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: S4W-18522

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 5 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether not (a) collecting and (b) publishing data on (i) salmon mortalities and (ii) sea lice infestations at salmon farms could have an impact on the marine environment, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

<>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) collects and publishes data on mortalities as part of the Agency’s contribution to the Scotland’s Aquaculture Database http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk. This web-based resource provides detailed information on fish farms from datasets held by Marine Scotland, the Food Standards Agency (Scotland), The Crown Estate as well as SEPA.

Scotland’s aquaculture stocks are internationally recognised as having a high health status, maintained by a regular inspection programme that includes the evaluation of mortality and sea lice numbers by Marine Scotland’s Fish Health Inspectorate. The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation publishes quarterly Fish Health Management Reports which provide data on sea lice from fish farms over 30 recognised wild fish catchments. Marine Scotland Fish Health Inspectors are able to visit farms within each of the 30 catchments to drill down into the causes of infestation at a higher level of granularity and the 2013 Act delivered additional powers to sample fish where this is justified. The Scottish Government supports these voluntary management reports and regards them as balanced, proportionate and helpful as regards public transparency. The Government has committed to keep these voluntary publication arrangements under review and through the 2007 Act retains powers to legislate on data provision in relation to sea lice numbers if the voluntary reporting arrangements do not operate as expected.

Question reference: S4W-18521

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 4 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency plans to (a) collect and (b) publish data on (i) salmon mortalities and (ii) sea lice infestations at salmon farms.

<>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) collects and publishes data on mortalities as part of the agency’s contribution to the Scotland’s Aquaculture Database http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk. This web-based resource provides detailed information on fish farms from datasets held by Marine Scotland, the Food Standards Agency (Scotland), The Crown Estate as well as SEPA.

SEPA collects such mortality data to assist in fulfilling duties under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. SEPA places limits on the maximum biomass of fish that can be held at marine cage fish farms to ensure that polluting potential does not exceed the environmental capacity. Data on fish mortality is useful in gauging compliance with licences issued under the regulations.

SEPA does not collect or publish data on sea louse infestations at salmon farms. This issue relates to fish health and as such is, instead, handled by Marine Scotland’s Fish Health Inspectorate.

Question reference: S4W-18496

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17590 by Margaret Burgess on 14 October 2013, when in November the final report and research findings will be published.

Question reference: S4W-18478

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18026 by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 November 2013, whether it will set out how the risk management section of the Scottish Public Finance Manual applies to fuel poverty targets.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) risk management section is directly applicable to the ongoing monitoring of the fuel poverty targets. It states that ‘effective risk management should improve policy and decision making, reduce fire fighting and focus resources more effectively’.

The Scottish Government's risk framework is designed to provide a straightforward methodology to help manage risk effectively and it follows five distinct phases: clarifying objectives; identifying risks; assessing risks; addressing risks; and reviewing and reporting risks. The Home Energy Efficiency Programmes

for Scotland have risk registers set up which are based on the SPFM criteria and are used to monitor progress towards the outcomes set out for these programmes, including tackling fuel poverty.

Question reference: S4W-18523

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned on whether the reported increase in amoebic gill disease at salmon farms since 2003 is related to an increase in imports of salmon ovum.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned research into amoebic gill disease that relates to increased imports of salmon ova. However, Marine Scotland Science has developed a programme of research on amoebic gill disease, and further research has been commissioned through the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum. Earlier this year, an international meeting of Government officials, scientists and industry focussed on amoebic gill disease and gill health at the University of Stirling.

Question reference: S4O-02598

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of the national 5 and higher mathematics unit assessments.

Question reference: S4W-18038

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17593 by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 October 2013, for what reason it has not replicated the functions of the Social Security Commissioners.

Question reference: S4W-18027

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17283 by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 October 2013, what assessment it has made of whether it will eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.

The Scottish Government has a statutory duty, ‘to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that people are not living in fuel poverty in Scotland by November 2016’.

We are committed to helping Scottish families heat their homes affordably and we are doing everything with the limited powers we have to do so. We currently only have control over one of the contributing factors to fuel poverty; the energy efficiency of Scottish dwellings and we are continuing to provide government funding for energy efficiency and fuel poverty programmes.

There is already a marked difference in approach between the Scottish and UK Governments in tackling fuel poverty. The UK Government has reduced its public funding of energy efficiency and fuel poverty schemes, in preference to private sector led approaches.

We will continue to monitor progress towards the 2016 target through the fuel poverty statistics published in the annual Scottish House Condition Survey. The next survey will be published later this year.

If elected, in an independent Scotland, this government will move the costs associated with the Energy Companies Obligation and Warm Home Discount from levies on consumers bills to central resources. This would cut energy bills by roughly 5% or £70 a year and would allow a new means of funding and delivering energy efficiency improvements to Scottish homes that is fairer and better suited to our needs.

The additional powers offered by independence would provide greater flexibility to create Scottish-specific solutions to be created enabling us to better tackle fuel poverty and the reduction of carbon emissions.

Question reference: S4W-18026

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17283 by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 October 2013, whether it has undertaken a risk analysis of whether it will eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.

Question reference: S4W-17750

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17159 by Shona Robison on 3 October 2013, what specific action is being taken to tackle poverty and deprivation in black and minority ethnic communities.

We are committed to tackling the long-term drivers of poverty through early intervention and prevention. In Spring 2014, we will publish a revised Child Poverty Strategy which will focus on maximising household resources and improving children’s wellbeing and life chances.

The Scottish Government has made a number of commitments which will help maximise incomes for households in Scotland. For example, we have allocated
£40 million in partnership with local government to plug the gap in funding for Council Tax Benefit successor arrangements in 2013-14 and ensure that over 500,000 vulnerable people are protected from UK Government funding cuts. The Equality Statement on the Scottish Draft Budget 2014-15 highlights that because of the demographic differences between ethnic groups, ethnic minorities are particularly likely to benefit from such income-related commitments.