- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total number was of (a) passengers, (b) cars, (c) coaches and (d) commercial vehicles, carried by (i) the MV Alfred and (ii) other vessels on the Arran ferry route between 18 April 2024 and 12 June 2025.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold carrying statistics for individual vessels. Contractual reporting is by route. However, CalMac have provided the following data as requested:
Vessel Name | Passengers | Cars | Coaches | Commercial Vehicles |
MV Alfred | 273,489 | 91,407 | 64 | 3,916 |
Other Vessels | 523,084 | 125,936 | 448 | 6,291 |
*This shows CalMac’s audited figures up to 31 May, 2025.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any data analysis that it has carried out on any regional differences in health outcomes for young women.
Answer
Our Women’s Health Plan Data Landscape Review examined the publicly available data on the health of women in Scotland and is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/womens-health-plan-review-data-landscape.
This report highlights the data and data sources that are available on health outcomes for women and girls in Scotland and includes information on young women.
The report covers data at Scotland level, but much of these data are disaggregated by age and region, health board or local authority at the data source.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was of repairs to the MV Caledonian Isles between 4 January 2024 and 12 June 2025.
Answer
The current estimated cost of repairs to MV Caledonian Isles between 4th January 2024 and 31st May 2025 is £10.8m.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was to charter the MV Alfred between 18 April 2024 and 12 June 2025.
Answer
The total cost of MV Alfred’s time charter for the period between 18 April 2024 and 12 June 2025 was £11.1m.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any evidence that shows whether restocking Scottish rivers with brown trout reared in hatcheries is more successful than releasing hatchery reared salmon fry and parr.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not aware of any direct comparison of outcomes between stocked brown trout and salmon.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total lease cost is for its offices at (a) Tankerness Lane, Kirkwall, (b) Longman House, Inverness, (c) Marine Scotland (Eyemouth), (d) Marine Scotland (Peterhead), (e) St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, (f) Cadzow Court, Hamilton and (g) 4 Atlantic Quay, Glasgow.
Answer
Tankerness Lane, Kirkwall; Longman House, Inverness; St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh and Cadzow Court, Hamilton are all owned under the core Scottish Government core estate.
The lease at 4 Atlantic Quay, Glasgow expired on 14 July 2024. Therefore, there are no lease costs applicable to these properties.
For the remaining properties, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37224 on 13 May 2025. 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: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what compliance monitoring by NatureScot in relation to grouse shooting licences (a) took place during the 2024 and (b) is planned for the 2025 shooting season.
Answer
Desk based compliance checks have been made on all grouse moor licences in respect of ensuring the area covered by the licence is appropriate and the relevant information has been provided by the applicant. Whilst no site visits have specifically been undertaken for compliance for grouse licensing so far, NatureScot staff have been on grouse moors and visited areas in which licences are in place in the course of other casework. NatureScot has produced staff guidance in relation to reporting wildlife crime encountered by its staff, so if any issues had been identified then this would have been progressed through notification to Police Scotland and the licensing teams.
NatureScot have information sharing protocols in place with Police Scotland regarding reported incidents of wildlife crime. They also work closely with other public agencies who have roles in inspection, regulation and enforcement, such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Rural Payments Inspection Division, whereby any issues picked up will be reported to NatureScot.
NatureScot also monitors annual return information as part of their compliance monitoring. Each licence holder is required to submit details on the number of grouse shot under licence and information on how the licence holder and those operating under it have complied with the Code of Practice on Grouse Moor Management. The provision of this annual return data is a condition of licence and a key part of NatureScot’s compliance monitoring process.
For compliance monitoring for 2025, NatureScot will carry out site visits where intelligence suggests it would help understand any compliance issues.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Minister for Business and Employment met representatives of PetroChina during his visit to Beijing on 9 April 2025, and, if so, for what reason, and what the outcomes of the meeting were.
Answer
On 9 April, the Minister for Business and Employment met the vice president of PetroChina and the China National Petroleum Cooperation to discuss our shared ambitions for the future of the Grangemouth refinery site. It was agreed that the Scottish Government and PetroChina will continue to explore all routes to deployment of new industrial and employment opportunities at Grangemouth.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have used or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to adjust non-domestic rates, broken down by financial year.
Answer
All local authorities have used their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to adjust non-domestic rates.
Table 1 shows relief awarded under section 3A of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962, as inserted by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, by local authority. Since 1 April 2023, relief for unoccupied properties (often referred to as Empty Property Relief) has been devolved to individual councils. To aid interpretation, local relief awards for 2023-2024 therefore also show the value of local reliefs excluding reliefs for unoccupied properties. Figures are presented to the nearest thousand and may not sum due to rounding.
[a] This negative figure is due to a correction to previously reported figures.
[b] These figures are currently unavailable due to software issues.
Data sources: Non-domestic rates income audited returns for 2016-2017 to 2022-2023. For 2023-2024, the latest available data (whether from the notified return, in the case of 12 councils, or audited return, for 20 councils) was used, though for all except one, the audited did not differ from the notified return.
Table 1: Local relief awards by council area, 2016-2017 to 2023-2024, £000
| | | | | | | | 2023-2024 (all local reliefs) | 2023-2024 (excluding reliefs for unoccupied properties) |
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Green Freeport relief is available for properties within the tax sites of Green Freeports in Scotland from the date of tax site designation, which was in 2024-25 for both Green Freeports. Local authorities will deliver this relief under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 powers and will be reimbursed by Scottish Government for any awards of this relief.
Investment Zone relief for properties within tax sites of Investment Zones in Scotland will be delivered under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 powers, in a similar manner to the Green Freeport relief.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will call in planning application 24/01680/FUL for the "erection of purpose-built student accommodation with ground floor food hall (Class 1A), food and drink (Class 3), public house and hot food takeaway (Sui generis), and assembly and leisure uses (Class 11) with associated landscaping, amenity, access and other ancillary works", which was reportedly granted by Glasgow City Council's Planning Applications Committee on 17 June 2025, in light of the objection raised by a statutory consultee, namely Historic Environment Scotland, due to the proposed development having a "significant adverse impact on the setting of A-listed Glasgow School of Art".
Answer
This application was notified to Scottish Ministers on 18 June 2025, as Glasgow City Council is minded to approve it against the advice of Historic Environment Scotland. Ministers have an initial 28-day period from the date of notification to consider whether to clear the application back to the Council or to call it in for their own determination. It would not be appropriate to comment further, while this matter is under consideration.