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-14563

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many sites Forestry and Land Scotland has identified as suitable for the translocation of beavers, and by what date it anticipates that beavers will have been successfully translocated to these sites.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) have identified eight sites on Scotland’s national forests and land where within range translocations of beavers are considered to be ecologically feasible. We anticipate beavers to be moved to these sites after the kit dependency period in 2023.

A further three projects for range expansion translocations are at early stages of investigation and the number of suitable sites is as yet undetermined. It is expected these sites to be ready to accept beavers from 2024 onwards.

Question reference: S6W-14562

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps Forestry and Land Scotland has taken to support the implementation of Scotland's Beaver Strategy 2022-2045 in relation to actively expanding the beaver population into new areas.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is well placed to assist with the implementation of the Scottish Government policy to expand the range and size of the beaver population within Scotland over the next 10 years.

It is working closely with colleagues in Scottish Government land agencies, partners, and landowners/managers with an interest in actively expanding the beaver population into new areas within Scotland.

FLS is an active member of the newly formed Beaver Advisory Group, which has replaced the Scottish Beaver Forum.

Question reference: S6O-01919

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made toward increasing the availability of longer-term housing options for displaced people from Ukraine using the £50 million Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund.

Question reference: S6W-14557

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering expanding Low Emission Zones to cities beyond Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, in light of the latest reported figures on air quality from Friends of the Earth Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-01815

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether oil and gas companies are investing enough of their profits to support a just transition in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14777

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity extending Dr Colin Church’s position as chair of the independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland’s waste hierarchy, following his first report, Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury? Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, to enable him to consider options to decarbonise residual waste infrastructure in Scotland, whether it will provide an update on Dr Church’s second report.

Dr Colin Church submitted his Second Report on the Decarbonisation of Residual Waste Infrastructure in Scotland to Scottish Ministers on 16 December and we have published the Report today. The Report is available at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805254942 .

We are carefully considering the key findings and recommendations of Dr Church’s Second Report and will respond to these in March.

I would like to thank Dr Church for completing the independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14072

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12396 by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many young people have now received a free bus pass through the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority area, based on the latest information available.

The table below shows the number of cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme as of the end of the day on 31 December 2022, broken down to local authority level.

This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO support the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The table includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application.

Total	564,483
Aberdeen City	24,772
Aberdeenshire	27,427
Angus Council	10,432
Argyll & Bute	6,492
City of Edinburgh	69,071
Clackmannanshire	3,269
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	1,610
Dumfries and Galloway	9,724
Dundee City	19,440
East Ayrshire	15,400
East Dunbartonshire	9,885
East Lothian	12,573
East Renfrewshire	10,221
Falkirk	10,798
Fife	48,147
Glasgow City	60,225
Highland	16,660
Inverclyde	11,158
Midlothian	9,928
Moray	7,927
North Ayrshire	17,729
North Lanarkshire	34,805
Orkney Islands	1,540
Perth & Kinross	13,713
Renfrewshire	19,255
Scottish Borders	9,971
Shetland Islands	2,639
South Ayrshire	8,739
South Lanarkshire	34,508
Stirling	7,900
West Dunbartonshire	10,345
West Lothian	18,180

Question reference: S6W-14071

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12397 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many journeys have been completed by young people using a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, based on the latest information available.

Question reference: S6W-13648

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what priorities it has to support the long-term sustainability of Channel 4’s operations in Scotland.

While broadcasting is reserved, the Scottish Government wholeheartedly supports public service broadcasting and Channel 4’s important and distinctive role in that system. Channel 4 continues to deliver high quality outcomes for people in Scotland and we are committed to ensuring its ongoing sustainability.

I welcomed the recent announcement that the UK Government has reversed its unnecessary and ill-conceived proposals to privatise Channel 4. I will write to the Secretary of State to request further detail on the UK Government’s plans for Channel 4, and to press the importance of Channel 4’s place in the sector, delivering programmes in the public interest and driving creative innovation in Scotland. We will continue to closely monitor and argue for the strengthening and long-term sustainability of Channel 4’s operations in Scotland.

The Scottish Government supported the creation of a Channel 4 creative hub in Glasgow, bringing network commissioning responsibility to Scotland. We will continue to do everything we can, including through our engagement with the UK Government and Ofcom, to support an increasing presence of Channel 4 commissioners in Scotland, and to maintain and enhance Channel 4’s nations quotas to help improve local representation, develop our creative industries, and grow new Scottish talent.

Question reference: S6W-13551

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how changes to liquefied petroleum gas supplies in Scotland are affecting the fuel security of domestic customers.