Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-26194

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in reporting on Fair Start Scotland.

Fair Start Scotland (FSS), Scotland’s devolved employability support service is helping people, including those who are further removed from the labour market, to find work and stay in work.

Today we have published the first Fair Start Scotland Annual Report. It gives an overview of the first year of operation, highlighting the difference that the service is making to employers and communities, and more importantly, the people choosing to take advantage of the support Fair Start Scotland offers. The report sets out what is working well and also identifies improvements which the Scottish Government and its partners are working towards to further develop the support Fair Start Scotland offers.

We are also publishing Fair Start Scotland Evaluation Report 2: Overview of year 1. This is the second FSS evaluation report, and details the research that supports the first year of service delivery up to 31 March 2019.

In addition, we continue to publish statistical data relating to Fair Start Scotland on a quarterly basis. These publications are available on the Scottish Government website.

Question reference: S5T-01874

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report recommendation to introduce legislation to lawfully pilot a supervised drug consumption facility in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-25995

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the actions that it is taking to deliver its target to meet 11% of non-electrical heat demand from renewable sources by 2020.

I am pleased to announce that I have laid a report in Parliament today that provides an update on the actions that the Scottish Government is taking to reach our renewable heat target. The report is now available on the Scottish Government website (at https://www.gov.scot/9781839602726 )

An estimated 6.3% of non-electrical heat demand was met by renewable sources in 2018, an increase of 14% from 2017 figures. Renewable heat capacity also increased by 4%.

Since 2013, the Scottish Government has invested around £40 million in renewable heat schemes through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and the District Heating Loan Fund, helping to reduce emissions and tackle fuel poverty. It is encouraging to see that a number of projects have recently come on line and there are a number in the pipeline, which will contribute to an increasing proportion of our heat coming from renewable sources in the next few years. However, investment in renewable heat in Scotland slowed down as a result of UK Government changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which have caused uncertainty within the sector.

The Scottish Government recognises that we must go further to support and encourage the uptake of renewable heat. We recently launched the £30 million Scottish Low Carbon Heat Funding Invitation for local and industrial heat projects and are committed to working with stakeholders to develop regulations to ensure that new homes consented from 2024 use renewable or low carbon heat. We are now almost three quarters of the way towards our ambition to connect 40,000 homes to heat networks by 2020. Next year we will bring forward legislation for a Heat Networks Bill which will stimulate the market for heat networks, de-risking investment and increasing consumer awareness and acceptance.

In addition, next Summer we will publish a Heat Decarbonisation Policy Statement setting out a new pathway for reducing emissions associated with heating our buildings, in line with our climate change targets.

In addition to the report I laid today, the Energy Savings Trust have published the report Renewable Heat in Scotland 2018 , which provides further insight into these figures. The Energy Savings Trust report is now available at ww.energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-heat-scotland-2018 .

Question reference: S5O-03698

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the economy in the Renfrewshire South constituency.

Question reference: S5F-03635

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2019

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking Challenge Poverty Week.

Question reference: S5O-03617

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many fire stations have been supplied with pet oxygen masks by the organisation, Smokey Paws.

Question reference: S5W-25430

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 September 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 20 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of Fair Work First.

As set out in the Fair Work Action Plan we are taking a phased approach to the implementation of Fair Work First. Fair Work criteria is already being applied to a range of Scottish Enterprise business support grants; in the Scottish Government procurement process for a £400 million public contract for facilities management services; and to grants issuing through the Scottish Government’s Fair Work budget for 2019-20.

Today we have published in SPICe (Bib Number 60992) an implementation plan setting out the further steps we will take to ensure that, by the end of this Parliament, and wherever it is appropriate to do so, we will:

extend Fair Work criteria to every type of grant, funding stream and business support budget open to us, and
extend the range of Scottish Government and public sector contracts that Fair Work criteria will apply to.

Question reference: S5O-03557

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support St Andrew’s Day events this year.

Question reference: S5O-03477

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a no-deal Brexit could have on the agricultural sector in the Renfrewshire South constituency.

Question reference: S5W-24754

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when the Registrar General will publish the annual report for 2018.

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