Chamber and committees

Following the passage of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill through Parliament, the Scottish Government will draft and consult stakeholders on subordinate legislation and guidance on the operation of the enforcement provisions in Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Bill.

The new range of enforcement measures, which received cross party support during passage of the Bill, will ensure that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) can make the right range of risk-based and proportionate interventions to tackle poor performance and environmental crime.

The measures will also help SEPA focus on supporting sustainable economic growth, improving the health and wellbeing of the Scottish population and protecting and improving the environment are key elements of its new statutory purpose introduced by the Bill.

The Scottish Government is working with SEPA and others to determine the best timetable for bringing these provisions into force. Subject to the Bill gaining Royal Assent, we currently envisage laying these instruments before the Scottish Parliament in early 2015 and for them to be enforceable shortly thereafter.

The Sea Eagle Management Scheme pays for positive management of sheep flocks, in order to reduce conflict with sea eagles. It does not pay compensation for lamb losses. The scheme ran for three years from 2011–13, and closed in summer 2013, but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will honour all agreements entered into under the Scheme. Through the scheme, SNH offered three-year management agreements (MAs) to land managers.

SNH received 70 applications, all of which resulted in management agreements being offered to the applicants.

Of those 70 management agreement offers, 62 have been accepted or concluded by the land manager and 7 agreements were rejected by the applicants. The final management agreement was only offered recently, so it is not known whether the land manager will accept the offer.

Of the 62 concluded agreements:

1 contains ‘special measures to reduce impacts from sea eagles’

2 contain ‘promotional measures’

4 contain ‘special measures to benefit sea eagles’

58 contain ‘sheep management measures’

(The numbers add up to more than 62 because some MA’s contain more than 1 element)

Of the 62 concluded agreements:

17 are with crofters / common grazings

9 are in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch

1 in Argyll and Bute

5 in Caithness Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)

2 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar

2 are with constituted community groups (these are the two ‘promotional measures’ agreements)

1 in Argyll and Bute (Mull)

1 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar

43 are with farms/ estates (i.e. not registered croftland)

31 in Argyll and Bute

9 in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch

3 in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)

SNH has commissioned a review and evaluation of the scheme, on behalf of the assessment panel, and this will be completed by the end of March 2014. It will help inform the design of a new scheme, along with advice/input from the Sea Eagle Stakeholder Group, which advised on the design of the current management scheme.

The expectation is that a new scheme will be launched in late spring 2014. The budget for this has not yet been agreed, nor has its scope and geographical extent. SNH look forward to working with key interested bodies including the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation over the coming months to design a scheme that best meets the needs of land managers and others with an interest in sea eagle management.

In the meantime, SNH will continue to provide advice and assistance to land managers concerned by sea eagle impacts on their livestock.

On 1 April 2013 the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland took on an expanded remit to reflect its role in providing independent investigations of serious incidents involving the police. The organisation became the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner. The following costs refer to the former Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland and include staffing and accommodation costs:

The initial Grant In Aid allocation for the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner for 2013-14 was £2,631,000.

Under a crop health activity, funded by the Scottish Government, which monitors Scottish crops for the presence of pests, weeds and diseases, staff at Scotland’s Rural College provide advice to farmers on integrated crop protection measures and on alternatives to pesticides, which should help to reduce reliance on their use.

The Scottish Government funds long-term research into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in agriculture and horticulture via its Strategic Research Programmes for Rural Affairs and the Environment 2011-2016. Current strategic research includes work on disease management programmes for raspberry and barley crops.

In addition to this direct financial support for research and knowledge exchange activities related to IPM, the research institutes involved, mainly The James Hutton Institute and Scotland's Rural College, are provided with funding to maintain and develop the necessary skills, expertise and facilities.

The Scottish Government also currently funds some shorter term research projects related to IPM via its Contract Research Fund in cooperation with other public funders and industry. Current projects include research on integrated control strategies in blackcurrant and potato crops.

An updated version of the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products in Scotland should be available by 2015, after the required consultations have been carried out.

In the meantime, although some of the underlying legislative framework has changed as a result of the European Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, the general content of the code remains appropriate.

However, the code should be read in conjunction with updated guidance on the use of pesticides found on the Scottish Government’s website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/Environment/Pesticides.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Between May 2011 and April 2013, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner made 14 recommendations to Central Scotland Police, 13 of which were implemented. Following further submissions by Central Scotland Police in respect of the remaining recommendation, the commissioner did not consider it necessary that the recommendation be implemented.

From April 2013, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner have issued 129 recommendations to Police Scotland, 69 of which have been implemented. So far, Police Scotland has decided not to implement 2 of the commissioner’s recommendations. The remaining 58 recommendations are still under consideration.

This information is not held.

The Scottish Government was disappointed to learn that Dow Chemicals had announced the closure of their Grangemouth facility with the loss of 76 full-time jobs. Scottish Enterprise is meeting the company in mid-January 2014 to get an understanding for the rationale behind the company’s decision. We are also working closely with Skills Development Scotland to deliver PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) support to staff affected, including advice to help secure appropriate alternative employment and re-training opportunities.