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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: S5W-33036

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of means-testing the Self-Isolation Support Grant on its effectiveness in encouraging and enabling people to self-isolate.

The Self-Isolation Support Grant provides a payment of £500 to workers who would otherwise face a loss of income when they self-isolate. Many people will be able to work from home and should continue to be paid as normal by their employer while they are doing so. Some people who cannot work from home will face a significant loss of income as a result of self-isolation.

Research undertaken for SAGE indicates that while willingness to self-isolate is high among all income groups, the self-reported ability to do so is three times lower in those with incomes less than £20,000.

Whilst not all workers will be eligible for the Self-Isolation Support Grant, within the resources available, we are ensuring that support is targeted at the people who are at the highest risk of losing income, and for whom loss of income is most likely to be a barrier to self-isolation.

We expect to publish management information on the early operation of the Grant in early December.

Question reference: S5O-04770

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how the provisions in its proposed EU Continuity Bill will stay aligned with EU principles on animal sentience.

Question reference: S5W-32699

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance and support is available to encourage schools to host Bikeability training programmes given COVID-19 restrictions.

Cycling Scotland has issued updated guidance to all participating authorities on the support available to re-commence Bikeability Scotland training delivery in primary schools. This guidance highlights the benefits of cycle training in enabling outdoor learning and includes sample risk assessment templates. The guidance issued reflects experiences of delivering Bikeability Scotland in over 70 childcare hubs across 15 local authorities during the lockdown period. As of October 2020, 25 of 30 participating authorities had re-commenced training, with some restrictions in place.

To support Bikeability Scotland delivery during 2020-21, Cycling Scotland is in the process of awarding participating authorities grant funding totalling £500,000. It has introduced flexibility to standard delivery guidelines in response to the pandemic, including support for intensive delivery over 1-2 days and increased flexibility of funding to support direct delivery, recognising constraints on teacher capacity.

Question reference: S5W-32698

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to develop a new Cycle Action Plan for Scotland.

In 2019, Transport Scotland commissioned Cycling Scotland to produce a review of the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) 2017-20. The review was submitted in February 2020 however further work was put on hold due to the need to prioritise the Scottish Government Covid-19 emergency response.

Transport Scotland officials are now progressing work with Cycling Scotland to consider the review and next steps.

Question reference: S5W-32756

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing an inter-ministerial group on policy coherence for sustainable development.

Question reference: S5W-32701

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect the flapper skate.

Flapper skate are recognised as a Priority Marine Feature and are a protected feature of the Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura MPA which has stringent management in place. Marine Scotland have sought advice from NatureScot (formerly SNH) on whether additional protection is necessary for this species in Scottish waters, which we will consider alongside available evidence and anticipated impacts to determine the most appropriate protection for flapper skate.

Question reference: S5W-32305

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to assess the costs borne by (a) other sectors and (b) the marine ecosystem as a consequence of open cage salmon aquaculture in inshore waters.

A). I refer the member to S5W-32303 on 30 October 2020. It is not standard practice to assess an entire sector in the framework of a cost benefit analysis. This is typically undertaken (in line with Green Book guidance) when considering specific policy interventions.

B). A report commissioned by SPICe and undertaken by SAMS Research Services Ltd (SRSL) contains a review of literature on the environmental impacts of salmon farming in Scotland, the scale of the impacts and approaches to mitigating the impacts. This report was the basis for the Parliamentary Inquiry into salmon farming in Scotland and our response can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/S5_Rural/20190129_Cab_Sec_RE_-_SG_response_to_Cttee_report_on_salmon_farming_in_Scotland.pdf

Marine Scotland Science (MSS), on behalf of the Scottish Government and in partnership with other Scottish public sector institutes, is responsible for a broad programme of work to develop our understanding of aquaculture impacts on wild fish and the marine eco-system. Our Government field station at Shieldaig supports long-term research in this area. Formal monitoring and assessment of the environmental impact of fish farming is the statutory responsibility of SEPA and NatureScot. The Scottish Government uses the combined advice, analysis, assessment and regulation provided by those bodies and MSS to develop its policies on aquaculture. In June 2019, SEPA published its strengthened regulatory framework for marine pen fish farms followed by its first Finfish Aquaculture Sector Plan including a focus on how organic waste discharges from farms can be better regulated. A Technical Working Group is also developing a Risk Assessment Framework for assessing the level of risk posed by sea lice interactions with wild salmonids and we are currently developing proposals to improve aquaculture spatial management and planning, incorporating MSS field observation and dispersal modelling results for sea lice.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-32304

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how Ministers have taken account of the Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland and Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust report, The Economic Contribution of Open Cage Salmon Aquaculture to Scotland.

Understanding the economic impact of any key marine sector is an important piece of evidence for marine policy makers and the Scottish Government considers evidence from many different sources in formulating policy. All evidence has a value and the Scottish Government are engaged on a number of research projects and working groups to improve the sustainability of Scottish aquaculture, to mitigate potential environmental impact and to support further blue economy developments. Our recently published research undertaken by Biggar Economics (2020) into the estimation of the wider economic impact of aquaculture found the sector and its wider supply chain is worth around £880 million in GVA and supports 11,700 jobs across the Scottish economy and is yet another key piece of evidence amongst that wider, and expanding, evidence base.

Question reference: S5W-32245

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers have been translocated from the River Tay catchment since the end of the kit dependency period, on 16 August 2020, to destinations in (a) Scotland and (b) England to assist with flood resilience and biodiversity enhancement projects.

Between 25 August 2020 and 5 September 2020, 16 beavers have been trapped in Tayside under licence from NatureScot.

(a) One animal was re-released locally (relating to a licence to protect public infrastructure).

(b) Eleven have been released at five different projects in England. A further four animals are currently at a holding facility until trapping of the family group is completed. Following this, the families will be moved to another release project in England.

The projects in England include biodiversity enhancement, flood resilience and science, research and education.

Question reference: S5W-32248

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many expressions of interest or requests have been received by it and NatureScot since 1 May 2019 from parties in England and Wales interested in acquiring beavers for translocation from Scotland to assist with flood resilience and biodiversity enhancement projects, also broken down by date of receipt.

The Scottish Government has not received any requests or expressions of interest from parties in England and Wales looking to acquire beavers.

Requests for the supply of beavers to populate projects in England and Wales do not routinely come directly to NatureScot. However, NatureScot works in collaboration with a beaver consultant and with Natural England and Natural Resources Wales.

The following projects have been granted release licences from Natural England, with NatureScot agreeing that animals can be sourced from Tayside.

Project name/Site	Dates	Number proposed; up to
River Otter Beaver Trial, Devon	4-1-2018 to 12-2-2020	3
Pickering Beaver Project, Yorkshire	27-3-2019 to 30-4-2019	2
Poole Habour Farm, Plymouth City Council	1-5-2020 to 30-4-2025	6
Hamathey Estate, Cornwall	1-3-2020 to 1-3-2025	6
Highloft Beaver Project, Cartmell fell	1-6-2020 to 31-5-2025	6
Valewood Beaver Project, National Trust	1-1-2020 to 31-12-2025	4
Holnicote Beaver Project, National Trust	1-4-2020 to 31-3-2025	6
Dorset Wildife Trust	1-3-2020 to 1-3- 2025	6
Cheshire Wildlife Trust	29-6-2020 to 29-6-2025	6
Cabilla Farm, Cornwall	1-3-2020 to 1-3-2025	6
Sussex Beaver Project, Knepp Estate	9-1-2020 to 9-1-2025	14
Forest of Dean	1-2-2018 to 31-1-2023	8
Lowther Beaver Project, Lowther Estate	9-1-2020 to 6-1-2025	6
Kenhill Estate	14-1-2020 to 13-1-2025	15
Broadridge Farm, Witheridge, Devon	15-8-2020 to 14-8-2025	6
Willington Gravel Pits, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust	1-10-2020 to 30-9-2025	12