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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-25555

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the licence conditions to fish for wild wrasse, how its Marine Directorate ensures that each vessel deploys a maximum of 250 wrasse traps at any one time.

Marine Directorate Compliance Operations use a risk-based procedure which considers intelligence, likelihood, and impact on environment and fishery resources to ensure the conditions of the wrasse derogation are adhered to. For example, wrasse fishers are required to submit weekly data returns, in addition to their FISH1 forms, which can highlight if a fisher may be using more than 250 traps a day.

Marine Directorate have recently consulted on proposals to require a tracking device on all under 12 metre fishing vessels in Scotland. The consultation responses are currently being analysed and will be published in due course and depending on the outcome of the consultation, if implemented, this could provide additional compliance monitoring of the fishery.

Question reference: S6W-25556

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many vessels are currently licensed to fish for wild wrasse, and how many of these use creels for other species in addition to wrasse traps.

The wrasse fishing season is open from 1 May to 30 November, so at present no vessels hold a derogation giving permission from Scottish Ministers to fish for wild wrasse. Applications are assessed on a year by year basis, and do not automatically carry over. In the 2023 season, 67 vessels were issued with a derogation and of those 51 used creels to fish for other species at some point over the course of 2023.

Question reference: S6F-02798

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to strengthen enforcement powers in relation to long-term empty homes.

Question reference: S6W-25083

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-24713

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with the UK Government to pause, review and improve the Shared Rural Network programme through consulting with rural communities across the Highlands to (a) establish their digital connectivity needs, (b) avoid construction of new access tracks unless no other method is possible, (c) avoid construction in the Highlands' designated and other environmentally sensitive wild areas and (d) ensure that mobile operators share mast infrastructure, rather than building adjacent masts.

The Scottish Government has no formal role in the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. SRN is a joint venture between the UK Government and the UK's four main mobile network operators. Equally, telecommunications policy is currently reserved to the UK Government.

Scottish Government officials continue to engage with the UK Government and the mobile network operators on SRN delivery and to encourage them to prioritise community and stakeholder engagement.

The Scottish Government recently completed the delivery of the Scottish 4G Infill programme, which deployed 55 masts in rural and island communities. Lessons learned from the programme have been shared with the SRN programme team, focusing in particular on the importance of thorough local stakeholder engagement at the mast site selection and acquisition stage. We will continue to facilitate discussions between UK Government and key stakeholders and to push for as much transparency as possible on the locations of masts and the rationale for why these have been chosen.

Question reference: S6W-23916

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on the fishing sector in Scotland, what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding a review of the English language requirements for fishing crew who enter the UK on a skilled worker visa.

The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the current UK Government’s approach to immigration, which has failed to meet Scotland’s needs. The recent changes to the immigration rules are unacceptable. Increasing the Skilled Worker salary threshold by a third to £38,700 will limit the seafood and other sector’s ability to access the labour they require to grow and succeed.

We have consistently called for changes to Skilled Worker Visa provision to be made to ensure that route is genuinely proportionate and accessible to all parts of the fishing fleet. That includes ensuring that English language requirements – and associated costs for testing - are proportionate, whilst also recognising the importance of appropriate English language abilities to ensuring vessel safety and to reducing the risk of worker exploitation.

Question reference: S6O-02934

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether GEOAmey, the prisoner escort service provider, has offered any assurances that it will tackle the reported staffing challenges that currently mean that islanders acting as witnesses have to travel to jury trials on the mainland.

Question reference: S6W-23474

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17336 by Màiri McAllan on 4 May 2023, what area in km2 of Scotland’s inshore waters is, on a year-round basis, open to creeling while not open to scallop dredging or enphrops trawling.

Question reference: S6W-23245

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its ongoing discussions with the Screen Machine to ensure the funding of a new mobile cinema, in light of its reported importance to rural and islands communities.

The Scottish Government is continuing to engage with Screen Scotland and other parties to explore all avenues for supporting the future of the Screen Machine.

We recognise the huge importance of the Screen Machine’s unique cultural, educational, and wellbeing benefits to communities across Scotland, particularly for those who otherwise would struggle to visit the cinema.

We welcome the funding provided by Screen Scotland earlier this year, which allowed Screen Machine to lease a temporary replacement cinema until April 2024.

Question reference: S6W-22506

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering alternatives to the current methods of tagging fish, which involve inserting tags into them.

The Scottish Government uses a range of techniques to monitor and study fish populations which is critical to inform the management actions put in place to protect species. Internal tagging is used when there is no appropriate alternative method available to answer the specific question being addressed. It is a regulated procedure covered by the Animals (Scientific procedures) Act 1986 and is performed under licence from the Home Office. Alternatives to this method are examined and adopted where possible by the Scottish Government following the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) embedded in the act.