Questions and answers

Question reference: S5F-00622

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2016

To ask the First Minister how much the Scottish Government has allocated to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency in this parliamentary session.

Question reference: S5W-04976

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the outcome of Rio Tinto's strategic review of the Lochaber assets.

Rio Tinto informed its workforce and the Stock Exchange this morning (Wednesday 23 November 2016) that it had reached agreement to sell its shareholding in Alcan Aluminium UK. This comprises the aluminium smelter at Fort William, two hydroelectric facilities as well as all associated land. The announcement marks the culmination of the strategic review announced in January 2016.

The last ten months have been an anxious wait for the workforce and all those whose livelihoods in the Lochaber community depend on the business. The sale to the GFG Alliance (SIMEC and Liberty House) is great news for the local community and especially for the workers at the Fort William smelter. Subject to final agreement which is expected next month, this deal safeguards over 150 jobs and has the potential to create hundreds more.

Question reference: S5O-00346

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to people from Scotland who are engaged in legal proceedings in jurisdictions outside Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-00196

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to upgrade primary school buildings in the Highlands.

The 1980 Education (Scotland) Act places a statutory responsibility on local authorities to provide and maintain schools across Scotland.

However, through this Government's Schools for the Future programme we are currently replacing three primary schools, Craighill, Knockbreck and St Duthus as part of a new 3 to 18 Campus in Tain including Tain Royal Academy. Further to this we are also replacing another three secondary schools in Highland as part of a significant investment package of almost £63million to the Council, the second largest beneficiary from the programme.

Question reference: S5W-02646

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on promoting opportunities for 18 to 23-year-olds to experience overseas voluntary work.

The Scottish Government's International Development Fund (IDF) began in 2005, with a budget of £3 million for Malawi. In 2008, the IDF was increased and now has a budget of £9 million per annum, currently supporting projects in our seven priority countries of Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the three poorest states in India. These projects cover a range of themes, including health, education, economic development, renewable energy, civic governance, water and sanitation.

The Scottish Government has previously supported volunteers from Scotland to work in its priority countries, from the IDF. This includes funding to support a partnership between VSO and NHSScotland in finding ways to encourage NHSScotland health professional staff to consider volunteering overseas, to support Malawi and other Sub Saharan African countries to sensitively and holistically tackle their human resource crises. More recently, the Scottish Government provided match funding from the IDF to the McConnell International Foundation for their Livingstone Volunteers 2016 scheme, which helps support the fundraising efforts of young Scots (15-19 year olds), from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are in care or recently left care or those with a disability, who have the chance to volunteer in Africa, but are struggling to meet the costs.

Question reference: S5F-00232

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2016

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will achieve 100% broadband rollout across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-01623

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many churches are powered by renewable energy.

We do not hold information directly regarding churches and their energy sources and this information might best be sought from central contacts for each denomination in Scotland. However, the Energy Saving Trust has supported four churches with funding to install renewable technologies through the Resource Efficient Scotland SME loan while other groups, such as Eco-congregations, have been active in the promotion of renewable energy through engagement with a number of Climate Challenge Fund projects.

Question reference: S5W-01622

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many homes were powered by renewable energy in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, we do have some information that may be useful. The reply refers to electricity and heat, both of which can be generated from renewable sources.It is estimated that, in 2015, Scotland generated enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of around 4.6 million households - close to double the number of households in Scotland. A year earlier, in 2014, this figure was just over 4 million households. Provisionally, 56.9% of Scotland’s gross electricity consumption came from renewables in 2015.Figures published by the Energy Saving Trust in October 2015, on behalf of the Scottish Government, estimate over 1 gigawatt of renewable heat capacity was in operation in Scotland in 2014. This accounts for an estimated 3.8 per cent of the total non-electrical heat demand.The Scottish Government does not hold a complete dataset of the number of homes heated from renewable sources. Latest data on the number of domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) accreditations in Scotland, which represents a proportion of renewably heated homes, shows there have been 10,280 accreditations to the domestic RHI scheme from April 2014 (when the scheme commenced) up to end of June 2016. This equates to 21% of all UK installations as at end of June 2016.Further information is also available in the Energy Saving Trust’s Renewable Heat Report. Additionally a proportion of homes are heated via district heating supplied with renewable heat. Further data on the scale of deployment of district heating is expected later this year.It should be noted that renewable generated energy will be used both domestically and non-domestically

Question reference: S5W-01118

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 12 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in the Highlands and Islands are powered by renewable energy.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, the following information may be useful. The reply refers to electricity and heat, each of which can be generated from renewable sources.

It is estimated that in 2015, Scotland generated enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of around 4.6 million households, which is close to double the number of households in Scotland. Provisionally, 56.9% of Scotland’s gross electricity consumption came from renewables in 2015.

Figures published by the Energy Saving Trust in October 2015, on behalf of the Scottish Government, estimate over 1 gigawatt of renewable heat capacity in operation in Scotland in 2014. This accounts for an estimated 3.8% of the total non-electrical heat demand.

The Scottish Government does not hold a complete dataset of the number of homes heated from renewable sources. The latest data on the number of domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) accreditations shows that the Highland local authority area has the largest proportion of accredited domestic RHI installation in Scotland totalling 1,751 installations. This equates to 17% of all Scottish installations as at end of June 2016.

It should be noted that renewable-generated energy will be used both domestically and non-domestically.

Question reference: S5W-01621

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in compiling the Land Register of Scotland.

Registration of the Scottish Governments’ land and property in the Land Register of Scotland is underway. Currently 21% of the Scottish Governments’ eligible land and property has been registered; applications for a further 12% have been submitted to Registers of Scotland. The Scottish Government aims to have 70% of its land and property registered by the end of 2016 with all of its relevant property registered by the end of 2018, within the five year target for registration of public land.

Tell us your views

Seòmar agus comataidhean