- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the proposed Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill, what progress it has made towards (a) establishing a panel to review the future of the legal profession and (b) engaging with stakeholders representing the (i) consumer and (ii) legal perspective, as committed to in its response to the findings of the consultation analysis report on legal services regulation reform.
Answer
A working group to consider the future of the of the legal profession in Scotland has been convened and will be jointly chaired by the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, the Law Society of Scotland, and the Faculty of Advocates. The purpose of the group is to examine the evidence and propose improvements to address the challenges of recruitment and retention within the legal profession and to provide support for the planning, collaboration, and improvement of legal services in Scotland.
The first meeting of the short life working group will be held on 25 April 2023, and invitations have already been issued to members of the Group. Future meetings of the Group have been confirmed for 30 August 2023 and 5 December 2023.
The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 20 April 2023. This was developed in response to a consultation that was developed in collaboration with consumers and the legal profession and responses to that public consultation.
As the Bill progresses through parliament, we will continue to engage with key stakeholders from the consumer and legal side, to collaboratively consider reform of the regulation of legal services, to provide for a modern regulatory framework for Scotland that will best promote competition, innovation and the public and consumer interest in an efficient and independent legal sector.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any lessons have been learned from the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process, which was announced on 24 March 2023 and has since concluded, and whether these will be published.
Answer
Crown Estate Scotland are responsible for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process. The INTOG leasing process is still ongoing.The first agreement stage in the leasing process, the offer of exclusivity agreements for offshore wind development rights over an area of seabed, was announced on 24 March 2023.
Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland are progressing the next stage of the joint planning and leasing process for INTOG. Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable management of Scottish seas. The on-going planning process will consider the potential impact of INTOG on the marine environment and other marine sectors. Following conclusion of the planning process in 2024, INTOG projects will be offered Option Agreements, the next stage in the leasing process.
As a matter of general good practice, any initiative such as INTOG would be evaluated following its completion to identify any lessons learned.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a requirement for Scottish firms to be included within the supply chain before developers that have been offered exclusivity agreements, as part of the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process announced on 24 March 2023, are granted a full seabed lease.
Answer
Crown Estate Scotland are responsible for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process.
INTOG developers will be required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) before they enter an Option Agreement, as set out in the Crown Estate Scotland Offer document (August 2022). As with ScotWind, the SCDS will outline the nature and location of any intended supply chain activity, including details on people and skills linked to their proposed project.Option Agreements will be signed following adoption of the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan for INTOG in 2024. Projects which then meet all the requirements of the Option Agreement, including consents, will be offered a full seabed lease.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how human rights will be monitored in the supply chain for developers that have been offered exclusivity agreements as part of the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process announced on 24 March 2023.
Answer
The Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing is administered by Crown Estate Scotland who are responsible for completing the process of due diligence in line with relevant guidance.
Crown Estate Scotland advises that all INTOG applicants were required to confirm their compliance with all legal obligations regarding human rights. INTOG applicants were also required to make specific commitments ensuring that they, their group companies, and their supply chain partners have the appropriate policies and mechanisms in place regarding human rights.
Crown Estate Scotland reserves the right to void any application which is found to have provided false information in these commitments. If any companies have been found to have made false declarations on these matters Crown Estate Scotland will take the appropriate action including termination of Exclusivity Agreements.
The Scottish Government is clear that both public authorities and private enterprises have a responsibility to ensure human rights are respected and protected in the workplace. Scottish Ministers remain committed to defending the vitally-important legislation which protects human rights in Scotland and in the UK – including both the Human Rights Act 1998 and the constitutional protections built into the Scotland Act 1998.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its funding of £200 million for the north east through the Aberdeen City Region Deal to reduce the ScotRail journey time between Aberdeen and Edinburgh by 20 minutes, on what measures, and where, geographically, will the funding be spent.
Answer
Funding will be spent on a series of infrastructure upgrades on the route south from Aberdeen to the Central Belt, including signal enhancements and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the operation of more and faster trains on the same route.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it proposes to reduce the ScotRail journey time between (a) Aberdeen and Dundee by three minutes and (b) Dundee and Edinburgh by 17 minutes, by 2026.
Answer
Transport Scotland intends to achieve journey time savings via a series of infrastructure upgrades including signal enhancements and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the operation of more and faster trains on the same route.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much subsidy it provided to ScotRail in each financial year since 2017-18, and how much it expects to provide in each of the five financial years after 2022-23.
Answer
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Aberdeen to Central Belt rail enhancement project, when it expects to publish the outline business case that it had previously planned to publish in 2022.
Answer
The Outline Business Case for the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement Project is currently planned to be published later this year.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its pilot to remove peak ScotRail
fares, what its rationale is for running the pilot over a six-month
period, and what its position is on whether this will be a sufficient period of
time during which to assess the success or otherwise of the trial; what it
considers would constitute the success of the pilot, and how this will be
measured; what the rationale is for potentially removing peak fares, and
what the evidence base is that suggests that removing peak fares will achieve
this; in which geographical area(s) it expects the removal of peak fares to have the most impact, and what impact it projects the removal of peak fares will have on the ScotRail's income from
ticket fares during the trial period.
Answer
The ScotRail peak fares removal pilot reflects the cost of living crisis and takes account of changing travel patterns in the post-Covid period. Further details on the Scottish Government’s ScotRail peak fares pilot will be confirmed in due course.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement in June 2022 that £30 million would be spent “this financial year” to “accelerate the shift to zero emission transport”, how much of this funding it has spent to date, broken down by what it has been spent on; which geographical areas it has been spent in, and whether it has been allocated to (a) the corporate sector, (b) charitable organisations, (c) individuals and (d) others.
Answer
Of the £30 million support that was announced in June 2022, £28 million was allocated to the Low Carbon Transport Loan and the remaining £2 million was allocated to the Plugged-In Communities Schemes. Both have been fully allocated and are pending final claims being received.
Table 1 below gives a breakdown of loans paid under of the Low Carbon Transport loan by local authority area and type of recipient, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023.
Table 1: Low Carbon Transport Loan – paid loans in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | New Business Loan | Switched on Taxis Loan | Used Domestic Loan | Used Business Loan | Grand Total (to 28-02-23) |
Argyll and Bute | £0.00 | £0.00 | £193,983.50 | £46,800.00 | £240,783.50 |
Highland | £130,000.00 | £0.00 | £325,320.98 | £39,194.00 | £494,514.98 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | £29,495.00 | £0.00 | £38,744.00 | £0.00 | £68,239.00 |
Orkney Islands | £0.00 | £0.00 | £59,093.00 | £27,600.00 | £86,693.00 |
Aberdeen City | £58,499.00 | £150,000.00 | £521,317.56 | £109,394.00 | £839,210.56 |
Aberdeenshire | £30,000.00 | £30,000.00 | £794,529.23 | £121,936.50 | £976,465.73 |
Angus | £30,000.00 | £0.00 | £250,730.00 | £59,398.00 | £340,128.00 |
Dundee City | £53,684.56 | £28,195.00 | £513,198.20 | £28,295.00 | £623,372.76 |
Moray | £0.00 | £0.00 | £147,881.00 | £0.00 | £147,881.00 |
Perth and Kinross | £34,999.00 | £0.00 | £641,044.60 | £92,617.00 | £768,660.60 |
City of Edinburgh | £90,979.00 | £831,821.44 | £1,697,763.01 | £123,612.00 | £2,744,175.45 |
East Lothian | £0.00 | £34,093.00 | £587,197.00 | £0.00 | £621,290.00 |
Fife | £35,000.00 | £63,805.00 | £800,616.00 | £0.00 | £899,421.00 |
Midlothian | £0.00 | £121,898.20 | £432,242.00 | £0.00 | £554,140.20 |
Scottish Borders | £0.00 | £0.00 | £377,066.00 | £23,500.00 | £400,566.00 |
West Lothian | £70,000.00 | £128,473.00 | £475,531.81 | £0.00 | £674,004.81 |
Dumfries and Galloway | £0.00 | £0.00 | £285,852.00 | £11,499.00 | £297,351.00 |
East Ayrshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £134,602.21 | £111,834.00 | £246,436.21 |
North Ayrshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £144,256.06 | £28,437.60 | £172,693.66 |
South Ayrshire | £120,000.00 | £93,658.00 | £204,350.00 | £25,200.00 | £443,208.00 |
Clackmannanshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £154,468.00 | £0.00 | £154,468.00 |
East Dunbartonshire | £60,000.00 | £252,771.40 | £324,659.03 | £25,198.80 | £662,629.23 |
East Renfrewshire | £0.00 | £185,751.80 | £436,581.00 | £89,498.00 | £711,830.80 |
Falkirk | £51,165.48 | £0.00 | £353,921.00 | £27,500.00 | £432,586.48 |
Glasgow City | £130,000.00 | £586,127.60 | £1,286,187.01 | £168,160.00 | £2,170,474.61 |
Inverclyde | £31,093.50 | £0.00 | £222,936.93 | £0.00 | £254,030.43 |
North Lanarkshire | £0.00 | £154,718.00 | £575,597.99 | £0.00 | £730,315.99 |
Renfrewshire | £0.00 | £148,558.00 | £273,222.00 | £67,507.30 | £489,287.30 |
South Lanarkshire | £152,629.00 | £152,001.10 | £815,437.47 | £100,186.60 | £1,220,254.17 |
Stirling | £97,000.00 | £0.00 | £790,167.00 | £22,700.00 | £909,867.00 |
West Dunbartonshire | £0.00 | £0.00 | £119,368.00 | £23,149.00 | £142,517.00 |
Grand Total | £1,204,544.54 | £2,961,871.54 | £13,977,863.59 | £1,373,216.80 | £19,517,496.47 |
Tables 2 and 3 below give a breakdown of payments under the Plugged-in Communities schemes, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023. Table 2 reflects payments to Community Transport Organisations, and Table 3 reflects payments to car clubs.
Table 2: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Community Transport Organisations, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | Amount Paid | Community Transport Organisation. |
Highland | £83,603.70 | Wheels in Nairnshire |
Orkney | £80,856.00 | Island of Hoy Development Trust |
Argyll and Bute | £66,638.00 | Ross of Mull and Iona Community Trust |
Highland | £67,371.40 | Transport for Tongue |
Aberdeen | £76,535.00 | Clan Cancer Support |
Dumfries and Galloway | £46,000.00 | Galloway Community Transport |
Aberdeen | £76,535.00 | Camphill School Aberdeen |
West Lothian | £41,979.80 | The Larder (West Lothian) |
Dumfries and Galloway | £71,040.00 | Annandale Community Transport |
Highland | £8,400.00 | Connect Assynt |
Total | £618,958.90 | |
Table 3: Plugged-in Communities, Grants to Car Clubs, payments in financial year 22-23 to 28 February 2023 |
Local Authority Area | Amount Paid | Car Club |
Aberdeen | £13,801.68 | Grampian Housing Association |
Renfrewshire | £3,375.00 | Linstone Housing Association |
Glasgow | £9,201.12 | Queens Cross Housing Association |
Glasgow | £15,335.14 | Glasgow Housing Association |
Aberdeen | £10,351.25 | Osprey Housing Association |
Fife | £19,584.00 | Ore Valley Housing Association |
City of Edinburgh | £39,168.00 | Blackwood Group |
Total | £110,816.19 | |
