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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.

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Question reference: S6W-40147

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, what consideration it has given to introducing additional criteria for companies applying to Crown Estate Scotland for seabed leasing for (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.

Question reference: S6W-40145

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, under what criteria Crown Estate Scotland would void any application or terminate agreement with companies in relation to (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.

Question reference: S6W-40148

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, what action it is taking to deal with companies repeatedly convicted of unlawful activity, including corruption, bribery, fraud, and human trafficking and exploitation, in the last five years, from applying to Crown Estate Scotland for seabed leasing for (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.

Question reference: S6W-40135

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39522 by Gillian Martin on 6 August 2025, what consideration it has given to including blue carbon emissions from the marine environment in its (a) annual monitoring of the Climate Change Plan update and (b) next Climate Change Plan.

Question reference: S6W-40136

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39520 by Mairi Gougeon on 30 July 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the total amount that it has awarded from the Marine Fund Scotland to (a) aquaculture and fish farming, (b) trawling and (c) dredging, in each year since the fund started.

Question reference: S6W-39525

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any barriers that might prevent the transition to low-impact and sustainable fishing methods.

Question reference: S6W-39524

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to banning (a) dredging and (b) bottom trawling by the fishing industry.

Question reference: S6W-39518

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its publications, Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 and Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024–2030, what action it is taking towards implementing the goal of protecting 30% of the marine environment by 2030.

Scotland’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) network covers 37% of our seas, meeting the globally agreed target to conserve at least 30% of marine areas through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures by 2030.

In addition to existing management arrangements, the Scottish Government is committed to introducing fisheries management measures within MPAs where such measures are required but not yet in place. This commitment also extends to a selection of Priority Marine Features (PMFs) located outside the MPA network.

Implementation of fisheries management measures for MPAs in offshore waters (beyond 12 nautical miles) is scheduled for 2025. A public consultation on proposed measures for MPAs and PMFs in inshore waters (within 12 nautical miles) is planned to commence in November 2025.

Question reference: S6W-39519

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed in the towed gear fishing industry.

Question reference: S6W-39522

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the impact of the fishing industry on marine carbon sequestration.

The Scottish Government regularly reviews the latest scientific evidence to inform our policy approach to protecting the marine environment, including natural carbon stores, from potentially harmful activities.

We are currently preparing a Blue Carbon Action Plan (BCAP), which will set out what we are doing to address key evidence gaps and how we are integrating consideration of natural carbon stores into the marine policy landscape. As part of the development of the BCAP, we have carefully considered the impact of human activities, including fishing, on natural carbon stores. Understanding the impact of bottom trawling on blue carbon is one of our priority evidence gaps and, in collaboration with the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum, we have been progressing research to better understand its impact on seabed carbon.