- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the total volume, in kilograms, was of (a) cod, (b) haddock, (c) herring, (d) whiting, (e) sole, (f) plaice and (g) saithe that was discarded by Scottish boats in 2021, in ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) areas (i) 4 and (ii) 6a.
Answer
The total quantity of discards from Scottish vessels is not currently estimated. Marine Scotland estimates the total weight of unwanted catch (catch that was not considered suitable for commercial sales) for demersal trawlers and seine netters for each year, using data collected by scientific observers on-board fishing vessels. (Fishing trips by vessels using other gears are not surveyed.) The estimates for 2021 are given in the following table. These estimates are for fishing trips by UK vessels landing into Scotland and Scottish vessels landing abroad.
Estimates of the total weight of unwanted catch (kg) caught in 2021 in ICES subarea 4 and division 6a by UK vessels landing into Scotland and Scottish vessels landing abroad, fishing with demersal trawls or seines.
Species | ICES region |
(i) 4 | (ii) 6a |
(a) Cod | 2,161,000 | 532,000 |
(b) Haddock | 7,051,000 | 4,061,000 |
(c) Herring | 337,000 | 332,000 |
(d) Whiting | 1,703,000 | 216,000 |
(e) Sole | 0 | 2,500 |
(f) Plaice | 49,000 | 75,000 |
(g) Saithe | 721,000 | 56,000 |
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 May 2022
To ask the Government whether it plans to increase investment in local advice services, including government-funded services and those provided by housing associations, to help provide people with advice and support amid the reported cost of living crisis, in line with the recommendation of the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce.
Answer
Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government, provides free, bespoke, impartial advice and support on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty support in Scotland.
This year, we have committed to expanding the Home Energy Scotland advice service by 20%. This will allow the service to support an extra 12,000 households a year in making their homes warmer and easier to heat.
HES also acts as the gateway to the Scottish Government’s domestic loans and grants programmes for energy efficiency improvements to homes in Scotland and a referral service to Scotland’s flagship fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland. We are increasing the budget for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme to £55m for 2022-2023, up from £50m in 2021-2022.
The Scottish Government’s full response to the recommendations made by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce will be published after the local government elections.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the total volume, in kilograms, was of below Minimum Conservation Reference Size (a) cod, (b) haddock, (c) herring, (d) whiting, (e) sole, (f) plaice and (g) saithe that was discarded by Scottish boats in 2021, in ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) areas (i) 4 and (ii) 6a.
Answer
The total quantity of discards below Minimum Conservation Reference Size from Scottish vessels is not currently estimated. Marine Scotland estimates the total weight of unwanted catch (catch that was not considered suitable for commercial sales) below Minimum Conservation Reference Size for demersal trawlers and seine netters for each year, using data collected by scientific observers on-board fishing vessels. (Fishing trips by vessels using other gears are not surveyed.) The estimates for 2021 are given in the following table. These estimates are for fishing trips by UK vessels landing into Scotland and Scottish vessels landing abroad.
Estimates of the total weight of unwanted catch (kg) below Minimum Conservation Reference Size caught in 2021 in ICES subarea 4 and division 6a by UK vessels landing into Scotland and Scottish vessels landing abroad, fishing with demersal trawls or seines.
Species | ICES region |
(i) 4 | (ii) 6a |
(a) Cod | 338,000 | 1,000 |
(b) Haddock | 4,087,000 | 3,048,000 |
(c) Herring | 1,000 | 42,000 |
(d) Whiting | 271,000 | 84,000 |
(e) Sole | 0 | 2,500 |
(f) Plaice | 30,000 | 47,000 |
(g) Saithe | 4,000 | 0 |
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 May 2022
To ask the Government whether it plans to introduce emergency redress funding for social tenants facing higher fuel bills as a result of work to decarbonise their energy supplies, in line with the recommendation of the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to a just transition to net zero and this includes supporting those who are least able to pay.
As part of a wider package of funding announcements made to tackle the cost of living crisis, we have committed a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which has been helping households at risk of self-disconnection, or self-rationing their energy use, since late 2020.
This money is in addition to the £25m funding we have provided this winter to local authorities to tackle financial insecurity and the further £6m provided to trusted third sector partners to help low income families.
Anyone struggling with their energy bills can get in touch with our Home Energy Scotland service for advice and support to reduce their fuel costs.
The Scottish Government’s full response to the recommendations made by the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce will be published after the local government elections.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the projected revenue that will be generated for each local authority as a result of its proposed short-term let licensing scheme, and whether it will provide projected figures broken down by local authority.
Answer
Licensing authorities must determine their own fees and fee structures to recover establishment and running costs specific to their area. Licensing authorities must review their fees from time to time to ensure that revenue from fees remains in line with the running costs of the licensing scheme.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential financial impact on local authorities of its proposed licencing scheme requirements for short-term lets, in light of any inflationary pressures as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Answer
Licensing authorities will recover the costs of establishing and running the licensing scheme in their area through licence fees.
- Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to implementing a rapid food production impact assessment of all existing and new legislation and policy affecting agricultural land use and practice, in order to avoid any undermining of the potential for, or increases to the costs of, food production.
Answer
Scottish Ministers have established a short-life Food Security and Supply Taskforce, together with industry. The Taskforce met for the first time on 18 March and again on 01 and 20 April. It will monitor, identify and respond to any current and potential disruption to the food and drink supply chain resulting from the impact of the current situation in Ukraine.
It is currently considering a range of issues and proposals submitted to it and will seek to recommend, any short, medium and longer-term actions that can be taken to mitigate impacts, resolve supply issues and strengthen food security and supply in Scotland. The taskforce will report in due course.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on establishing the licencing scheme frameworks for local authorities to take forward its proposed registration requirements for short-term lets.
Answer
The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 came into force on 1 March 2022. Licensing authorities have until 1 October to open schemes in their areas to receive applications from new and existing hosts. We published updated guidance for licensing authorities on 18 March, and we will continue to work closely with them in the run up to schemes opening.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost has been of housing individuals and families in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect data on the cost to local authorities for housing homeless households in temporary accommodation. This information would need to be requested from each local authority directly.
Funding for local authorities is provided by way of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, including any funding to combat homelessness, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian-speaking lawyers it has recruited to ease the resettlement process of Ukrainian refugees in Scotland.
Answer
Scottish Government lawyers provide legal services and advice to the Scottish Government and its agencies only. As such, Ukrainian-speaking lawyers have not been specifically recruited in order to assist the resettlement process.
To support the settlement process of Ukrainian refugees, the Scottish Government has provided £36,000 to JustRight Scotland to provide free, confidential legal advice to Ukrainians and their family members seeking safety in Scotland. We have also provided £7 million to Local Authorities to meet longer term needs. In addition, we have provided £1.4 million to the Scottish Refugee Council for the expansion of its Refugee Integration Service.
