- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 6 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year on its Continue Our Love Affair with Europe campaign, as set out in its Population Programme.
Answer
In support of the Scottish Government’s broader aims to protect Scotland’s place in Europe following Brexit and mitigate any associated economic, social and reputational damage, an international marketing campaign called ‘Scotland is Open’ was delivered by Brand Scotland in France, Germany and Spain in 2019.
This ‘Scotland is Open’ campaign aimed to promote Scotland as a welcoming and open country to boost positive perceptions of Scotland as a place to live, work, study, visit and do business with in order to build and maintain strong relationships with the EU and member states.
The campaign included video on demand, paid social, OOH digital display and print advertising ran initially from 29 March until 11 April in 2019. The second burst ran from October until 5 November in 2020 and added Belgium to the international markets targeted.
The creative production and media costs for this two year campaign were funded by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise/SDI.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 6 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year on its Stay in Scotland Settled Status campaign, as set out in its Population Programme.
Answer
The UK Government took a decision, following the vote to leave the EU, to require EU/EEA citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to maintain their right to live, work and study in the UK. The Scottish Government has always been clear that EU citizens should not had to apply to maintain rights they already had. However, given the decision by the UK Government the Scottish Government launched the Stay in Scotland campaign in 2019 to ensure that EU citizens had the advice and support that they needed to secure their right to stay in Scotland. The Scottish Government has provided over £2 million through the Stay in Scotland campaign to third sector and community groups working with EU citizens across Scotland.
Year | Funding |
2018-2019 | £200,000 |
2019-2020 | £462,821 |
2020-2021 | £535,896 |
2021-2022 | £469,067 |
2022-2023 | £318,980 |
2023-2024 | £216,850 |
2024-2025 | £216,850 |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 6 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the efficacy of its Stay in Scotland Settled Status campaign, as set out in its Population Programme.
Answer
The Scottish Government launched the EU Settlement Scheme in 2019 to support EU/EEA citizens, their employers and service providers following the decision of the UK Government to require EU citizens who were residing in the UK prior to the ending of freedom of movement to apply for the UK Government’s EU Settlement Scheme in order to continue living, working and studying in the UK.
The main aim of the Stay in Scotland campaign was to support EU citizens to secure their right to stay in Scotland through the EU Settlement Scheme. The UK Government publishes figures on the number of applications to the EU Settlement Scheme by nationality, region and local authority. The aim of the Stay in Scotland campaign was therefore to maximise the number of successful applications from EU citizens in Scotland.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 6 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the efficacy of its Welcome to Scotland campaign, as set out in its Population Programme.
Answer
International marketing activity undertaken by the Scottish Government as Brand Scotland, is measured by a comprehensive suite of metrics that determine whether the associated SMART objectives have been met. These objectives are set each year according to the purpose of the activity, the level of spend available and the tactics it will use.
They include digital reach through social and digital channels and audience engagement with the content but more importantly additionally consider the strategic outcomes and impact on these audiences, such as perception change or an increase in consideration or claimed action by target audiences.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 6 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year on the Scotland is Now campaign, as set out in its Population Programme.
Answer
Scotland is Now was the creative platform that formally launched the Brand Scotland Partnership on 11 April 2018, seeking to establish a new narrative for positioning Scotland internationally that would more effectively challenge certain perceptions that could limit opportunities.
The Brand Scotland Partnership consists of the following organisations: VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise/SDI, Creative Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, HIE, Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government.
The Brand Scotland Strategic Partnership is a collaborative initiative that seeks to grow Scotland’s profile with international audiences and increase consideration as a place to live and work, study, visit and do business.
The Scottish Government routinely publishes marketing spend annually and figures for international marketing spend which would all have been delivered as Brand Scotland, can be accessed here: Marketing spend - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27329 by Fiona Hyslop on 17 May 2024, whether it will provide an update on progress with the introduction of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) on Dunoon-Gourock services provided by (a) CalMac Ferries and (b) Western Ferries, in light of the conclusion of the public consultation on the Islands Connectivity Plan on 6 May 2024, the publication of the Cowal and Rosneath Community Needs Assessment report on 11 September 2024, and its associated consultation exercise on 9 October 2024.
Answer
The draft Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) Strategic Approach paper said that we would take forward detailed consideration of a number of fares proposals.
The consultation and engagement report and our initial responses were published on 3 September and are available at Islands Connectivity Plan | Transport Scotland.
These outputs will support the finalisation of the ICP which will set out our plans for taking forward ferry fares policy. Further updates will be provided in due course.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many planning consents for onshore wind farm developments in the Highlands and Islands region the Scottish Ministers have approved following an appeal since 2021.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2024
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 3 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the evidence in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee report, Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry, what steps it is taking to ensure that healthcare workers in rural and remote areas are able to access suitable childcare places.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises that high quality, accessible and affordable early learning and childcare is vital in rural areas to support children’s outcomes and to enable parents or carers to train, work or study. A full response to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee report, Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry, was sent on 18 November. The Scottish Government, in collaboration with the Centre for Workforce Supply and the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care will develop a sustained model of direct support that will provide rural and island employers with the help they need to improve recruitment success.
We recognise the provision of childcare is a key factor to support more people in rural and island communities to enter and sustain training, employment and starting a business. The Scottish Government continues to fully fund local authorities to deliver 1140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare to eligible children across Scotland, backed by almost £1 billion funding each year. In addition, at a national level, several work programmes are underway to support childcare access in rural and island communities. This includes –
- Funding a new national childminder recruitment and retention programme.
- Making grants available to local authorities via the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan Fund, two of which will contain a focus on addressing childcare issues in areas affected by acute population decline.
- Providing local authorities with an additional £16m in 2024-25 to support payment of the real Living Wage to staff delivering funded ELC in the private and third sectors.
- Investing £16 million over the next two years into our early adopter communities (EACs), including those in rural and island locations. We are extending the number of communities involved in this work in existing EACs in Dundee, Clackmannanshire Glasgow and Inverclyde – as well as further expanding into Fife and the Shetland Isles. This will allow us to test and understand particular challenges and opportunities in rural and island areas.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scotland Office regarding whether it has plans to bring forward an order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998 on UK consequential legislation with respect to plans to enable pre-existing marriages to become civil partnerships.
Answer
As I stated in my previous answer to S6W-29868 on 24 September 2024, I wrote to the new Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP, on 12 August 2024 seeking his in-principle agreement to proceed with this section 104 Order. I have still not received a reply.
My officials have asked officials in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland when I can expect to receive a reply.
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: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to address the reportedly prohibitive costs associated with the application process for the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, and, if so, whether it can provide details of such plans.
Answer
To ensure the delivery of the intended environmental outcomes and value for public money, applicants are required to provide a level of evidence when applying to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS).
Funding is available for certain aspects of the application, to ease the financial burden on applicants. Support is available towards the cost of producing the Farm Environment Assessment (FEA) for first-time applicants, or existing applicants proposing management on land not subject to a previous FEA, and some management plans that require more detailed or extensive intervention, for example, moorland management or bog management. Guidance, including payment rates, is available on the Rural Payments website. For returning applicants who have previously completed the FEA, only updated information would be required for a subsequent application.
Payment for these elements is not dependent on the success of the subsequent application, and costs can be reimbursed where the FEA and/or Management Plans are fit for purpose. This is designed to encourage farmers, crofters and land managers to apply, while recognising AECS is a competitive scheme.
Easing the burden on applicants to access AECS needs to be balanced against ensuring the effective use of public funds. Requirements for applicants are considered on an on-going basis and are a key consideration in the development of the future Agricultural Support Framework.
