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: S6W-09222

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 June 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons were for applications to the Business Ventilation Fund from businesses in Aberdeenshire being declined.

Applications to the Business Ventilation Fund were declined if the business did not meeting the eligibility criteria for the Fund such as being in an eligible sector, claiming for eligible items by the fund deadline or meeting the fund business rules.

This includes claiming for premises which are registered for non-domestic rates, being classed as a small or medium enterprise and having purchased or carried out works between 23 November 2021 and 31 March 2022.

The majority of businesses declined in Aberdeenshire either weren’t in a eligible sector or had made duplicate claims. Additionally, a number of applications were closed when the deadline for claims had passed and no claim had been submitted by the business. Businesses had been notified that they were able to make a claim and for what and the deadline for this as part of the application process.

Question reference: S6W-09054

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how mobile home owners who are on sub-meters for their energy can register for the Priority Services Register.

Mobile home owners that are eligible for inclusion in their energy supplier’s Priority Services Register can request their site owner to register with their energy supplier as having vulnerable people on the site, if the residents do not have their own account. The situation and process is likely to vary depending on the supplier. If the residents experience a difficulty with this or the site owner refuses, Advice Direct Scotland can offer advice on how to take further action.

Question reference: S6W-09087

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what record it keeps of the non-disclosure agreements it keeps, and how many are currently in operation.

There is no formal definition of an NDA. The Scottish Government does not keep a central record of all NDA’s currently in operation other than in the context of record-keeping of employment settlement agreements.

In an employment context, data in relation to settlement and the number of confidentiality clauses in Scottish Government and Public bodies, NHSScotland and Scottish Funding Council overseen bodies is held from 2014 and, since then, has been provided to parliament annually. Reports are published annually by the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-09086

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-disclosure agreements that it has signed prevent disclosure to Audit Scotland.

There is no formal definition of an NDA and the government does not hold central records of NDAs. In an employment context where a settlement agreement is entered into to resolve an employment dispute, a confidentiality clause may be inserted following prescribed guidance on information sharing. This guidance is clear that the use of a settlement agreement cannot prevent Audit Scotland from carrying out their oversight and scrutiny functions.

Question reference: S6W-08981

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) scale of the reported problems that seals have caused to salmon fishing on the River Dee to date and (b) impact that this has had on local businesses, and what action it will take to prevent seals from entering the river.

The Scottish Government recognises that seal predation is one of a number of pressures affecting wild Atlantic salmon in rivers, which is why it commissioned work in partnership with Crown Estate Scotland to review measures that have been adopted globally and which could assist in developing non-lethal strategies to address seal predation on salmon in Scottish rivers.

The report ( Review of non-lethal seal control options to limit seal predation on salmonids in rivers and at finfish farms | Marine Scotland Data Publications ) which was published in March 2021 recognises that there is no single effective solution to address the problem given the nature of rivers and predation, but that there are a range of measures that have been shown to have some success or have the potential to reduce predation. The Scottish Government therefore continues to work with the sector, stakeholders and the scientific community to explore practical ways to address interactions between salmon and seals in rivers, building on the recommendation of the report.

Furthermore, the Sea Mammal Research Unit, at the University of St Andrews has provided significant advice and support to the River Dee in recent years in relation to quantifying seal presence in the river and exploring possible solutions for minimising interactions.

Question reference: S6W-08980

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what economic assessment it (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake regarding the reported decline of salmon numbers and any impact that this has had on local businesses and tourism.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of Scotland’s declining populations of wild Atlantic salmon very seriously and is working to ensure the protection and recovery of this iconic species. In January 2022 the Scottish Government published the Wild Salmon Strategy which provides an overarching framework for the actions required to tackle the range of pressures affecting wild salmon. The Strategy can be accessed at Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A commitment made in the Strategy is to undertake a study to identify the socio-economic benefits arising from healthy wild Atlantic salmon populations and how these can be maximised through partnerships between the public, private and charitable sectors. Furthermore, this study will allow comparisons to be made between the current economic value of the recreational fisheries sector to past values.

The most recent socio-economic study was conducted in 2017 and showed that recreational fisheries in Scotland contributed £79.9m Gross Value Added and 4300 FTE jobs. It is important to note that, although this study was published in 2017, it was based on data from 2014/15 when coastal netting was still in place. It is anticipated that the subsequent prohibition on coastal netting is likely to have had an effect on the economic value.

Question reference: S6W-08862

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a pledge similar to that in place in England for NHS patients who have their operations cancelled to be offered a new date for their procedure within 28 days or the treatment will be funded at the time and hospital of the patient's choice.

Question reference: S6W-08800

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of trials in England and Wales to monitor excessive noise from car exhausts in towns, whether it will introduce a similar initiative.

My officials in Transport Scotland are aware of the DfT Roadside Vehicle Noise Measurement trials and will be monitoring their progress and effectiveness. Setting of legal limits for noise levels from vehicles is reserved to UK Government via the Construction and Use Regulations. Prioritising the management of transport noise is a key component in protecting our environment. Scotland’s Transport Noise Action Plan sets out how we seek to manage noise levels where necessary and practicable and aim to preserve environmental noise quality where it is good.

Question reference: S6O-01232

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of its overseas offices.

Question reference: S6W-08724

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has reportedly been a delay to the decision on whether to grant planning approval for Fetteresso Wind Farm, case reference WIN-110-1, and when a decision will be made.