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: S5W-34179

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated economic impact on Aberdeenshire has been of the improvements made to the Inveramsay Bridge on the A96 in 2016.

Transport Scotland has undertaken a one year after opening evaluation of the A96 Inveramsay Bridge Project in line with Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) Guidance, against both its objectives and wider evaluation criteria. The evaluation will be finalised and published once a technical review has been completed. The evaluation against the economy criterion at this stage has considered the benefits to road users only. Wider economic benefits will be considered as part of a three year after opening evaluation.

Question reference: S5W-34283

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to commission a three-year economic impact assessment of the A96 Inveramsey Bridge.

Early work is taking place to determine the scope of the three year after opening evaluation of the A96 Inveramsay Bridge Project in line with Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) Guidance, against both its objectives and wider evaluation criteria. It is anticipated that the evaluation will include stakeholder consultation and data collection from Spring 2021. Whilst impacts on the wider economy were not forecast from the project, these will be considered as part of the evaluation.

Question reference: S5F-04690

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to tackle loneliness and isolation over the festive period.

Question reference: S5W-34111

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 17 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its Future Fisheries Management Strategy.

I am pleased to publish today Scotland’s Future Fisheries Management Strategy. It reaffirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to meeting and where possible exceeding international standards, to being a competent and collaborative partner, and to championing Scotland’s fishing industry and our marine environment.

Through the strategy we are setting a course to deliver, as part of our Blue Economy Action Plan, our vision for Scotland to be a world class fishing nation, delivering responsible and sustainable fisheries management. That vision is centred on key themes – transparency, accountability, resilience and responsibility, and of course, sustainability. Sustainability is the overarching driver for fisheries and indeed, the wider marine environment so we will take an ecosystems-based approach to management. But it is also important to seek to achieve a balance between economic, environment and social objectives.

The Strategy sets out a 12 point action plan to underpin our approach. Those actions can only be delivered by working in partnership, and communicating openly and often. We need to be creative in our communications to provide transparency and get the input we need. Our new Regional Inshore Fisheries Group web platform ( https://rifg.scot/ ), launched on 8 December, is just one example of how we will work with our stakeholders to increase accessibility and deliver transparency in our decision making both at a national and local level.

The 12 point action plan can be summarised as follows:

1. We will promote fishing as an attractive and safe career of choice, increasing safety standards, supporting new entrants and promoting fair work.

2. More than ever we want to secure the resilience of the fishing industry. We will do this by strengthening links to local and global markets, encouraging diversification and exploring new fishing opportunities.

3. We will increase the benefit from fishing to local areas, through our allocation of additional quota opportunities, by ensuring quota is in the hands of active fishers, and increasing the volume of fish landed in Scotland including through the Scottish economic link.

4. We want the relationship between the fishing industry and local communities to be a strong one and we will support consumers to buy local and Scottish.

5. We will address issues around the shared marine space, considering how fishing interests can work alongside other marine users including offshore renewables.

6. We will strengthen our co-management processes, supporting transparent and responsive management, and recognising RIFGs as our main management vehicle at a local level.

7. We will deliver a robust licensing regime to manage all vessels fishing in Scottish waters.

8. We will strengthen our quota management processes, supported by the right groups, and expanding the use of TACs where appropriate.

9. We will improve accountability and confidence in our seafood products and fishing operations, fishing at sustainable levels which are based on the best scientific advice, and supported by a robust compliance regime. This will include the introduction of additional monitoring and data collection measures such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM).

10. We will deliver a robust Future Catching Policy in partnership with our stakeholders, and we will apply responsive and proportionate technical and spatial measures, to reduce waste and encourage compliance.

11. We will support biodiversity, take an ecosystem-based approach to management and deliver additional protections for vulnerable areas and stocks.

12. Finally, but of critical importance, we will take action to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our seas and contribute towards net zero by 2045. This will require a transformation across all sectors of our economy and society and fisheries must play its part here to help to create a low carbon economy with clean, green jobs.

These actions are ambitious and wide ranging. But they will secure transformational change over a number of years, and will deliver what I hope is a shared vision for Scotland’s fisheries.

I want to thank all those who have helped us on the journey to create this strategy and look forward to working with all stakeholders to deliver the Strategy and its actions.

The Strategy is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781800041950 .

Question reference: S5F-04674

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2020

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government’s statement of intent on biodiversity will support Scotland's transition to net zero.

Question reference: S5O-04845

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it is making in travel infrastructure to help reduce the carbon footprint of the people of the north east.

Question reference: S5W-33640

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2020
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on establishing a national Nitrogen Balance Sheet.

The Scottish Government is committed to establishing a national Nitrogen Balance Sheet early in the next parliamentary session. The Balance Sheet will offer a powerful tool to improve the evidence base, and better inform decision-making, across a range of policy areas. Improving our understanding of the opportunities to use nitrogen ever more efficiently will have benefits for climate change, air quality, agriculture, transport and waste management.

After an initial phase of engagement with key stakeholders in October, we have today (1 December) launched a consultation on our proposals for the Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet. Our proposals include that the scope of the Balance Sheet should extend to all major sectors of the economy and environment and that it should be updated annually after its initial establishment.

Once the consultation process has concluded, we intend to hold a plenary engagement event for all interested stakeholders and individuals in early 2021. We will then prepare a set of affirmative procedure regulations to seek Parliament’s agreement to formally establishing the Balance Sheet in advance of the March 2022 statutory deadline.

Question reference: S5O-04782

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's businesses and employment.

Question reference: S5T-02518

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support farmers to help meet Scotland's climate ambitions.

Question reference: S5O-04730

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will finance the green recovery.