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-15339

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to ensure that the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group makes a full assessment of the skills needs of (a) seafarers and (b) operators of ferry services in Scotland.

The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan is central to creating a future workforce that can support our transition to a net zero economy and ensure workers are equipped with the skills that employers will need in a green economy.

The Implementation Steering Group (ISG) for the Action Plan has an independent chair and is comprised of senior representatives from local government, public agencies, skills providers, and industry. The ISG currently has three sub-groups, including a transport sub-group which is exploring the skills required across the transport sector for the transition to net zero.

The ISG is not currently conducting a full assessment of seafarers and operators of ferry services in Scotland however could consider this as part of ongoing work.

Question reference: S6W-14579

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Forest Research study, Revised valuation of flood regulation services of existing forest cover to inform natural capital accounts, on the benefits of Scotland's woodlands in assisting with flood prevention measures, how it plans to incorporate the protection of woodlands, or the development of new woodland areas, into its land management plans.

It is not entirely clear as to which formal plans the questions refers, however the Bute House Agreement sets out our commitment to the introduction of a Land Reform Bill by the end of 2023. One of the proposals in the Bill is the introduction of compulsory Land Management Plans that will apply to large-scale landholdings. The public consultation on the Bill, ‘ Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation’ , was open from 4 July until the 30 October 2022, and received approximately 540 responses which are currently being analysed to inform the development of the proposals.

National Planning Framework 4, (NPF4) Policy 22 (e) - Flood Risk and Water Management, sets out a policy that Local Development Plans should seek to ‘ identify opportunities to implement improvements to the water environment through natural flood risk management and blue green infrastructure …’ by taking into account ‘relevant flood risk and river basin management plans.’ NPF4 Policy 6 also sets out that Local Development Plans will be ‘ supported and informed by an up to date Forest and Woodland Strategy’ . The Scottish Government guidance, The Right Tree in the Right Place contains advice to Local Authorities on preparing such Strategies, with direct reference to natural flood management as a suggested area for consideration. NPF4, and the Forest and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018, also set a framework for woodland protection.

In relation to forest management plans, advice on planning woodlands for flood mitigation benefits is included in the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and supporting guidance. Forest managers must follow this to receive grant aid from Scottish Forestry. New guidance was published in 2022; ‘ Designing and Managing Forests and Woodlands to Reduce Flood Risk’ . Forest and Land Scotland seek to follow the guidance as above in their own Land Management Plans for the public estate, and ensure appropriate consideration of flood mitigation.

Question reference: S6W-14555

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of land each NHS board (a) currently owns and (b) owned (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 20 years ago.

Question reference: S6W-14578

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any restrictions or controls are in place, during the transfer of land, in relation to protecting existing woodlands that are contributing to flood prevention measures.

Yes, the felling of trees is regulated through the issuing of Felling Permissions, under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018. Permission must be granted before felling, thinning or deforesting an area of woodland; the sale and transfer of land has no impact on this requirement. The potential effects on flood risk would be taken into account when assessing applications to fell trees.

Question reference: S6W-14556

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of land each local authority (a) currently owns and (b) owned (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 20 years ago.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that current ownership for each local authority is provided in the following table. This is provided from a combination of titles in the Land Register and General Register of Sasines, and as the areas held in Sasines are indicative rather than definitive it provides a best estimate.

Whilst it is possible to retrieve historic ownership details for specific plots of land, Scotland-wide views of the Land Register showing aggregate ownership by specific parties at five, 10, or 20 years ago are not maintained, and the nature of the General Register of Sasines means it is not feasible to retrieve historic ownership information en masse .

Local Authority	Area (hectares)
Aberdeen City	1,100
Aberdeenshire	764
Angus	825
Argyll and Bute	143
City of Edinburgh	1,434
Clackmannanshire	665
Dumfries and Galloway	454
Dundee City	523
East Ayrshire	645
East Dunbartonshire	325
East Lothian	854
East Renfrewshire	405
Falkirk	798
Fife	2,823
Glasgow City	1,622
Highland	1,164
Inverclyde	1,956
Midlothian	378
Moray	424
Na h-Eileanan an Iar	4
North Ayrshire	1,858
North Lanarkshire	7,018
Orkney Islands	417
Perth and Kinross	440
Renfrewshire	1,849
Scottish Borders	1,391
Shetland Islands	2,989
South Ayrshire	186
South Lanarkshire	3,653
Stirling	1,091
West Dunbartonshire	478
West Lothian	5,274
Total	43,949

Figures were current on 6 February 2023.

Question reference: S6W-14913

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding applicable safety standards to protect (a) offshore workers and (b) seafarers from Scotland working on internationally flagged vessels in waters over 12 nautical miles from the Scottish coastline.

The Scottish Government expects the highest safety and crew welfare and employment conditions for all workers employed in offshore and maritime industries.

Safety standards for offshore workers in the UK Continental Shelf are regulated in Great Britain by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and is a reserved matter for the UK Government. All relevant legislation was enacted prior to devolution.

Maritime safety is also a reserved competence of the UK Government undertaken by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The Maritime Labour Convention came into force in the UK on 7 August 2014. It sets out the minimum working and living rights for seafarers with the onus on operators.

Question reference: S6W-14865

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-13235 and S6W-13236 by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022, when it anticipates that (a) the report from the UK Animal Welfare Committee regarding the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter will be published and (b) any recommendations in the report will be implemented, following its completion.

Question reference: S6W-14344

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 13 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding a suspected fatality among workers on the Liberia-registered rig, Valaris 121, in the North Sea on 22 January 2022.

Question reference: S6F-01802

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023

To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of people being forced onto prepayment meters, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to support vulnerable people in Scotland with rising energy costs.

Question reference: S6W-14301

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) monitors and (b) records road traffic accidents that are caused by wild deer.