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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: S5W-29092

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers were translocated from Tayside from 1 May 2019 to 31 December 2019.

15 beavers were trapped and translocated under licence (between 1st May and 31st December 2019). Scottish Natural Heritage plans to work with licence holders to see what more can be done to make this option practicable as an alternative to lethal control.

Further details of the beaver translocations carried out in 2019 are provided in the Scottish Natural Heritage Beaver Licensing Summary report which was published on 28 May 2020 and is available on their website at https://www.nature.scot/snh-beaver-licensing-summary-1st-may-31st-december-2019 .

Question reference: S5W-29084

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish Natural Heritage has imposed date restrictions regarding the timing of authorised interventions when issuing all licences permitting the disturbance or lethal control of beavers since 1 May 2019.

Scottish Natural Heritage licences which permit the use of lethal control specify as a condition that ‘Lethal control or removal of mature dams (over 2 weeks old) during the Kit Dependency Period (1 April to 16 August) must only be carried out in exceptional circumstances i.e where there is an imminent threat of serious damage or to public health or to a public interest’.

The Scottish Natural Heritage licensing team must also be notified within 7 days of the action being undertaken.

Question reference: S5W-29091

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many spot-checks of licensees for the lethal control of beavers were carried out in the calendar year, 2019.

Scottish Natural Heritage has not carried out spot checks on beaver licence compliance, but continues to work with those in receipt of licences. Compliance checks are made as part of checking licence returns.

Those carrying out lethal control are required to be accredited to ensure best practice is followed and that accredited controllers are familiar with beaver ecology. Scottish Natural Heritage ran a series of training events to ensure that practitioners have the correct skills and knowledge to undertake any lethal control humanely.

Question reference: S5W-28386

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has issued in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak with regard to the (a) frailty assessment of patients with autism and learning difficulties being treated for the condition and (b) rationing of ventilators if intensive care units are overwhelmed.

There are not and have not been any plans to ration medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every effort is being made to ensure that the capability and capacity needed are quickly put in place and to date that has been achieved.

The Chief Medical Officer published COVID-19 Clinical Advice on 3 April, which supported health and care professionals with clinical decision making during this pandemic. This guidance is currently being updated to make it clear that the Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) should be used as part of a general assessment that is recorded clearly. Clinicians should have awareness of its limitations, particularly in younger adults (those below 65 years of age) and those with stable long-term disabilities (for example, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities or autism). For these groups, alternative person-centred assessments may be more appropriate.

This guidance is subject to an Equalities Impact Assessment which started at the end of April. The Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities has agreed to take part in the EQIA.

Question reference: S5W-29153

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any polling on the level of support for low emission zones.

The Scottish Government conducted market research surveys in February and March 2019 to gather data on the understanding of, and support for, plans to introduce Low Emission Zones into Scotland’s four biggest cities. Of those surveyed, 84% of the general population and 79% of businesses agreed that Low Emission Zones are a good option to tackle poor air quality.

The Scottish Government also published two consultations in 2017 and 2020 to help inform Low Emission Zone legislation development. 95.3% of individuals were in overall support of the principle of Low Emission Zones in 2017. The 2020 consultation responses are currently being analysed.

Question reference: S5W-28343

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding participation in the EU procurement of therapies for COVID-19.

The Scottish Government is involved in discussions with the UK Government on participation in the EU procurement of COVID-19 therapeutics. This important work will supplement the enormous efforts already being undertaken by Scotland, both independently and in direct collaboration with the UK Government, other Devolved Administrations, and international partners. As the UK is a signatory to the EU Joint Procurement Agreement, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) represents the UK, including Devolved Administrations, on the EU’s Joint Procurement Steering Group where joint procurements are discussed. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with DHSC officials to ensure that any future UK participation in EU Joint Procurement exercises takes into account the health and social care needs of Scotland during the COVID-19 crisis.

Question reference: S5T-02183

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not yet published guidance on allowing recycling centres to reopen.

Question reference: S5W-28830

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28294 by Michael Matheson on 30 April 2020, how many vehicle trips it estimates have been made on each day since 9 March 2020, broken down by the percentage of vehicles making these trips that it estimates travelled above the speed limit on (a) roads managed by Transport Scotland and (b) other roads.

As I noted in my answer to S5W-28294, Transport Scotland maintains a number of automatic traffic count sites across the motorway and trunk road network that are able to record vehicle speeds. The following table presents the answer to part (a) the total recorded number of vehicles that passed this group of sites from 9 March 2020 up to 07 May 2020. In addition, the table also reports the number of vehicles that were recorded as travelling over the speed limit and as a proportion of the total vehicles.

With regard to part (b) of the question, the Scottish Government does not hold this information. The collection and collation of speed data on other roads in Scotland is the responsibility of the respective 32 local authorities. Any specific requests for such data should therefore be directed to the relevant local authority.

I would further note that the additional data presented in this response continues to show that since the COVID-19 lockdown was announced on the 23 March, the proportion of vehicles recorded over the speed limit has risen, while the actual number of vehicles observed speeding has fallen by approximately 50% compared with a typical weekday or weekend prior to COVID-19 restrictions being introduced.

Table: Response to part (a) Vehicles over the Speed Limit on roads managed by Transport Scotland

Date	Total recorded vehicles (at sites where data was available)	Number of vehicle movements over the speed limit	Proportion of vehicle movements over the speed limit
09-03-2020	1,528,929	300,470	19.7%
10-03-2020	1,547,452	312,407	20.2%
11-03-2020	1,559,566	314,360	20.2%
12-03-2020	1,564,448	299,124	19.1%
13-03-2020	1,606,097	384,164	23.9%
14-03-2020	1,166,771	336,332	28.8%
15-03-2020	1,042,651	297,450	28.5%
16-03-2020	1,431,085	296,135	20.7%
17-03-2020	1,359,666	276,409	20.3%
18-03-2020	1,341,195	313,061	23.3%
19-03-2020	1,345,437	323,522	24.0%
20-03-2020	1,356,171	342,792	25.3%
21-03-2020	902,376	271,477	30.1%
22-03-2020	776,166	239,532	30.9%
23-03-2020	1,090,990	289,940	26.6%
24-03-2020	803,308	226,453	28.2%
25-03-2020	633,380	175,697	27.7%
26-03-2020	589,997	158,421	26.9%
27-03-2020	573,025	162,939	28.4%
28-03-2020	322,254	98,542	30.6%
29-03-2020	270,126	79,468	29.4%
30-03-2020	517,039	149,108	28.8%
31-03-2020	530,146	152,681	28.8%
01-04-2020	532,787	154,942	29.1%
02-04-2020	535,028	154,754	28.9%
03-04-2020	556,168	170,071	30.6%
04-04-2020	335,472	108,830	32.4%
05-04-2020	273,387	90,734	33.2%
06-04-2020	528,218	153,462	29.1%
07-04-2020	540,414	160,820	29.8%
08-04-2020	551,759	166,432	30.2%
09-04-2020	568,367	169,019	29.7%
10-04-2020	497,763	162,433	32.6%
11-04-2020	332,285	109,498	33.0%
12-04-2020	256,464	87,412	34.1%
13-04-2020	392,037	125,101	31.9%
14-04-2020	547,055	163,160	29.8%
15-04-2020	561,405	170,333	30.3%
16-04-2020	569,542	173,280	30.4%
17-04-2020	578,703	183,008	31.6%
18-04-2020	369,127	122,672	33.2%
19-04-2020	311,722	105,787	33.9%
20-04-2020	575,655	173,821	30.2%
21-04-2020	587,684	175,720	29.9%
22-04-2020	600,393	182,072	30.3%
23-04-2020	613,779	188,777	30.8%
24-04-2020	624,363	198,912	31.9%
25-04-2020	400,861	136,473	34.0%
26-04-2020	338,994	111,982	33.0%
27-04-2020	600,773	180,156	30.0%
28-04-2020	617,454	185,149	30.0%
29-04-2020	623,926	183,284	29.4%
30-04-2020	640,638	193,722	30.2%
01-05-2020	652,740	205,004	31.4%
02-05-2020	430,369	141,547	32.9%
03-05-2020	363,890	120,441	33.1%
04-05-2020	618,414	179,945	29.1%
05-05-2020	661,830	197,008	29.8%
06-05-2020	672,190	202,531	30.1%
07-05-2020	673,977	205,908	30.6%

Question reference: S5W-28829

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to change the law in relation to the wilful damage of animal traps.

Under existing legislation and common law a person interfering with a legally set snare or trap may be committing one of a number of possible offences.

The Independent Review of Grouse Moor Management report which was published in December recommended changes to legislation on the use of animal traps. The Scottish Government is currently considering all of the recommendations in the report and will publish a response in due course.

Question reference: S5W-28828

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association regarding creating offences and sanctions in relation to animal trap damage, broken down by (a) date and (b) location of discussion.