Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-27467

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether panel members at Children's Hearings Scotland have the right of appeal after a decision is made on any complaint involving them.

Question reference: S6W-27277

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the work to upgrade existing fibre broadband connections to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections across Scotland; what the projected timeline is for this upgrade work; what steps are being taken to ensure that people can benefit from this work, in light of reports of some landlords not allowing permission for their property to be connected to FTTP networks, and how it can ensure that the pricing of FTTP broadband remains affordable, in light of the roll-out receiving public funding.

The latest update to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report shows that full fibre coverage across Scotland now currently stands at 58%, which represents an increase of 5 percentage points – around 138,000 premises – over the previous three months. This means that over 1.57 million homes and businesses in Scotland can now access a full fibre broadband service.

While most of this full fibre deployment has been delivered commercially, the over-£600 million that the Scottish Government is investing in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme is ensuring that homes and businesses in some of Scotland’s harder-to-reach communities are also benefitting from future-proofed full fibre digital connectivity.

Where it is not possible for an operator to reach agreement with landlords, they can seek to have one imposed by the courts. The UK Government has recently reformed the Electronic Communications Code to make this process easier and we are working with operators to understand any issues, so that we can press the UK Government if further reform is needed.

While the Scottish Government is funding build through the R100 contracts, it is doing so through a gap funding model, whereby it is subsidising our delivery partner, Openreach, to extend its own commercial network across Scotland. As you will know, all regulation and legislative competence in the area of telecommunications is wholly reserved to UK Ministers and the UK Parliament under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. As such, the Scottish Government has no mechanism for intervening on any commercial decisions a telecoms operator chooses to make, such as how much they charge for installation, services etc. Responsibility for commercial matters of this nature ultimately rests solely with Ofcom in its capacity as the UK’s telecoms regulator.

Question reference: S6W-27381

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions (a) the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and (b) her officials have had with (i) Lothian Buses and (ii) the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the reinstatement of service 69, which was originally withdrawn in 2020.

Question reference: S6W-26812

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is the case that, from 1 April 2024, fossil fuel and biofuel heating systems will not be permitted in newbuild construction; whether, in addition to oil and gas heating systems, (a) log boilers and (b) solid fuel and woodburning stoves have been banned, and, if so, what assessment it has made of any impact that this may have on (i) rural economies, (ii) resilience for properties during periods of power cuts and (iii) energy costs for properties.

The New Build Heat Standard (NBHS)means new homes and buildings constructed under a building warrant (applied for on or after 1 April 2024) will not be allowed to use any fixed direct emission heating systems like oil and gas boilers and bioenergy.

The NBHS does not apply to the installation of ‘emergency heating’. This is in direct response to feedback from rural communities and concerns about interruption of supply. This means that the NBHS permits fixed systems which may include woodburning stoves where this is justified.

New buildings are already required to meet high standards of energy efficiency which result in lower heat demand and can help reduce energy costs. Impacts of the NBHS on cost and on island communities were considered in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) published alongside the regulations. These have been informed by consultation feedback and wider stakeholder engagement.

All impact assessments and accompanying research can be accessed at: New Build Heat Standard - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6O-03371

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to deliver the shared policy programme contained within the Bute House Agreement, in light of reports that many of its policies have been discarded.

Question reference: S6W-26571

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reportedly significant waiting times for access to diabetes technology, such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring systems, for people with type 1 diabetes across Scotland, including in NHS Lothian, and what steps are being taken to meet the national targets and align with reported advancements in NHS England.

The Scottish Government’s Diabetes Improvement Plan contains a key commitment to further increase access to existing and emerging diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding specifically to support the increased provision of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and emerging technologies such as closed loop systems.

We have also invested a further £350,000 through the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption pathway to help roll out the technology faster and more efficiently across Scotland. A key focus of this project is reducing regional variation and making access to technology more equitable across Scotland.

We continue to work closely the Diabetes Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) within each Board, including NHS Lothian, to identify and resolve any issues raised by NHS Boards regarding accessing diabetes technologies, to ensure that all available resource is targeted to support the needs of local populations.

Question reference: S6O-03286

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many children aged 16 and under have been prescribed puberty suppressing hormones through NHS Scotland since 2014.

Question reference: S6W-25698

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing an exemption to paying the (a) Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and (b) Additional Dwelling Supplement for families that are purchasing a home for a disabled relative, in light of reported concerns that the current tax rates present a significant financial barrier to families providing such support, and what its response is to reports that such a barrier is an unintended consequence of the existing legislation that is aimed at second home ownership.

The Scottish Government carefully considered a wide range of issues and concerns as part of the recently concluded review into the arrangements for the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS). Decisions on this took account of an intention to provide for consistency of treatment for taxpayers in various circumstances, and operational considerations.

Following the review, The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Order 2024 will, if approved by the Scottish Parliament, introduce a number of legislative changes to the arrangements in place for the ADS. There are no plans to introduce further reliefs or exemptions at this time, including in circumstances where a home is purchase for a disabled relative.

The Scottish Government will continue to keep the arrangements for LBTT under review.

Question reference: S6O-03183

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Rural Delivery Plan, what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the impact of its housing strategies, including the Rural Housing Action Plan, on local rural economies.

Question reference: S6W-25414

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a further explanation of the reasons why it is reportedly prevented from interfering in the operations of Glasgow Prestwick Airport due to a number of post-Brexit trade deals with the EU.

To comply with the UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, that states each party shall respect and make best use of relevant international standards including the OECD Guidelines on corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, the business is required to operate on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government abides by international law and guidelines. Ministers do not intervene in commercial operations of the airport.

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