Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-07058

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it encourages British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders from Hong Kong to resettle in Scotland, what information it has on how many have done so in the last five years, and how such numbers can be monitored.

Yes, Scotland is a welcoming nation and tose who decide to come to Scotland from Hong Kong and elsewhere will be welcomed for the positive contribution they will bring to our communities, economy and society. The Scottish Government have published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website and linked to the Moving to Scotland website.

The British National (Overseas) visa scheme was launched on 31 January 2021 and as of the end of December a total of 103,900 applications have been received. The Home Office have said it does not publish location data, have it in the immediate underlying data or collect intended locations for Hong Kong applicants. They have completed a small scale survey of British National (Overseas) visa holders which indicates 2% intend to settle in Scotland but due to the small sample size were unable to provide any further data. The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government for further information on numbers.

Question reference: S6W-07009

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on capacity at substations for connections for renewable projects over 50Kw.

The capacity of any substation within Scotland’s Network distribution licence areas is directly available to the public for the higher voltages sections of the network and by enquiry for the low voltage domestic end.

Information on this can be found at – Long Term Development Statement - SP Energy Networks and Detailed Long term development statements - SSEN.

Further information on the capacity for primary substations is published in a distribution heat map at Distributed Generation Heat Maps for SP Energy Networks and at Network Maps for SSEN. Along with connection quotations that are available to all stakeholders.

All enquiries can be made at Getting Connected - SP Energy Networks and Our Services - SSEN .

Question reference: S6O-00877

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of removing rates relief on small businesses after the first quarter of 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-06453

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to legislate regarding “Ready to Burn” certification for firewood and briquette suppliers, and when will any such legislation come into force.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to introduce such legislation. However our new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' sets out a series of actions intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026. Amongst these actions are several which focus on reducing emissions from domestic fuel combustion.

An expert working group, which met for the first time in January 2022, has been established to advise the Government on taking forward these actions. Further information will be made publicly available as this work proceeds.

Question reference: S6W-06928

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Care Commission plays in the distribution of (a) public and (b) private funds across care homes.

The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (the Care Inspectorate) was established on 1 April 2011 following the commencement of the Public Services Reform (Scotland Act) 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) and encompassed other bodies such as the Care Commission. The statutory role and functions of the Care Inspectorate are as set out in the 2010 Act and does not extend to a role in the distribution of public or private funding across care homes.

Question reference: S6W-06849

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what specific funding has been given to Aberdeenshire Council to help with clean-up costs associated with Storm (a) Arwen, (b) Malik, (c) Corrie and (d) Eunice.

The Scottish Government has activated the Bellwin Scheme which offers additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs that meet the qualifying criteria in the aftermath of emergency incidents such as the storms referenced. However, payments are only made once a local authority has exceeded its Bellwin Threshold which represents 0.2 per cent of their net revenue budget for the year in question, for Aberdeenshire Council this is £1,075,171. This is the amount that all local authorities are deemed to set aside to cover unforeseen emergencies

My officials are in regular contact with Aberdeenshire Council and the Council is aware that any interim Bellwin claim should be submitted to the Scottish Government within 4 months of the date of the incident. I can confirm that, to date, the Scottish Government have not yet received a Bellwin claim from Aberdeenshire Council.

However, in 2021-22, Aberdeenshire Council will receive £479.2 million to support local services, which includes an extra £19 million or 4.1 per cent to support services compared to 2020 21. Further funding of almost £521.3 million will be provided in 2022-23, which includes an extra £44 million or 9.2 per cent for vital day to day services.

Question reference: S6W-06763

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many metastatic breast cancer patients have had access to a clinical nurse specialist, in each of the last five years.

Information on the numbers of metastatic breast cancer patients who have had access to a breast cancer specialist nurse is not held centrally.

As part of the National Cancer Plan, we are providing up to £2.5 million to NHS boards to support 12 pilot programmes across Scotland to deliver a single point of contact for cancer patients. These points of contact will support patients throughout their journey to discuss questions or anxieties related to their clinical care from the point of diagnosis.

Question reference: S6W-06926

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how a complaint can be raised when private care homes are believed not to be providing proper services.

Anyone concerned about the standard of care provided by a registered service can raise a complaint with the Care Inspectorate, the independent scrutiny and improvement body for social care and social work across Scotland. The Care Inspectorate have a statutory duty to deal with complaints made about registered care services, including private care homes. Complaints upheld are published on the Care Inspectorate’s website.

Question reference: S6W-06929

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid to private care homes to deliver its care home strategy in each of the last 10 years, and when a review of these subsidies will take place.

Question reference: S6W-06755

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to support the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel in homes across Scotland.

The 2018 advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), our statutory advisers, was that over the next decade government policies should only support biomass use where this

a) provides cost-effective abatement whilst avoiding ‘lock-in’ to sub-optimal uses, and/or

b) develops key technologies and sustainable supply chains.

They recommend that we limit support for bioenergy use in buildings to biomethane produced from anaerobic digestion and other niche uses (as part of hybrid heat pumps systems in hard to treat off-gas homes, local combined heat and power systems and small-scale district heat networks) - whilst minimising air quality impacts.

Overall, the Scottish Government’s aim is to see bioenergy used where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions. We are currently working to understand the most appropriate and sustainable use of bioresources across the whole energy system in Scotland and intend to publish a Bioenergy Action Plan in 2023.

Biomass in a low-carbon economy - Climate Change Committee (theccc.org.uk)

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