Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-02278

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the role that it anticipates that the low carbon and renewables sector will play in the transition to net zero, including on any relevant discussions that took place at the recent All-Energy conference in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6W-17043

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it allocated to advertising its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas.

The Scottish Government did not pay for advertisements in relation to the public consultation on our overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas. The consultation was publicised online via social media – see the answer to
‎ S6W-17045 on 15 May 2023 for more details. Additionally emails were sent out to the over 200 stakeholders who had signed up for our mailing list.

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

Question reference: S6W-17723

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12690 by Shona Robison on 13 December 2022, whether the (a) review and (b) modelling are complete, and whether the recommendations have been developed and stakeholders have been consulted on any proposed changes.

Question reference: S6W-17666

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how long it anticipates the Rural and Islands Housing Funds will remain open.

Question reference: S6W-17042

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held any in-person sessions related to its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas, and if so, what the (a) date and (b) location of each session was.

The Scottish Government’s stakeholder engagement during this initial phase of policy development, when no sites have been identified, was conducted online to enable wide participation. See the answers to S6W-16733 on 28 April 2023 and S6W-17046 on 15 May 2023 for more details of specific engagements. Meetings which took place prior to the launch of the consultation allowed stakeholder feedback to be taken into account as we developed our initial proposals. Meetings held during the consultation period were designed to assist stakeholders, including individuals and businesses, to complete the consultation and answer any questions.

The intention is to undertake in-person sessions during the next phase of the project in relation to the development of site proposals. I, along with other Ministers, will be visiting island and coastal communities around Scotland to hear their views directly before setting out our next steps.

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

Question reference: S6W-17621

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many children over the past five years have received swimming lessons through physical education classes at school.

The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people receive at least two hours of physical education per school week in primary schools, and at least two 50-minute periods of physical education per week in secondary schools - between secondaries 1 and 4.

Under the provisions of Curriculum for Excellence, schools and education authorities have the flexibility to decide upon the content of their lessons at the local level by taking into account the needs and circumstances of all children and young people in attendance. This includes taking decisions locally about the content of their PE lessons, where they can offer swimming lessons to their pupils if they wish to do so.

However, I recognise the importance of ensuring that all children can have equal opportunities to access swimming lessons, regardless of their families' social or economic circumstances. Therefore, we have been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportScotland and Scottish Water to pilot bespoke interventions and approaches within local areas to provide opportunities for more children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers.

Question reference: S6W-17467

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning any future engagement with churches regarding the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land) Regulations 2021.

In letters of 16 February 2023 and 27 March 2023, the Scottish Government offered the Church of Scotland the option of another meeting with Registers of Scotland and Scottish Government officials to discuss how they can work together to help achieve compliance. The Scottish Government has not yet received a response to that offer, however officials will be in touch with the Church of Scotland to follow up on this.

The Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland are working together to deliver an additional engagement plan to raise awareness and help support stakeholders through the process. This will include a programme of additional awareness raising and reviewing the existing guidance, however this will not include further legislative intervention or legal advice.

Question reference: S6W-17041

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S6W-11752 by Mairi McAllan on 10 November 2022, whether it has now considered whether Island Communities Impact Assessments will be required in relation to its proposed Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas, and if so, whether it will publish details of this.

Question reference: S6W-17481

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any of its representatives will attend the 53rd Annual Conference of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, in light of the reported economic value of the shellfish industry to Scotland.

The shellfish industry is an increasingly important aquaculture and food sector, creating and sustaining employment opportunities in many of Scotland’s remote rural, island and coastal communities and which supplies healthy and delicious Scottish shellfish to domestic and international markets and businesses.

I was pleased to support the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference held in Oban last year, in addition to the Shellfish Association of Great Britain conference to provide an update on progress across our priorities in Scotland, which of course is producing substantial amounts of the UK’s shellfish either through wild or farmed stocks. This year’s annual conference will be held in London in June and I was grateful to receive an invite to attend from David Jarrad, Chief Executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain.

Scottish Government officials are currently considering attendance at the event.

Question reference: S6W-17620

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making the provision of swimming lessons to children a statutory requirement.

There is no mandatory curriculum within Scottish schools. Local authorities have the flexibility to decide upon the content of their lessons, taking account of the needs and circumstances of children and young people in attendance at their schools. This also applies to PE lessons.

We nonetheless recognise the significant physical and mental health benefits that physical activity brings and believe that every child should be given the opportunity to learn to swim. Swimming is a life skill. We have therefore been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportScotland and Scottish Water to pilot bespoke interventions and approaches within local areas to provide opportunities for more children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers.

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