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-16143

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by a spokesperson from CalMac on the BBC News Scotland website on 3 April 2018 that "the working life expectancy of a ferry deployed on routes like those on Scotland's western seaboard is around 25 years, so with nearly half of the ferries working these routes already beyond that milestone…the risk of mechanical failures and breakdown is significant", and what support it is providing to ensure that the operator is able to provide a full service with minimal delay.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S5T-01043 and S5W-15994 answered on 24 April 2018 and 3 May 2018 respectively.

The answer to the Topical Question is available here: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11481&i=104231

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-16144

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the construction of the new Glen Sannox ferry.

Question reference: S5W-16138

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to protect wetland wildlife.

Roseanna Cunningham : A number of measures are in place for the protection of wetland wildlife (and their habitats) in Scotland. These include:

the wetland components of our extensive network of Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and sites designated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance;
numerous local nature reserves which contain wetland features and which are designated and managed by local authorities;
the legal protection which is given to many wetland species, such as natterjack toad, otter and curlew;
measures under the Scottish Rural Development Programme to create and manage wetlands to help improve biodiversity, the landscape and flood management;
the EU Water Framework Directive (covering freshwaters, estuaries and coastal waters) which requires Member States to take the necessary measures to achieve Good Ecological Status; and
a ban on the use of lead shot in Scotland's wetland environments to address the issue of the poisoning of waterfowl through the ingestion of spent lead shot.

Question reference: S5W-16140

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 4 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on adopting minimum energy efficiency targets to tackle carbon emissions from conventional heating systems.

Minimum standards for the efficiency and control of heating systems installed in new and existing buildings are already addressed through building regulations.

The First Minister, at the All-Energy conference in Glasgow on 2 May, launched Energy Efficient Scotland and our route map for a long term energy efficiency programme including the role of energy efficiency targets for our existing building stock.

We will put in place a national framework of standards that make it the norm to invest in energy efficiency and drive improvement. Standards will be phased across sectors and tenures, recognising the different relative starting points and building on those already in place.

We will bring forward regulations that require private sector landlords to meet EPC band E from 2020 at change in tenancy, and then EPC Band D from 2022. We are proposing that a new aspirational target to maximise the number of social rented homes meeting an EPC B by 2032, building on the good progress seen to date in the social rented sector. We will develop additional standards for non-domestic buildings so that they are assessed and improved to the extent feasible and cost-effective by 2040.

The route map document and associated consultations can be found here ( https://beta.gov.scot/ISBN/9781788518161 )

Question reference: S5W-16139

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the spread of larch disease, and what progress it is making on (a) tackling and (b) containing this.

Scottish Government is maintaining its investment in the extensive programme of surveillance, monitoring, research, and rapid action to help minimise the spread and impact of Phytophthora Ramorum on larch. Our surveillance programme has ensured early detection of new outbreaks, and rapid action via statutory measures.

Last season’s surveillance led to some new findings of P. ramorum , however these were limited in extent and severity, and were consistent with those seen over the previous four years. This suggests that our current management strategy is successful in slowing the spread and intensity of this disease, thus minimising the impact on landowners and the forest industries.

Continued research into this pathogen remains a priority for the Scottish Government, and will be continued as part of the future cross-border arrangements agreed as part of the programme of work to complete the devolution of forestry.

Question reference: S5W-16141

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many appeals against sporting rates have been lodged since April 2017, and how many have been upheld.

Information on revaluation appeals lodged and disposed of is collected at local authority level, but is not available by property type.

The latest information on numbers of appeals lodged against the 2017 revaluation, and numbers disposed of (as at end December 2017) was published in February at

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/NDR-Rates-Relief/Appeals2017-18-Q3

Question reference: S5W-15971

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much support it offers per ram to sheep farmers carrying out CT scans, and what information it has regarding how this compares with (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.

The Scottish government does not supply financial support for CT scans. CT scans are a commercial product available to farmers as a business choice. Scottish, English and Welsh levy bodies currently offer support to farmers for CT scans with the levy bodies themselves setting the rate of support provided. Further information on the levels of support and costs of the scans can be found at www.sruc.ac.uk/info/120274/ct_scanning_service

Question reference: S5W-15905

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what funding each GP practice will receive under new GP contracts in (a) Moray and (b) Grampian.

The Scottish Government has been clear that under the new GP contract every practice in Moray, Grampian and the rest of Scotland will, at minimum, continue to receive the same level of funding as they did in 2017-18. An additional £23 million is being invested from April 2018 to support the new funding formula and the income and expenses guarantee.

The new GP contract will allow GPs, including those in rural areas, to spend more time with patients and less time on bureaucracy. It will help cut doctors’ workload and make general practice an even more attractive career.

Question reference: S5O-02013

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more tourists to visit Orkney and Shetland.

Question reference: S5W-15254

Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 27 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Legislation Governing Small Landholdings in Scotland; what research has taken place since 13 September 2017, and when it will publish guidance on the legislation.

The Scottish Government has made progress on the recommendations of the Small Landholding Review. We have appointed Newcastle University to consider the changes to ownership of small landholdings over time and the feasibility of re-establishing an administrative register of all small landholdings. This work began on 11 December 2017.

In addition, we continue to work on a guide to small landholding legislation, which we will publish in due course. We have also appointed the Scottish Rural University College (SRUC) to undertake research on what is required for the potential future for small landholdings.