- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of land each local authority (a) currently owns and (b) owned (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 20 years ago.
Answer
This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that current ownership for each local authority is provided in the following table. This is provided from a combination of titles in the Land Register and General Register of Sasines, and as the areas held in Sasines are indicative rather than definitive it provides a best estimate.
Whilst it is possible to retrieve historic ownership details for specific plots of land, Scotland-wide views of the Land Register showing aggregate ownership by specific parties at five, 10, or 20 years ago are not maintained, and the nature of the General Register of Sasines means it is not feasible to retrieve historic ownership information en masse .
Local Authority | Area (hectares) |
Aberdeen City | 1,100 |
Aberdeenshire | 764 |
Angus | 825 |
Argyll and Bute | 143 |
City of Edinburgh | 1,434 |
Clackmannanshire | 665 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 454 |
Dundee City | 523 |
East Ayrshire | 645 |
East Dunbartonshire | 325 |
East Lothian | 854 |
East Renfrewshire | 405 |
Falkirk | 798 |
Fife | 2,823 |
Glasgow City | 1,622 |
Highland | 1,164 |
Inverclyde | 1,956 |
Midlothian | 378 |
Moray | 424 |
Na h-Eileanan an Iar | 4 |
North Ayrshire | 1,858 |
North Lanarkshire | 7,018 |
Orkney Islands | 417 |
Perth and Kinross | 440 |
Renfrewshire | 1,849 |
Scottish Borders | 1,391 |
Shetland Islands | 2,989 |
South Ayrshire | 186 |
South Lanarkshire | 3,653 |
Stirling | 1,091 |
West Dunbartonshire | 478 |
West Lothian | 5,274 |
Total | 43,949 |
Figures were current on 6 February 2023.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of available accommodation in Glasgow and the surrounding areas to relocate the reported 1,111 Ukrainians still onboard MS Ambition by 31 March 2023.
Answer
Analysis has been undertaken to estimate how many guests on MS Ambition will likely be matched into longer term accommodation based on the availability of hosted and Responsible Social Landlord properties in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. Analysis into the availability of accommodation for guests disembarking MS Ambition remains ongoing and is being revised as new data becomes available via the monitoring of the disembarkation process.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the Scottish Ambulance Service and (b) NHS24 has done to assess the flow of patients with diabetes using their services out of hours, and what activity has arisen from any such assessments.
Answer
As part of the Scottish Diabetes Group, we have established work streams to identify efficiencies and opportunities within the Scottish Ambulance Service. This work is still in very early stages, however there is an established process in NHS Fife and NHS Grampian that links Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) data from the patient report form with SCI-Diabetes. This system ensures local diabetes teams have information about patients presenting to SAS with hypoglycaemic episode, in order to provide rapid, informed and appropriate follow up care. We are working closely with SAS and NHS Boards to further increase this connection across Scotland.
The Scottish Diabetes Group will take forward actions to improve services provided by NHS24 for people living with diabetes in the next year.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to house the reported 1,111 Ukrainians currently onboard MS Ambition after 31 March 2023.
Answer
Since November 2022, Scottish Government officials and Glasgow City Council engage regularly to undertake a Joint Assurance Review to ensure exit planning for the exit of the MS Ambition remains on track.
Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have been meeting with guests to help them make an informed decision about their next accommodation and where possible, we are seeking to move a displaced people according to their needs. The lack of suitable properties in Glasgow however means that it is unlikely that everyone on board MS Ambition will be able to be accommodated in Glasgow.
Should guests be unable to secure alternative accommodation or not accept an offer of accommodation from the Scottish Government matching team or Glasgow City Council, they will be allocated alternative welcome accommodation before 31 March 2023.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council about the reported 1,111 Ukrainians who are due to disembark MS Ambition by 31 March 2023.
Answer
Scottish Government officials and Glasgow City Council have been engaging regularly since November 2022 to undertake a Joint Assurance Review to ensure exit planning for the disembarkation of the MS Ambition remains on track.
The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have been meeting with guests to help them make an informed decision about their next accommodation and where possible, we are seeking to move a displaced people according to their needs. This has been supplemented by ongoing and regular discussions between the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, regional local authorities, and CoSLA, where host and accommodation matches for MS Ambition-based Ukrainians are identified as efficiently and effectively as possible.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it plans to take to ensure that the National Planning Framework and its plans for net zero are supported by implementing an alternative to public private partnership (PPP) arrangements across sectors.
Answer
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted on 13 February 2023. Delivery of NPF4 is not the sole responsibility of one organisation or sector and implementation of the proposed actions will support leadership and collaborative working across the public and private sectors throughout Scotland.
Our NPF4 Delivery Programme will guide how NPF4 will be implemented by all relevant stakeholders and aims to create the conditions under which place-based collaboration can underpin the implementation of NPF4, by clearly setting out strategic actions, responsibilities and ways of working. The Delivery Programme proposes a governance structure that will include providing oversight of NPF4 implementation and delivery, supporting its incorporation into Scottish Government and wider stakeholder decision-making, promoting alignment across sectors and providing a framework through which delivery partners can communicate, identify barriers to delivery and be solution-focused. This includes establishing a new Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group, with a core membership of key external delivery partners and key agency representation, supported by a Scottish Government secretariat.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is developing a discrete semiconductor strategy to complement the UK Government semiconductor strategy, and whether it has given particular consideration to the development of a flexible semiconductor manufacturing capability in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the semiconductor sector in a global context. We are privileged in Scotland to have a number of strong semiconductor companies, several of which I have had the pleasure to visit recently. I have also recently written to the BEIS Committee highlighting the strengths and capabilities of our semiconductor sector, in response to its recent semiconductor inquiry report.
Once the UK Semiconductor Strategy is published, we will assess how well it suits the needs of Scotland’s semiconductor industry. I would note that we have an extensive support infrastructure in place in Scotland to support innovation and flexibility in manufacturers. This includes the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), backed by £75 million of Scottish Government investment. Its headquarters will open later this year. Our upcoming Innovation Strategy will also support the development of innovative sectors to meet global economic challenges.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is the case that only two of its buildings have a heat pump installed; what action it will take to increase the number of its buildings that have a heat pump installed, and within what timescale will any such action be undertaken.
Answer
Currently 1 building on the core Scottish Government estate has a heat pump installed (Tweedbank)
Feasibility studied will be carried out in the first quarter of 2023/24 financial year to look at a range of renewable technologies for the estate, including air source heat pumps.
Timescale for installing air source heat pumps to suitable buildings:-
- 2023-24 – (1st quarter) - Feasibility studies will be carried out with business cases and funding applications submitted for suitable projects.
- 2023-24 – (2nd quarter) - Apply, design and install power cable upgrades if required or – if the incoming power needs to be increased from the supplier.
- 2023-24 – (3rd/4th quarter quarter) - Design, tender, appoint a contractor, planning permissions
- 2024-25 – Installation of ASHP, radiators, pipework.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with stakeholders to write the guidance documents that will accompany the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), specifically those relating to national developments on peatland and wild land areas, and, if so, how stakeholders can participate in this process.
Answer
Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, provides an overview of actions to be taken to support delivery, including the preparation of guidance documents.
Our Onshore Wind Policy Statement, published December 2022, also sets out our commitment to convening an expert group, including representatives from industry, agencies and academia, to provide advice to the Scottish Government on how guidance could be developed to support both our peatland and onshore wind aims.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support will be made available to provide planners with additional resources to assess the environmental impacts of developments, including making assessments of the impact of these on biodiversity.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the challenges facing the planning system, in particular planning authorities. Appropriate resourcing is a key challenge for delivery of NPF4 and we are committed to working collaboratively with our partners to make progress with this, including through our work with the High Level Group on Planning Performance. NPF4 Policy 3 (c) is underpinned by NatureScot’s Developing With Nature guidance published on 13 February 2023. We have also committed to developing guidance on Policy 3 more generally. Through ongoing work to bring forward the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, we are exploring opportunities to enhance ecological expertise that is needed locally to implement nature positive approaches. We have commissioned research to explore options for developing approaches to measuring biodiversity at the ‘site’ scale in Scotland. This research will involve a programme of engagement with stakeholders as it progresses.