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-26169

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much each section of the A9 dualling work will cost.

To date, we have delivered the £35m contract between Kincraig and Dalraddy, which opened to traffic in September 2017, and have made good progress on the second section between Luncarty and Pass of Birnam at an estimated cost of £96m. Construction of this section is well underway, and subject to any unforeseen circumstances, such as exceptional adverse weather, it is expected to be open to traffic in spring 2021.

Design work is progressing well on the remaining sections, with the statutory process underway for eight of the remaining nine schemes. As the design and preparation of the A9 Dualling programme proceeds and the statutory procedures are completed, a more detailed estimate for each section of the programme will be finalised.

The Scottish Government intends to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness within the £3 billion estimate already identified.

Question reference: S5O-03810

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it has given to introducing remote voting and video conferencing options for Members.

Question reference: S5O-03801

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to organisations and public sector bodies to mitigate the effects of fuel poverty in remote and rural areas.

Question reference: S5W-26162

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to tackle illegal dredging in marine protected areas.

Currently, all reports made to Marine Scotland Compliance of suspected incursions into Marine Protected Areas are assessed to see if immediate action is possible. Where there are available resources (aircraft or vessel) and this is in line with current priorities they can be re-tasked to gather evidence and, if possible, detain any suspect boats. Whether or not immediate action is possible, all reports and intelligence received is fed into the Marine Scotland Compliance intelligence database. All this information is graded and assessed at a regular risk assessment and tasking session where priorities and tasks for coastal officers, ships and aircraft are decided. Local officers also follow up reports from their area at a local level.

More widely, Marine Scotland is committed to introducing appropriate and proportionate vessel tracking and monitoring across the whole of Scotland’s inshore fleet and have set aside £1.5 million for this. The programme prioritises the deployment of Remote Electronic Monitoring to Scotland’s scallop dredge sector, regardless of vessel characteristics. This will put Scotland’s scallop dredge sector on a level playing field and enable the sector to openly demonstrate responsible fishing. The Invitation to Tender, published on Public Contracts Scotland, closed on 3 October and is now in the evaluation and negotiation stage until 20 November. Contracts will be awarded before the end of 2019.

We have also recently issued a number of notices on the public contracts Scotland website for a forward looking infra-red system for our second surveillance aircraft; drone systems for vessel based operations from our three ships; and for camera recording systems for our ships. These are part of our ongoing commitment to enhance our visual capability at sea as part of our fisheries and marine protection remit and to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement of fisheries and marine laws.

Question reference: S5O-03740

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it gives to remote rural communities that depend on air services to connect to the rest of Scotland and beyond.

Question reference: S5W-25768

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect the red squirrel through encouraging local authorities to provide appropriate signage to warn drivers of their presence in areas of woodland.

The Scottish Government has approved official road signs warning road users of the presence of red squirrels for a number of locations across Scotland in the past and will continue to approve similar applications for signs that are considered appropriate.

It is proposed that these signs be incorporated into a future amendment of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, subject to the Parliamentary process, removing the need for authorisation.

Question reference: S5O-03633

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can give to teachers and staff from remote and rural areas to access training and CPD.

The Scottish Government fully supports professional learning for the education staff based in remote and rural areas. The Regional Improvement Collaboratives, funded by Scottish Government, allow teachers, and the wider education workforce, to access support in the area they work.

For example, the Northern Alliance hub developed with the University of Aberdeen and launched at the recent Scottish Learning Festival, provides staff across the Alliance with access to professional learning, including online access. Education Scotland also manages a growing range of professional learning programmes and online resources for teachers and practitioners across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-25090

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when Scottish Natural Heritage plans to update its data recording trends in red deer culls, and how this information will be presented.

Question reference: S5W-25089

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of the recent deer management planning investment by Scottish Natural Heritage to protect notified upland and woodland protected areas for nature conservation, and what its response is to reports that this has led to higher levels of culls being carried out by private estates.

Between 2014 and 2018 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has provided around £240k funding and support for Deer Management Groups to develop deer management plans. The most recent figures available for 2017 – 18 show the highest reported deer cull taken in Scotland. The Scottish Government will assess these developments when the SNH review of deer management in Scotland is received. The review is expected to be submitted shortly and will be published.

Question reference: S5W-25428

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 September 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce (a) the outcome of the Northern Isles Ferry Services tender and (b) its plans to reduce ferry fares to the Northern Isles.

Following a fair and transparent public procurement competition, I can today confirm that the preferred bidder to operate the Northern Isles Ferry Services is Serco Ltd. We now enter a statutory ten-day standstill period, before confirming the formal award of contract to Serco Ltd. The new contract starts on 31 October 2019 and will run for a period of eight years, with an option for the Scottish Ministers to exercise a break clause at the end of year six.

Serco Ltd will provide continuity and the provision of high-quality, affordable ferry services that will be welcomed by local communities. Just some of the benefits of the new contract, details of which will be published following contract award, include upgraded cabins and terminal facilities, and improved customer communications and services. The contract also aligns with the Scottish Government’s Fair Work Framework, including measures for pension protections and security of employment.

Following formal contract award, a non-sensitive copy of Serco Ltd’s contract will be published on Transport Scotland’s website.

I can also confirm that the Scottish Government is helping island residents with a package of fare reductions. Islanders will, from January 2020, benefit from a 20% discount on cabin fares on Aberdeen-Kirkwall-Lerwick routes, as well as a three year fares freeze for passengers, non-commercial vehicles and cabins on those routes.