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 MSPs 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-29347

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is committed to at least maintaining current funding levels for the Nature Restoration Fund during the remainder of the current parliamentary session, in light of the reported continuing loss of nature and the Fund's positive reputation amongst stakeholders.

Protecting and restoring our natural environment is key to addressing the twin crises of nature loss and climate change. Our commitment to the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), and to introduce a Natural Environment Bill which will set a framework for statutory targets to restore and protect nature, are reiterated in our most recent Programme for Government.

While capital funding of £5 million from this year’s NRF allocation to Local Authorities has been redirected to fund the public sector pay offer, it will be restored in 2025-26. The competitive strand of the NRF, administered by NatureScot, remains unaffected by this temporary reallocation of local authority funding.

Question reference: S6W-29346

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 23 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Nature Restoration Fund's contribution to maintaining populations in rural and island communities.

We remain firmly committed to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss across Scotland. However, we are also taking on very significant additional financial pressure following decisions made at a UK level, and the Finance Secretary has been clear that painful choices have had to be made. The Scottish Government will work with local authorities to understand and, where feasible within depleted resources, mitigate the impacts of this situation.

Question reference: S6W-29862

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the consultation process for the Firth of Clyde fisheries management for 2026 and 2027 will consider the health of the Clyde cod population, and, if so, how this will be monitored.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) provides annual advice on the population of Northern Shelf cod which currently includes the West of Scotland (6a) and the Clyde areas.

During the 2024 closure we enhanced our data collection in the Clyde and intend to share those findings and reflections on monitoring of the closure with stakeholders when available. We intend to continue the data collection programme in 2025. This along with the ICES advice will contribute to the evidence base and help inform a consultation on future management measures.

Question reference: S6W-29863

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28647 by Mairi Gougeon on 19 August 2024, what factors it will consider as part of the consultation process on fisheries management in the Firth of Clyde for 2026 and 2027.

We are open to considering if any factors are new and will make recommendations for future management on that basis. The consultation in summer 2025 will gauge public opinion on the closure in light of the best available evidence on environmental and socioeconomic factors to help us understand relative impacts to date, as well as those forecasted should the closure be maintained in the future.

We will also be publishing a report on the 2024 closure in due course which will contribute to the available consultation package.

Question reference: S6W-29794

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in the Programme for Government 2024-25 to consult on further protection measures for Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features, whether it will consult on fisheries management measures for both the remaining Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features before the end of 2024.

Putting in place the remaining fisheries management measures remains a top government priority. We want to achieve this as soon as possible, however developing the evidence based and effective fisheries management measures for over 180 sites is a complex and challenging process.

We launched the 8-week consultation on proposed fisheries management measures within Scottish 20 offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) on 19 August 2024.

Social, economic and environmental impact assessments are currently being undertaken for inshore MPAs and we will consult within the current Programme for Government timeframe.

Question reference: S6O-03757

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its 2024-25 Programme for Government to "consult on modernisation of the compulsory purchase system to help deliver a wide range of projects in the public interest", whether this consultation will include compulsory sale orders and compulsory rental orders in its scope.

Question reference: S6W-29343

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many private landlords on the Scottish Landlord Register have been found, over the past 10 years, to have not complied with their legal responsibilities to (a) provide an Energy Performance Certificate to the tenant and in any advertisement to rent the property, (b) issue a copy of the latest gas safety check to tenants within 28 days of the check being completed and (c) provide a copy of the electrical inspection condition report to the tenant, where legally required.

Question reference: S6W-29399

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the delivery of superfast broadband in rural areas, particularly in any places where mobile phone signal, data connectivity and broadband speed are extremely limited.

Despite the reserved nature of telecommunications in the UK, the Scottish Government has chosen to step in and make substantial investments in both broadband and mobile digital connectivity across Scotland.

The over-£600 million investment in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme is building upon our strong track record of delivery, with Scottish Government led programmes delivering improved broadband to over one million properties so far.

Through a rolling Open Market Review, the Scottish Government continuously monitors broadband coverage across Scotland. This process enables the identification of premises that are eligible for future publicly subsided interventions, including those to be delivered through the UK Government’s Project Gigabit broadband investment, for which the Scottish Government will act as contracting authority for local and regional procurements.

We also recognise how vital access to mobile connectivity is, especially in rural areas. We have recently published an evaluation of our £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill Programme, which has delivered 4G connectivity to 55 ‘notspots’ across rural and island Scotland, highlighting the transformational benefits that this new coverage is delivering to businesses and communities alike.

Question reference: S6W-29358

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use Tier 2 of the new agricultural support framework to support farmers and crofters to deliver on objectives around nature and climate improvement.

Tier 2 will deliver Enhanced support payment which is designed to be a universally accessible payment that supplements Base.

Funding will also be made available through Tier 2 for a replacement for Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS), where people are farming and crofting in the most marginal and challenging of circumstances. We are working with stakeholders on how best to deliver this type of support under the new Framework.

Enhanced has the clear purpose of incentivising and supporting agricultural businesses to undertake best practices and/or actions that actively improve nature and climate outcomes that are consistent with the transition towards sustainable and regenerative farming. Many of these practices and actions will improve business efficiency and productivity.

Enhanced will use levers to reward behaviours, practices and measures aligned to this aim, which are broad enough to allow all type of agricultural businesses to take part while delivering against the overarching objectives of the Vision.

Question reference: S6W-29345

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 16 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the Nature Restoration Fund's record so far, including the (a) total amount of funding awarded, (b) number of projects funded, broken down by (i) terrestrial and (ii) marine, (c) number of beneficiary organisations and (d) number of jobs created or posts funded by the Fund.

(a) To date, just over £51 Million has been awarded through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). This includes just over £32 Million awarded through the NRF competitive strand, just over £1.3 Million through NRF-funded Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) projects, and £18 Million provided directly to local authorities and National Parks, via the NRF Edinburgh Process strand, as of the end of the 2023-24 financial year.

(b) 220 projects have been offered competitive funding to date. This includes 192 projects through the NRF competitive strand and 28 NRF-funded SMEEF projects. (i) 162 were terrestrial or freshwater projects (ii) 30 were coastal and marine projects (plus the 28 NRF-funded SMEEF projects).

Additionally, local authorities and National Parks have supported further projects directly through their allocation from the NRF Edinburgh Process strand.

(c) 119 separate applicants have been offered funding from the NRF competitive strand or NRF-funded SMEEF projects. That does not include the 32 local authorities and 2 National Parks who have also benefitted from direct NRF funding, and will in turn have used their allocation to support projects led by other organisations (e.g. community groups, local charities).

(d) We do not hold information on the number of jobs created or posts funded by the NRF.