has, broken down by height, and what the maintenance costs have been in each of the last 15 years.

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