Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-29184

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum capacity is per year of wind turbines that can currently be manufactured in Scotland.

The large pipeline of offshore wind projects under development in Scotland offers a significant manufacturing opportunity. We are already seeing significant progress in this regard. Sumitomo’s £350 million high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturing plant in the Highlands is a significant step which will address a major supply chain constraint for offshore wind projects. The factory will bring manufacturing capability to Scotland to support the offshore wind sector and will create hundreds of good, green jobs.

Whilst Scotland currently has no wind turbine manufacturing facilities, Scotland’s strong specialised SME base, offshore installation services, advanced port infrastructure, operations and maintenance expertise, word-class engineering capabilities and highly-skilled offshore energy workforce make Scotland a prime location for offshore wind manufacturing facilities.

The Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which was signed with the onshore wind sector in September 2023, contains a series of commitments that promote supply chain opportunities, including the circularity of wind turbine blades. The onshore wind sector has committed to the delivery of at least one blade treatment facility in Scotland by 2030.

Question reference: S6W-29182

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with Shell and Scottish Power, which are jointly developing the CampionWind and MarramWind projects, regarding reported comments that "it is evident that significant investment will be required into Scottish facilities to prepare the Scottish market for the pipeline of projects which will be developed through ScotWind leasing".

The Scottish Government regularly engages with key stakeholders involved in ScotWind projects, including a recent developer roundtable which I chaired on 13 August 2024, at which CampionWind and MarramWind were both represented. The roundtable included discussions on the need for targeted investment to ensure that the Scottish market is prepared for the pipeline of projects which will be developed through the ScotWind leasing round.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the offshore wind industry and maximising the significant opportunities to attract inward investment, generate green jobs and grow our regional and national economies. To that end, we are continuing to engage in crucial public sector and industry partnerships such as the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), and we support the industry-led Strategic Investment Model.

Question reference: S6W-29185

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Renewables regarding reports that "significant investment" is required to make the most of "an unprecedented opportunity to grow the renewable energy supply chain in Scotland and to establish the facilities we will need to manufacture and supply the components for wind turbines", and whether Scottish Renewables has provided it with a figure for such investment.

The Scottish Government holds regular discussions with key stakeholders in the renewable energy industry, including Scottish Renewables.

We remain committed to ensuring projects are supported to deliver maximum economic benefits. This includes investing up to £500m over the next five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland. Our commercial first approach will stimulate private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to the growth of our world-leading offshore wind sector. Sumitomo’s £350 million high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturing plant in the highlands is a significant step which will address a major supply chain constraint for offshore wind projects.? Investment into the sector will support market certainty, create a highly productive, competitive economy, provide thousands of new jobs, embed innovation and boost skills.

In addition, the Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which was signed with the onshore wind sector in September 2023, contains a series of commitments that promote supply chain opportunities, including the circularity of wind turbine blades. The onshore wind sector has committed to the delivery of at least one blade treatment facility in Scotland by 2030.

Question reference: S6O-03746

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop local flood plans, including natural flood prevention measures.

Question reference: S6W-29128

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28067 by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2024, whether it will provide details of how exactly it enabled "all parties to achieve what they required from the sale and purchase of the business", and whether or not the transaction would have proceeded without Scottish Government ownership.

The Scottish Government’s involvement in the transaction helped secure the earliest realisation of the commercial and wider economic benefits of the deal, and the selected structure was agreed by all parties.

The statement given by the then Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise to the Scottish Parliament on 15 December 2021 highlighted that one clause in the 2016 transaction, an indemnity from Scottish Ministers to Longs Steel (Tata Steel took over the business), is no longer valid.

Question reference: S6W-29127

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28058 by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2024, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence Scottish Enterprise has had regarding the repayment of the loan since 2022.

Question reference: S6W-29129

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28065 by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2024, whether it will clarify the reasons for the selected structure being the best available structure.

Question reference: S6W-29180

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any public money will be provided to support Vestas with its reported plans for a facility to construct turbine blades in Leith, inside the Forth freeport zone.

Our fast-growing offshore wind industry provides us with significant opportunities to attract inward investment, generate green jobs and grow our regional and national economies, not least in our Green Freeport areas in Inverness and Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth.

There is a range of public sector commercial and grant funding avenues, alongside other dedicated support, available to all potential inward investors, including Vestas. We work closely with partner organisations to make sure companies are aware of these and can access them easily.

For example, investors at Green Freeport tax sites can benefit from a range of devolved and reserved tax reliefs which would constitute revenue forgone by UK and Scottish Government respectively.

Question reference: S6W-29181

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to count any components fabricated outside the UK and shipped to the UK for assembly towards the £16 billion to fund manufacturing and fabrication of turbines and offshore infrastructure in Scotland, as pledged by the energy companies who won offshore contracts through the ScotWind auction in 2022.

The Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) process has been carefully designed and is managed by Crown Estate Scotland. It requires developers to outline their initial commitments to the Scottish supply chain across four project phases - development, manufacturing and fabrication, installation and operations & maintenance.

We welcome developers’ commitments to invest an average projection of £1.5bn per project on the 20 ScotWind projects.

Question reference: S6W-29176

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported comments that it is committing "£500 million to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland", how much of this money has been spent to date, and how many additional jobs it has supported.

We are kick-starting our commitment to invest up to £500m to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland with investment of £67 million in the sector this financial year. This investment will support market certainty, helping to create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy that provides thousands of new jobs, embeds innovation and boosts skills. We are working across public sector delivery partners to ensure that the funding is delivered to projects as quickly as possible subject to rigorous due diligence and value for money assurance processes.