Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-04988

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its consultation report on short-term let licensing, how it has addressed the specific concerns raised by the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, as identified in Annex E of the report.

In developing proposals for the regulation of short-term lets, the Scottish Government has conducted three public consultations. Our most recent consultation closed on 13 August 2021, and we received 1,026 responses.

We carefully considered suggestions for changes to the legislation from working group members, and stakeholders responding to our third consultation, including the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers. The changes set out in the consultation report align with the policy objectives of ensuring all short-term lets comply with basic safety requirements, without undermining protections for guests, neighbours and local communities. These include significant and pragmatic changes in response to concerns from the tourism sector, such as the removal of overprovision and stronger guidance on fees.

Question reference: S6W-04987

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on short-term let licensing, on what evidence it has based its assumption that “there is no reason why lenders and insurers should be unwilling to extend financial products to such a business, provided that they are satisfied that the business is being run in a safe way”, in light of the view that lenders base their support on the basis of turnover and profitability, as opposed to the safety of an activity.

At the heart of our licensing scheme is a set of mandatory standards which will help to protect the safety of guests and neighbours in short-term lets across Scotland. Provided an operator continues to comply with their licence conditions, which will often just be the mandatory safety conditions, their licence would normally be renewed. As the licensing scheme requires licence holders to comply with mandatory safety conditions, and they cannot continue to operate if they do not, it is reasonable to assume that lenders will have regard to this as part of their due diligence, alongside other considerations such as turnover and profitability.

Question reference: S6O-00596

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what considerations it will give in relation to its proposals for the scheduling of government business in the Chamber in order to take account of the various impacts of COVID-19 and Scotland's recovery from it.

Question reference: S6W-04728

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it would gather evidence when considering whether proof of COVID-19 vaccine status is required for entry to cinemas.

We must make sure our decisions on all of the COVID protection measures are necessary, proportionate and targeted in delivering our four harms approach to alleviating the direct harms of COVID-19, the indirect health harms, and the social and economic harms. We continue to take and review decisions based on the latest evidence from clinical and scientific literature, from public opinion, and from international experience.

Our review process includes regular engagement with businesses about the protection measures which will help us to break the chains of transmission, and that is set out in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Question reference: S6F-00604

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will set up a commission on preventing violence against women and girls, in light of reports that one in five teenage girls have been sexually assaulted.

Question reference: S6O-00467

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure a just transition for the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-04042

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee’s seventh quinquennial review of schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, what assessment it has made of the potential removal of schedule 5 legal protection for (a) pine martens, (b) adders, (c) basking sharks and (d) other wildlife species in Scotland that (i) have not had a relevant International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessment and (ii) are in decline but have had a relevant IUCN assessment that did not signal imminent threat of national extinction, and whether it would support a recommendation to remove schedule 5 protection for any of these species.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published a stakeholder consultation , including a list of provisional recommendations regarding the addition, retention, regrading or removal of each species on 8 November 2021. Those proposed recommendations do not include the removal of schedule 5 legal protection for pine martens, adders or basking sharks.

We will carefully consider the findings of the JNCC seventh Quinquennial review prior to implementing any recommendations. Before making any changes regarding species removal from schedule 5 we would have to be satisfied that there would be no detrimental impact to the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04176

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that green incentives and loans for renewable energy efficiency measures for domestic properties are easy to understand and apply for, and that members of the public have access to the help and support they need to ensure that the application process itself is not a barrier to the assistance available.

The Scottish Government provides loans with cashback grants to enable households in all parts of Scotland to install renewables and energy efficiency measures. Funding is delivered through Home Energy Scotland and managed, on behalf of Scottish Government, by the Energy Saving Trust,

To further support households in understanding the application process, Home Energy Scotland provides:

free, impartial, bespoke advice through Home Energy Scotland, including specialist home renewables advice;
the Green Homes Network which allows households to find out about the experience of others who have already installed renewables measures; and
the Renewable Installer Finder Tool which helps households find installers and suppliers in their area.

Going forward, and following the recent publication of the Heat in Buildings Strategy, we are developing a bespoke public engagement strategy for heat in buildings. This builds on the objectives and guiding principles of our Public Engagement Strategy for Climate Change, as well as our existing support and advice programmes.

We are investing in growing our advice services so that they continue to meet people's needs and this includes improving our digital presence and continuing to provide in-depth support for installing zero emissions heating systems.

Question reference: S6W-04046

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee’s seventh quinquennial review of schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, what assessment it has made of the potential removal of schedule 5 legal protection for mountain hares, and whether it would support such a recommendation.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published stakeholders consultation https://consult.defra.gov.uk/joint-nature-conservation-committee/911c8988/ , including a list of provisional recommendations regarding the addition, retention, regrading or removal of each species on 08 November 2021. Those proposed recommendations do not include the removal of schedule 5 legal protection for mountain hares.

We will carefully consider the JNCC recommendations of the seventh Quinquennial Review. Before making any recommendations regarding species removal from schedule 5, we must be satisfied that there would be no detrimental impact to the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.

Mountain hares are now a protected species following the passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act in June 2020. The protection came into force on 1 March 2021, meaning that the species can no longer be taken for sporting or recreational purposes. We will also continue to work with several partner organisations to continue to improve our understanding of mountain hare populations across Scotland, along with other work, to support the conservation status of this iconic species.

Question reference: S6W-04179

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing free travel for under 22s on internal ferries, in line with free bus travel commitments; what distance under 22s travel on average on internal ferries per year, and what assessment has been made of the costs that under 22s would save per year under a system of free internal ferry travel for that age group.

The new statutory scheme is for bus travel only and does not extend to ferry travel. The soon to be published Island Communities Impact Assessment will discuss this in more detail and ferry fares are being reviewed as part of the forthcoming Islands Connectivity Plan.

We are also committed to taking forward our Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares, looking at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry. The review will look at both cost and availability of services.

Internal ferries, including the setting of fares and holding information about services and travellers, is wholly the responsibility of the local authority. However, recognising the challenges this brings, the Scottish Government has provided over £50m to local authorities in the last four years on top of the local government settlement to support internal ferries.

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