- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review its compliance with, including ministerial performance, section 315 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which refers to byelaws with respect to accommodation for seasonal workers.
Answer
We know that there is a gap in protection for seasonal workers and it is something we are very keen to address as urgently as we can.
As I stated during the Housing Bill debate, I do not think that it is appropriate to require ministers to make byelaws and therefore don’t feel that we should be considering reviewing section 315 of the Housing (Scotland) Act.
Instead, the Scottish Government will look to introduce a set of bespoke statutory accommodation standards, for all seasonal workers, and all routes will be considered for what will be the best path to take when introducing these standards.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how the Rural Support Plan will provide clarity on support available
to farmers and crofters to transition to sustainable and regenerative
agriculture.
Answer
The Rural Support Plan will launch the new four-tier framework and in the first instance will map legacy CAP support and existing support into it to provide an overview of the available support.
It will set out, through the Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP) Strategic Outcomes Framework, how this support will contribute to tier outcomes and how these will deliver to ARC Act objectives and to the Vision for Scottish Agriculture.
The transition to sustainable and regenerative agriculture commenced with the changes introduced in 2025 with the start of the Whole Farm Plan, new protections for peatlands and wetlands and a new calving interval requirement for the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme.
We intend to build on these foundations with proposed changes in 2026 to Enhanced Greening Ecological Focus Areas (EFA). These proposals have been co-developed aligned to just transition and will require an additional 2,300 businesses to undertake EFA who did not previously have to do so, with a resulting increase of EFA area by 6,000 ha. The increase to 7% EFA area in 2027 will add a further approximately 14,000 ha of managed area.
The draft Climate Change Plan sets out the policies and proposals the Scottish Government will take forward to enable our carbon budgets to be met between 2026-2040. This will be broadly reflected in the Rural Support Plan, noting that the draft Climate Change Plan will be finalised following a public consultation and Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny. Any changes to the Rural Support Plan to reflect the final Climate Change Plan, will be taken on-board during the development of the next Rural Support Plan
Section 2(3) of the ARC Act sets out matters the Scottish Ministers may consider when describing the support provided under the plan. In the first instance information will be provided to reflect the support that is currently available (e.g. organics options within AECS) and the section will inform the co-development of any further changes to existing support, or the introduction of new support, and this will be reflected in Rural Support Plan amendments.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it has considered climate adaptation in the development
of the Rural Support Plan.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41655 on 18 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what ministerial meetings have been held with (a) local authorities, (b) representatives of the agricultural sector, including farmers and (c) regulatory bodies, including the (i) Health and Safety Executive and (ii) Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority, regarding caravan and mobile accommodation for seasonal workers.
Answer
Initial meetings with stakeholders took place between 20 November 2024 and 16 January 2025 including with local authorities, farmer representatives, farm employers and regulatory bodies.
Further meetings will be held with the wider sector when officials are in a position to begin consultation. We will be able to offer an update on when these meetings will take place when dates have been agreed.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the scoping review of caravan and mobile accommodation for seasonal workers, and by what date its findings will be made public.
Answer
As part of the scoping exercise, officials reviewed existing evidence on: accommodation conditions; results of engagement with farm employers, local authorities, Scotland’s Rural College, the Workers Support Centre and the National Farmers Union of Scotland, and; the evidence gathered on the main issues. Officials also invited Richard Leonard’s office to feed into this work.
An update on timings for introducing these standards will be offered in due course.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 18 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Rural Support Plan will explicitly address the
topics included under Section 2(3) of the Agriculture and Rural Communities Act.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41655 on 18 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the guidance accompanying the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 stating that it did not "set out any minimum or maximum geographic size or area that can be covered by a firework control zone, or the cumulative area that a local authority may designate as a firework control zone(s) within its boundaries”, whether a local authority would be prohibited from designating a control zone covering the whole of its area.
Answer
The statutory guidance to local authorities sets out how they should exercise their powers under the Act to implement Firework Control Zones lawfully. It takes into consideration wider legal requirements than just the Firework Control Zone provisions in the Act as passed by Parliament.
The guidance notes that the geographic size and area of a zone must be evidence-based and proportionate. It states that firework control zones have not been designed as a measure to cover a whole local authority area, or to cover extensive parts of a local authority area.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 11 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the carbon footprint of data centres operating in Scotland, how the outcomes of any such assessments align with its net zero targets, and what measures are in place to ensure that new data centres meet environmental sustainability standards, including in relation to energy efficiency and renewable energy use.
Answer
In Scotland, there are a range of data centres serving public and private sector requirements. There has been no overall assessment of the carbon footprint of these facilities in Scotland.
The European Commission has adopted a new delegated regulation on the first phase for establishing an EU-wide scheme to rate the sustainability of EU data centres which the Scottish Government is monitoring. However significant parts of this directive fall out with the devolved powers of Scottish Parliament. Scottish Government will however consider alignment for parts of the directive that fall within devolved competency. We are in discussion with the UK government around their plans to align UK policy to this directive.
Existing co-location commercial data centre operators have been contacted directly by our economic agencies to explore routes to decarbonise their facilities and operations, with operators being signposted to relevant funding opportunities.
Where proposals for new data centres come forward, our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) ensures their potential impacts are important considerations in planning decision-making. NPF4 needs to be read and applied as a whole, and all applications are subject to site specific assessments.
NPF4 Policy 2 (climate mitigation and adaptation) requires development proposals to be sited and designed to minimise lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible. We have published new planning guidance supporting the application of NPF4 policy 2 setting out a proportionate approach to dealing with whole life carbon through the planning process, drawing on recent research and international best practice.
NPF4 Policy 19 (heating and cooling) sets out that National and Major developments that will generate waste or surplus heat, and which are located in areas of heat demand, should include a Heat and Power Plan to demonstrate how energy recovered from the development will be used to produce electricity and heat.
New data centre buildings must also be designed and constructed in compliance with the relevant building regulations applicable to non-domestic buildings, including standard 6.1 which focuses on the reduction of energy demand arising from the use of heating, hot water, lighting, ventilation and cooling systems in a new building.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41119 by Jim Fairlie on 9 October 2025, which stakeholders were invited and who attended the Wildfire Summit on 14 October 2025.
Answer
With regards to which stakeholders were invited to the Wildfire Summit held on 14 October 2025, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41157 on 6 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
The Scottish Government did not keep a register of those that attended the Wildfire Summit.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government is still on track to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025
