- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35303 by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2025, what consideration it has given to the (a) application and (b) enforcement of the national minimum wage on (i) Inch Cape and (ii) other offshore wind farms leased by Crown Estate Scotland with the UK Government.
Answer
As stated in the answer to S6W-35303, employment legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament and there have been no discussions to date specifically on enforcement of the national minimum wage for Inch Cape or other offshore wind farms. As long as employment legislation remains reserved, the Scottish Government will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market, including in the offshore wind sector. We welcome the UK Government’s Employment Rights Bill and continue to work closely with them to ensure its positive application, whilst being clear that the best way to protect Scotland’s workers is to devolve employment law.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) Retrofit Fund has been allocated to be used for businesses in Aberdeen's LEZ since its introduction, and how much of that allocation was distributed to businesses.
Answer
£8,100,000 has been allocated to the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) Retrofit Fund in Scotland since 2020. There was no allocation per city in order to allow flexibility to respond to demand dependant on applications received each year.
26 applications for this funding have been received from businesses in the Aberdeen area. The majority of applications were rejected due to applicants not meeting the eligibility requirements. 4 applicants were eligible and offered funding, however only 2 accepted these offers. The amount received by these businesses to support retrofitting of vehicles to meet LEZ standards was £14,066 in total.
Over 98% of the vehicles retrofitted through this scheme have been taxis and mostly within Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lower demand retrofit funding in Aberdeen may be attributed to a combination of local taxi licencing conditions and vehicle eligibility, combined with an LEZ exemption for taxis in the city.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on its financial support of the Scottish Events Campus expansion project.
Answer
As substantial financial pressures persist, we are unable to confirm whether it is possible to provide financial support to fund the planned expansion of the Scottish Events Campus (SEC). However, we continue to be open to further engagement with the SEC, which has an excellent track record and reputation for hosting conferences, concerts and events, ranking highly as it does in the global Pollstar rankings and contributing to Scotland’s reputation as The Perfect Stage.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging communities to improve local tourism in their area.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37556 on 21 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when it will launch the consultation on the necessary secondary legislation needed for the implementation of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to enable distributed heat provision to benefit from the same statutory undertaker rights as any other licenced utility in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the imperative to put heat network developers on a similar statutory footing as other utility providers, and our Heat Network (Scotland) Act 2021 enables this.
My officials have been developing proposals for the requisite regulations and guidance to implement this part of the Act. However, we have not yet proceeded to consultation as we consider the implications of the UK Government’s developing plans for heat network regulation, as well as ensuring that the licensing authority can perform its functions in practice.
As such, my officials have been examining potential opportunities to amend proposals – and possibly the Act – to ensure we deliver a regulatory system which is proportionate, and which interoperates with related UK Government legislation to ensure the right networks are built where they can have most benefit and are operated in the right way.
Notwithstanding this, the intention remains to implement the special rights and powers which our Act foresees for Scottish heat network developers. My officials continue to carry out stakeholder engagement on proposals to implement this part of the Act.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether regulations have been made under section (a) 46 and (b) 47 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013.
Answer
The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Open-Ended Investment Companies) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 were made in exercise of the powers conferred by section 46 of the 2013 Act.
In respect of section 47 of the 2013 Act, no regulations have been made to date.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support volunteer-led community tourism in rural areas.
Answer
The Scottish Government, along with our tourism agency VisitScotland, acknowledges the significance of community tourism. VisitScotland has teams strategically located throughout rural Scotland that are instrumental in collaborating with regional stakeholders to identify local needs and opportunities.
Community Led-Tourism
- VisitScotland fully recognises and supports the unique role of community led tourism in Scotland. Community-led tourism enterprises deliver many visitor experiences and services across Scotland, making them an important part of the wider visitor economy. Such enterprises encompass a variety of inclusive ownership models and provide opportunities to generate community wealth. Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of the work that VisitScotland do to grow Scotland’s visitor economy including their work with Scottish Community Tourism (SCOTO) Community Tourism Network CIC, the organisation which connects Scotland’s network of community tourism enterprises.
Business & Experience Development
- VisitScotland’s business support programme is accessible for all tourism and events businesses in Scotland – including SMEs (majority of businesses in the sector) and community-led tourism organisations. Over time, VisitScotland will continue to give community tourism organisations access to practical information and resources to build capability and develop.
- Community tourism is integrated in the Scottish Thistle Awards programme, which celebrates and spotlights the best in Scotland’s best tourism and events sector.
- VisitScotland also promote enterprises of this type through their integrated marketing approach, showcasing the unique and enriching experiences visitors can have by engaging with communities.
Place Development
- VisitScotland’s focus on place ensures that the experiences and welcome offered by industry and communities in destinations are combined with the appropriate investment cases and infrastructure to address issues of quality, sustainability, inclusivity, capacity and drive net zero.
- As part of the place development work, VisitScotland manage the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) on behalf of Scottish Government. The fund aims to improve the visitor experience in rural parts of Scotland that are experiencing visitor management issues. In particular, it aims to help address pressure on local infrastructure or any negative impacts on communities.
- Since 2018 RTIF has awarded £20 million of grant funding to 75 projects. While RTIF criteria and assessment processes consider community issues and concerns arising from visitor pressure points, the purpose of RTIF is to fund visitor infrastructure which addressed visitor and community pressures arising from visitor numbers as opposed to a community fund to support purely local community needs or asks. Only National Park Authorities and Local Authorities can apply for RTIF funding, however more than 63% have done so in partnership with local community groups or third-party agencies and charities (RSBP, FLS, NTS etc.)
- Where community-based organisations are involved in RTIF projects, there are further opportunities to engage with those organisations, to assess the community tourism development opportunities associated with the creation of new tourism infrastructure. This would allow more community benefit and opportunity released from investment, in turn benefitting both visitor and resident.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has made of any impact that fire contaminants may have on the health of an unborn child.
Answer
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
- Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reducing the VAT rate that public electric vehicle chargers are subject to, in light of reports that this is one of the reasons why charging on rapid chargers can cost over 75p per kWh.
Answer
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recommendation by the Care Inspectorate, in its Guidance for children and young people’s services on the inclusion of transgender including non-binary young people, to “Use gender-inclusive language, such as ‘come on everybody’ instead of ‘come on boys and girls’”.
Answer
Answer expected on 3 June 2025
