Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-18128

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Forestry and Land Scotland has any plans to facilitate licensed management of (a) raptor nests, (b) red squirrel dreys and (c) other protected woodland fauna during the harvesting of commercial woodlands at the time of the breeding season.

Scotland’s national forests and land are important habitats for many species. For example, Scottish crossbills, goshawks and large populations of songbirds and woodpeckers all use Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) plantations. In advance of any tree harvesting operation, an environmental survey is carried out by qualified FLS environment staff. Any active nests are marked on operational maps and mitigation is deployed. Typically, this involves an alteration to the timing of the operation, or the demarcation of a buffer around a nest, wherein no work can be carried out during the nesting period. Furthermore, during harvesting operations, machine operators and site managers remain vigilant, and any additional nests are protected in the same way. Nest of birds listed on Schedule A1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) are protected and retained.

To inform all this work, FLS liaises with stakeholders on an ongoing basis. For example, FLS environment staff have strong links with local Raptor Study Groups (a good number of FLS staff are members), and FLS is a partner in the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme. Invaluable information on raptors is therefore shared freely and raptors are very effectively protected. FLS also works closely with a range of other stakeholders, on a range of other bird species – from nightjars and wood sandpipers to black grouse and capercaillie. Managed plantations are crucial for the forestry sector yet are overwhelming beneficial for woodland birds in Scotland. This is something to celebrate.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has the following plans in place to facilitate the licensed management of species on Scotland’s national forests and land in order to carry out their functions:

A. No.

B. Yes. Where necessary, FLS will work under Licence No. 222884.

C. At present FLS have management plans in place for three other protected woodland fauna (Badgers) for the 2023 breeding season.

Question reference: S6W-18127

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) red squirrels were killed and (b) red squirrel dreys were disturbed during the breeding season as a result of commercial forestry operations, in each year since derogated licensing provisions were granted by NatureScot to Forestry and Land Scotland.

There are no records of adult squirrels being killed by forest operations on Scotland's national forests and land.

The estimated number of squirrels disturbed during the breeding season by forest operations on Scotland's national forests and land is as follows:

Year	Estimated No. of Squirrels Disturbed	As a % of the Total Squirrel Population Within LMP's
FY 17-18	280	2.34%
FY 18-19	278	2.41%
2020	690	2.79%
2021	472	2.18%
2022	303	2.94%

Note I: From April 2020 onwards, reporting was done on a calendar-year basis.

Note II: Squirrel numbers are calculated by multiplying published average squirrel densities per tree species by the respective areas of each tree species.

Note III: LMP is an acronym for Land Managemt Plan.

Question reference: S6W-18125

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 1 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken on public land that is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland to ensure that nests of (a) raptors, (b) red squirrels and (c) other protected woodland fauna are protected during the harvesting of commercial woodlands and at the time of their respective breeding seasons, where applicable.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) take the protection of (a) raptors, (b) red squirrels and (c) other protected woodland fauna within our woodlands very seriously, and when appropriate conduct our operations outwith their breeding seasons to avoid disturbance.

FLS adhere to the industry guidance set by the Scottish Government forestry regulator, Scottish Forestry, and where necessary apply for and follow the species licencing process regulated by NatureScot.

FLS have rigorous planning systems, checks and procedures with accompanying guidance to ensure all regulations and licence requirements to protect species are followed.

Question reference: S6W-18126

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what licensing provisions Forestry and Land Scotland has in place regarding the disturbance of red squirrels during commercial forestry operations.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) take the protection of priority species within our woodlands, such as red squirrels, very seriously, and when appropriate conduct their operations out with the Red Squirrel breeding season to avoid disturbance.

FLS adhere to the industry guidance set by the Scottish Government forestry regulator, Scottish Forestry, and where necessary apply for and follow the species licencing process regulated by NatureScot. They are recognised as a trusted and competent land manager and have an agreed licencing process in place that reflects that recognition.

FLS have rigorous planning systems, checks and procedures with accompanying guidance to ensure all regulations and licence requirements to protect species are followed.

Question reference: S6W-17948

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the Scope research publication, Disability Price Tag 2023: the extra cost of disability.

The Scottish Government recognises the findings that have been highlighted within the Disability Price Tag 2023 report, that disabled people have been disproportionately impacted by the current cost-of-living crisis.

One of the First Minister’s first acts upon taking office was to increase the budget for our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £30 million for 2023-24 to ensure support is available to households who would otherwise be at risk of self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely. Assistance is provided on the basis of a holistic assessment of individuals’ circumstances, which can include increased energy usage arising from the need to run essential medical devices.

The Scottish Government provide a range of disability benefits to help disabled people and those with long-term conditions. These benefits provide financial support to disabled people to mitigate the additional costs of living with a disability or health condition. In recognition of the cost crisis, all Scottish Government social security benefits were increased by 10.1% in April, except for Scottish Child Payment, which was uprated early, with an investment of around £430 million. This uprating is in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.

Question reference: S6W-17947

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the use of camera technology to tackle littering and fly-tipping.

Our 2022 consultation on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy included proposals to explore the role of technology to obtain better data, deter litter and flytipping and aid enforcement of offences. ‘Littercam’ technology is currently being trialled on part of the trunk road network in a targeted scheme for the purpose of monitoring litter levels. The final National Litter and Flytipping Strategy will be published this year.

Question reference: S6O-02264

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to expand community-owned energy.

Question reference: S6O-02148

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has been a delay in announcing the projects that will form phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Question reference: S6O-02122

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by Independent Age, which states that one in seven people in Scotland over the State Pension age live in poverty.

Question reference: S6W-15918

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in total have registered with the Deposit Return Scheme to date, and how this compares with the number of businesses that were expected to register.

More than 670 businesses have registered so far, representing 95% of products sold in Scotland.

The number of companies in the drinks industry inevitably changes over time and, at the outset of developing a deposit return scheme, approximately 4,500 companies were estimated to have an interest in the scheme.

However, significantly less would have to register – for example, once groups of companies registering under one registration are identified, the number of individual producers/importers is likely to be below 2,000.

Chamber and committees