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-26511

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25571 by Fergus Ewing on 21 October 2019, whether it is now in a position to provide the information that was requested.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-25570 on 18 October 2019.

Preferred suppliers of Remote Electronic Monitoring systems will shortly be identified following a Public Contracts Scotland Invitation to Tender exercise.

Equipment specifications will be detailed once contracts are agreed.

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-26510

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many trawlers longer than 12 metres have been investigated for illegal fishing in inshore waters in each year since 2015, also broken down by how many were subsequently (a) issued with warning letters, (b) issued with fixed penalty notices and (c) reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted.

The information requested is as follows:

		Outcomes
Year	Total	Warning Letter	Fixed Penalty Notice	No Further Action	Referred to COPFS	Convictions
2015	1		1
2016	1		1
2017	2	1	1
2018	5		2	1	2*
TOTAL	9	1	5	1	2

* Neither case has been heard in court yet

A number of assumptions have been made in provision of the figures:

? "Inshore waters" refers to the definition contained in section 9 of the Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984

? "Trawlers" are considered to be those vessels towing a demersal trawl net

? "Illegal fishing" is considered to be those areas where the vessel in question is not allowed to fish, rather than the full range of fishery offences which might constitute "illegal fishing"

? The figures above do not include investigations where actions have been taken locally. They are based on actions taken by the Enforcement Team in Marine Scotland Compliance who issue FPNs and refer cases to the COPFS

Question reference: S5T-01895

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what fire safety checks it has undertaken on the building cladding used in private student accommodation, including whether it has been checked for high-pressure laminate cladding.

Question reference: S5W-25569

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how the release of non-native gamebirds can be regulated in the event of such activity damaging or potentially damaging designated sites.

Question reference: S5W-25574

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has gathered about the impact of the release of non-native game birds on the condition of statutory designated sites.

Where the release of non-native game birds is potentially damaging to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), it is included as an activity on the Operations Requiring Consent (ORC) list for that SSSI. If the site is also a Natura site (a Special Protection Area or a Special Area of Conservation) and an application for consent is made to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), an assessment against the conservation objectives of the Natura site is also required, under Article 6.3 of the Habitats Directive. Such assessments that have previously been carried out have not identified any adverse effect on the Natura sites concerned.

In addition, SNH’s rolling Site Condition Monitoring programme monitors the condition of natural features on protected areas in Scotland and identifies pressures on those natural features. There are currently two SSSIs where non-native game bird releases have been marked as a negative pressure.

Question reference: S5W-25572

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what records it holds regarding the annual release of non-native gamebirds.

Question reference: S5W-25571

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the remote electronic monitoring that it plans to deploy for scallop fishing vessels will be sufficient to enable the prosecution of people suspected of illegally deploying dredges.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25570 on 18 October 2019. An Invitation to Tender for the contract to fit Remote Electronic Monitoring equipment closed on the Public Contracts Scotland web space on 3 October.

Equipment specifications will be detailed once contracts are secured with suppliers.

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-25576

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government under what conditions the release of non-native game birds can be considered a Plan or Project under the EU habitats directive.

Any proposal to carry out an operation included on the list of Operations Requiring Consent for a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is considered to be a plan or project for the purposes of assessment under the EU Habitats Directive if that SSSI is also a Special Area of Conservation or Special Protection Area. The release of wild animals, which would include the release of non-native game birds, is a listed operation on many SSSIs.

Question reference: S5W-25575

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether a Habitats Regulations Appraisal is required for the release of non-native game birds on or near designated sites.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24453 on 30 August 2019. 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 .

Land managers must apply to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for consent to release game birds on protected areas where the relevant Operation Requiring Consent has been listed, and SNH must carry out a Habitats Regulations Appraisal for the application if it covers a Special Protection Area or a Special Area of Conservation.

Question reference: S5W-25570

Asked by: Andy Wightman, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will deliver its Programme for Government commitment to “commence work to modernise the Scottish inshore fisheries fleet, investing a further £1.5 million in inshore technologies such as the deployment of remote electronic monitoring for scallop fishing vessels.”

Marine Scotland are leading the delivery of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitment to modernise the Scottish inshore fisheries fleet.

The Design and Inception phase of the Modernisation of the Inshore Fleet Programme commenced in November 2018 following the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy’s announcement of £1.5 million support at the Inshore Fisheries Conference in September 2018.

Implementation of this complex programme of work is well underway adopting a phased approach to deployment. The scallop dredge sector is recognised as the priority fleet in the programme with the rest of the inshore fleet being rolled out in two subsequent phases of programme delivery.

An Invitation to Tender published on Public Contracts Scotland closes on 3 rd October, from which suppliers will be secured to fit Remote Electronic Monitoring equipment to Scotland’s scallop dredge fleet. Timelines for installation of equipment and associated logistics will be drawn up once contracts are secured.