- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what advice Forestry Commission Scotland seeks from Scottish Natural Heritage, National Parks, conservation NGOs and other expert bodies before land is identified for disposal to ensure that its ability to be restored for priority species and or habitats is not overlooked.
Answer
Forestry Commission Scotland’s (FCS) repositioning programme started in 2007. The programme involves selling areas with low potential to deliver public benefits to invest in land for delivery of greater public benefits, such as the creation of urban woodland.
At the beginning of the programme all areas that were selected for sale were identified via a portfolio evaluation exercise.
The properties identified for sale had typically all or some of the following characteristics: relatively low levels of public access and use; relatively remote from significant communities and with limited or no community involvement; no significant natural and cultural heritage assets that would be put at risk by sale; no prominent landscape features that would be put at risk by sale; and likely to be expensive to manage and/or to generate low levels of income.
Prior to any sale FCS sends details of the area being considered for sale to the Scottish Government property controls team. This team alerts other government departments and also other NGOs including the Community Woodland Association, the Community Land Unit, Scottish Environment Link, National Trust for Scotland, RSPB, and Woodland Trust (Scotland), who are able to contact FCS directly with any concerns or opportunities.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 5 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24398 by Aileen McLeod on 19 February 2015, whether it will outline the policy options identified in each of the topic areas.
Answer
The policy options discussed at the Cabinet Sub Committee on Climate Change meeting in January 2015 are in development and decisions are still to be taken. I will publish proposals in due course.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how long patients with type 1 diabetes should have to wait for access to an insulin pump.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2015
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada to have on Scotland.
Answer
We do not expect the confirmed case of BSE in Canada to have any impact on Scotland.
Prior to the recent confirmed BSE case, Canada was listed as a controlled BSE risk country. The export health certificates for bovine, ovine and caprine meat already incorporate appropriate conditions so it should not be necessary for the EU or the UK to take any further action.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) action it is taking to monitor and (b) discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada.
Answer
Scottish Government officials continue to work with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on transmissible spongiform encephalopathy controls that impact the UK.
There have been no specific discussions on the recent confirmed BSE case in Canada. However, Canada is listed as having a controlled BSE risk and there are appropriate import conditions in place to protect public and animal health. Therefore it should not be necessary for the EU or the UK to take any further action.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote healthy personal relationships and sexual wellbeing for young people.
Answer
The sexual wellbeing of young people, and the importance of healthy personal relationships, is an issue which cuts across a number of Scottish Government policies.
Our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework acknowledges the importance of healthy and respectful relationships and sexual wellbeing for young people, and this informs a range of activities delivered under the framework.
The relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) element of Curriculum for Excellence is also key. Through the provision of RSHP, schools and other learning establishments support learning around the importance of positive healthy relationships.
Additionally, one of the considerations for the new teenage pregnancy and young parents strategy, which will be published later in 2015, will be the importance and impact of promoting healthy personal relationships and sexual wellbeing in young people.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what processes there are to recognise the value of natural flood management measures, such as wetland habitats, that are providing flood attenuation.
Answer
Under section 20 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has produced, and mapped, a high level strategic analysis of areas where the implementation of natural flood management measures would be most effective. This is the first ever national source of this information. The maps are indicative and identify the areas where more detailed assessments should take place. They include opportunities for runoff reduction and floodplain storage in wetlands. The outcome of the assessments, which will consider information such as the location and nature of flood risk, current land use, and existing protection, are being captured in flood risk management strategies as a recommended list of actions.
The SEPA natural flood management maps will also be considered as part of the land use planning process to ensure that natural attenuation opportunities, such as wetlands, are protected.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how the cost benefit analysis of flood risk management plans will support local authorities in reducing spending on flood alleviation projects that are shown to be of low benefit.
Answer
Cost benefit analysis is a decision support tool that will help to identify projects which maximise value for money in the reduction of flood risk. Within each flood risk management plan, actions to reduce flood risk will be given a priority based on ranking at a range of scales from national to local authority areas. These priorities will then be used by local authorities to determine when actions will be delivered. The delivery of actions set out in the plan must be the priority for local authorities, and any other planned actions to reduce flood risk cannot be taken forward at the expense of those prioritised in the plan.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what financial resources it will provide to support the implementation actions identified in flood risk management plans in 2016.
Answer
The Scottish Government provides funding of £42 million a year through the local government settlement until 2015-16, for local authorities to continue to invest in major new flood protection schemes. Local authorities were able to apply for this funding on the basis of criteria agreed by the Scottish Government and COSLA. After the last round of applications, all of the available funding until 2015-16 was allocated.
Local authorities are also free to allocate additional resources to flooding from within the overall funding provided to them by the Scottish Government and from within their own resources.
The Scottish Government and COSLA have set up a working group to agree a methodology for distributing the capital funding for flood protection from 2016 onwards in such a way as to ensure it will take account of the development of local flood risk management plans.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 March 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that natural flood management options and their long-term benefits are prioritised in the shortlist of potential actions identified for each potentially vulnerable area.
Answer
As part of the flood risk management planning process, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), working in partnership with local authorities and Scottish Water, will select the most sustainable actions to meet the agreed objectives for managing significant flood risks in each Potentially Vulnerable Area. These will be based on a high level appraisal of costs and impact. The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 then requires SEPA to prioritise those actions, together with an indicative date for delivery by flood risk management planning cycle:
Cycle 1 – Before 2022
Cycle 2 – 2022-27
After Cycle 2 – Beyond 2027
Where natural flood management measures have been selected as the most sustainable actions to meet the stated objectives, they will be included as part of the prioritisation process.
