Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-00810

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance is available to farmers and landowners who wish to preserve and increase the existing stock of grey partridge on their land.

Although the Scottish Government’s Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) does not have any options specifically for grey partridge, it does provide funding for options that benefit the habitats of grey partridge, namely:

Beetlebanks,
Creation of Hedgerows,
Management or restoration of existing hedgerows,
Forage Brassica Crops for Farmland Birds,
Grass Strips in Arable Fields
Retention of Winter Stubble for Wildlife and Water Quality
Species Rich Grassland Creation and Management
Species Rich Grassland Management only
Stubbles followed by Green Manure in an Arable Rotation
Unharvested Conservation Headlands for Wildlife
Wild Bird Seed for Farmland Birds

The Scottish Government has committed to spending £66.16m towards these options from 2016 through to 2025. 1,838 businesses have these options in their AECS contracts, with over 29,000 Ha due to be managed throughout Scotland in 2021.

Further information about the scheme and how to apply can be found at Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ruralpayments.org)

Question reference: S6W-00399

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what area of land Forestry and Land Scotland and its predecessor, Forest Enterprise Scotland, has disposed of in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by how much was raised.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and its predecessor Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) has sold the following under the New Woodland Investment Programme (2021 - 2017) / Repositioning Programme (2007 – 2016). The figures in the following table include 6,598 hectares sold / transferred to communities and NGO’s under the National Forest Land Scheme and Community Asset Transfer Scheme:

Financial Year	Area (Ha)	Proceeds (£)
2007-2008	2,960.35	6,957,864
2008-2009	2,906.41	12,316,593
2009-2010	5,418.28	14,505,670
2010-2011	6,635.73	12,057,479
2011-2012	5,795.61	14,922,765
2012-2013	3,592.35	10,464,333
2013-2014	4,826.25	14,468,081
2014-2015	1,061.07	4,285,000
2015-2016	9,244.82	15,669,100
2016-2017	2,474.40	3,658,000
2017-2018	1,786.66	7,301,089
2018-2019	1,911.30	5,755,656
2019-2020	1,628.23	14,572,952
2020-2021	1,914.85	5,523,000
Totals	52,156.31	142,457,582

Excluded are sales of ‘surplus’ assets, typically buildings and small parcels of land, sold under the Rationalisation policy.

The funds for disposals have been used for the following:

Acquiring land for planting;
Cost of woodland creation;
Maintenance and management of new woodland creation;
Starter Farms initiative;
Transaction and programme costs both for acquisitions and disposals.

The New Woodland Investment programme was closed at the end of FY 20-21 and there will be no further land sales as part of the programme. Further acquisitions / residual obligations (to cover future costs as detailed above) remain to be discharged over the following four year period.

As announced as part of last year’s Capital Spending Review, FLS were allocated £30M of capital funding over the next five years (starting in FY 21-22) to purchase land for woodland creation and expansion of Scotland’s national forests and land.

The woodland sold by FLS / FES remains managed as woodland. Using the proceeds to subsequently purchase and plant additional land has ensured that the area of woodland in Scotland continues to increase.

Question reference: S6W-00407

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what area of land Forestry and Land Scotland and its predecessor, Forest Enterprise Scotland, has purchased in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by (a) how much this cost and (b) what area has subsequently been planted for woodland creation.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and its predecessor Forest Enterprise Scotland have acquired the following under the New Woodland Investment Programme (2017 - 2021) / Repositioning Programme (2007 – 2016):

Financial Year	Area (Ha)	Price (£)	Woodland Created (Ha)
2007-2008	2,855.80	8,150,900	30.00
2008-2009	2,112.00	9,624,000	890.00
2009-2010	423.43	1,920,491	740.00
2010-2011	3,039.98	9,572,600	840.00
2011-2012	2,039.15	10,722,001	1,320.00
2012-2013	2,804.34	7,816,050	850.00
2013-2014	490.38	2,397,290	620.00
2014-2015	2,623.09	8,398,500	400.00
2015-2016	1,447.50	670,000	710.00
2016-2017	6.10	90,101	1,060.00
2017-2018	1,163.78	4,495,101	870.00
2018-2019	2,105.46	1,788,154	1,030.00
2019-2020	1,043.13	2,928,137	270.00
2020-2021	1,401.83	4,808,469	542.00
Total	23,555.97	73,381,794	10,172.00

Sites acquired can vary in cost per hectare depending on the location, type of land (bare land or land with forestry and buildings), and potential constraints therefore a higher cost does not mean necessarily more land. The range can be from around £3,000 per hectare for restored Vacant and Derelict Land to over £10,000 per hectare for better quality bare land with minor constraints.

In addition to sites acquired specifically for woodland creation, funds from forest sales have also been used for strategic acquisitions of established forests, typically where they abut existing landholdings (for example the 2,340ha of nationally important Caledonian Pinewoods acquired at the heart of the Cairngorms), the Woodlands In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme and the Starter Farms programme.

Please note that statistics for the area of sites acquired which have been planted are not available directly as such plantings are aggregated with new woodland created on the existing estate.

It should also be noted that there is a lag of several years between the acquisition of a site and its subsequent planting. This is due to the forest planning (including approval) process and to integrate planting of new sites with the restocking of existing harvested sites.

In agreement with Scottish Ministers, the New Woodland investment programme was closed at the end of FY 20-21 - the winding up process for this is likely to take up to five years due to residual obligations and commitments.

Question reference: S6W-00248

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a colony of honeybees having to be destroyed in the Stanley area of Perthshire due to the discovery of a hive at an apiary being infected with American Foulbrood (AFB), how common is AFB in Scotland, and what measures it is taking to limit how often it occurs.

American foulbrood (AFB) is a notifiable disease of honey bees. Figures of the disease incidence in GB are publically available in BeeBase, the database used by Scottish Government and the National Bee Unit in England and Wales. Last season in 2020, AFB was found in 8 honey bee colonies in 5 different apiaries.

Since 2015 there has been 60 honey bee colonies diagnosed with AFB in Scotland.

For context the number of inspections in Scotland recorded in BeeBase varies between 3,000 and 8,000 per year and there are currently 2830 beekeepers with a total of 17,783 honey bee colonies in 3,754 apiaries registered.

The Scottish Government takes the matter of honey bee health extremely seriously. Our honey bee health team continues to work with the affected beekeepers on disease control measures and has established a surveillance area to detect possible spread of disease to other colonies.

Although AFB has been historically present in Scotland, the work of the Scottish honey bee health team has achieved a significant reduction in the incidence and spread of the disease in Scotland. Unfortunately, as the causative bacterium is spore forming it can remain dormant on infected equipment and outbreaks continue to occur.

Beekeepers have a significant role to play in preventing and controlling disease within their apiaries and they have a legal obligation to report suspicion of a notifiable disease to their bee inspector. Training and education in biosecurity, good hygiene best practice and the ability to recognise diseases are essential aspects of beekeeping which are supported by Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6O-00004

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to address the problem of ice falling from the cables of the Queensferry Crossing.

Question reference: S5W-35688

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Perth Airport is not included in the Non Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, and what consideration it has given to excluding other similar-sized airports.

Question reference: S5T-02691

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the legal advice that it received regarding the judicial review into the handling of harassment complaints against the former First Minister, Alex Salmond.

Question reference: S5W-35013

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to raise from each sector from the Higher Property Rate in 2021-22.

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 maintains the most competitive non-domestic rates regime in the UK. This includes an extension to the COVID-19 relief for properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors, and newspaper publishing, for all of 2021-22. Therefore, unlike in other parts of the UK, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in Scotland will pay no rates irrespective of their rateable value and property rate in 2021-22.

In 2021-22 we plan to make the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation non-domestic rates relief application-based in order to ensure that the relief only goes to those eligible businesses that actually need it. This approach allows us to direct public support to those who need it most. Businesses who do not need this help will have the option not to apply, avoiding a repeat of the situation this year where we saw some relief beneficiaries reimbursing Scottish Government for the equivalent of the relief they received in 2020-21 due to the mandatory nature of the relief.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on industry sectors, therefore the following table shows a breakdown of estimated net income from the Higher Property Rate in 2021-22 by property class. Ratepayers who have repaid or have publicly committed to repaying the equivalent of the RHL relief applied in 2020-21 are assumed not to apply in 2021-22.

Class	Net HPR income (£m)
Advertising	0.07
Care Facilities	0.10
Communications	0.52
Cultural	0.01
Education and Training	8.72
Garages and Petrol Stations	0.41
Health and Medical	3.91
Hotels	0.22
Industrial Subjects	18.41
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	0.36
Offices	13.38
Other	2.05
Petrochemical	3.06
Public Houses	0.01
Public Service Subjects	4.25
Quarries, Mines, etc.	0.24
Religious	0.04
Shops	10.91
Sporting Subjects	0.01
Statutory Undertaking	23.67
Total	90.35

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 January 2021, Local Authority Billing Information

Figures are shown as £millions and may not sum due to rounding.

Relief data as at 1 July 2020.

Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property: for example, a property listed as a 'shop' may in fact be offering financial services. Eligibility for reliefs is defined by use of property, so a property listed on the Valuation Roll as a 'shop' may not necessarily be eligible for the RHL relief, but a property used as a retail shop would be eligible regardless of its Valuation Roll description.

Question reference: S5W-35012

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many premises in each sector will be liable for the Higher Property Rate in 2021-22.

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 maintains the most competitive non-domestic rates regime in the UK. This includes an extension to the COVID-19 relief for properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors, and newspaper publishing, for all of 2021-22. Therefore, unlike in other parts of the UK, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in Scotland will pay no rates irrespective of their rateable value and property rate in 2021-22.

The following table shows the estimated number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate in 2021-22 before any reliefs are awarded, broken down by property type (data on industry sectors is not available). We estimate that 4,490 properties liable for the Higher Property Rate will benefit from 100 per cent relief in 2021-22.

Class	Liable for HPR
Advertising	10
Care Facilities	340
Communications	60
Cultural	90
Education and Training	1,330
Garages and Petrol Stations	150
Health and Medical	310
Hotels	580
Industrial Subjects	2,480
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	520
Offices	1,840
Other	210
Petrochemical	70
Public Houses	200
Public Service Subjects	530
Quarries, Mines, etc.	40
Religious	30
Shops	2,950
Sporting Subjects	20
Statutory Undertaking	350
Total	12,110

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 January 2021.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Question reference: S5W-34988

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the prohibition of culling of mountain hares could have on the operation of licensed falconry on land with a significant hare population, and what consultation it had with operators before it introduced the prohibition.

From 1 March 2021, in order for NatureScot to consider granting a licence that includes falconry as a method of taking mountain hares an applicant will need to demonstrate that it is for a licensable purpose under Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. An example would be to prevent serious damage to timber or agriculture or for the conservation of natural habitats.

NatureScot has engaged with land management, conservation and welfare bodies, including representatives of the Scottish Hawk Board and other operators, to help develop their approach to the licensing regime for the culling of mountain hares.

Chamber and committees