Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-32252

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure the sustainability and future of GP practices, particularly in rural and island areas, and to address the funding issues raised by the increase in employer national insurance contributions, including at the Skerryvore practice in Orkney.

Question reference: S6W-32275

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had (a) internally, (b) with public bodies and (c) with stakeholders regarding supporting fruit and nut orchard development, and what its position is on (i) establishing a bespoke orchard grant to support the setting up of new fruit and nut orchards and (ii) reforming existing grant schemes to allow growers to focus solely on fruit and nut trees.

Question reference: S6W-32011

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new Register of Ancient Woodlands, to be delivered in 2027 as outlined in the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan, will (a) facilitate a designation for Scotland's ancient woods, similar to that for ancient monuments, as part of its commitment to protect at least 30% of land by 2030, (b) specify opportunities for Scotland's communities, including local and interest groups, to engage in the process and act in partnership with landowners, statutory agencies and regulators to protect and restore ancient woodland, (c) lead to genuine enforcement action, including in relation to invasive non-native species and over grazing, (d) review the reported lack of shared standards in the administration of Tree Preservation Orders and prosecution for unlicensed felling in ancient woodland, (e) retain the Long Established Plantation Origin (LEPO) category of woods currently in the Scottish Ancient Woodland Inventory, (f) include plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) and (g) ensure that LEPO sites and PAWS benefit from the protection from development recently afforded to ancient woodland in the fourth National Planning Framework.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry are currently putting together a project plan to build on the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory to develop the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. The scope of the project has therefore yet to be fully agreed, but in line with the priority action in the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan, the Register will include locational data, a definition of the required ‘protected and restored’ condition of ancient woodlands, and a process for recording ancient woodlands that reach the required standard. In response to the component questions:

a) The inclusion of a woodland site on the Register will not automatically qualify it to contribute to the target to achieve 30% of Scotland protected and managed for nature by 2030 (the 30 by 30 target).Any site on the Register which isn’t within an existing protected area would need to be evaluated against the criteria for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) before being considered for inclusion in the 30 by 30 network. NatureScot is currently working with stakeholders – including those with expertise of ancient woodlands - to agree how the OECM criteria will apply in Scotland.

b) There are likely to be opportunities for local people, communities and interest groups to participate in the process of developing the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. For example, it is envisaged that Guidance will be developed and tested with interested parties to enable the identification of ancient woodlands and to assess their condition. This should allow communities to deepen their understanding of and connection to their local ancient woodlands.

c) The creation of the Register will not in itself be an enforcement mechanism, however the associated condition reports will be invaluable in prioritising action to tackle negative pressures on sites, for example in relation to invasive non-native species or overgrazing.

d) The Register would not cover Tree Preservation Orders as these are not explicitly related to ancient woodlands and can cover a wide range of individually important trees, which are outwith the scope of the Register.

e & f)The Long Established Plantation Origin (LEPO) and Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) categories from the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory will be taken into consideration when the Register is developed and it is anticipated that they will be retained.

g)Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and includes policy to protect our existing woodlands and trees. Local Development Plans should also identify and protect existing woodland and the potential for its enhancement or expansion.

Question reference: S6W-31837

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024–2030 on 27 November 2024, how it will increase public grant support to levels that will meet its ambition to regenerate native woodland landscapes, particularly to reduce the browsing impacts from deer and sheep

The Scottish Government is proposing to increase the budget for the Forestry Grant Scheme in 2025-26 to £53m, with much of the increase focussed on native woodland habitats.

Public funding through FGS support measures has been in place since 2015 and were recently enhanced in 2023 to improve the attractiveness to applicants. These measures encourage land managers to intensively manage deer populations with the objective of securing natural regeneration of trees. Targeted support is already paid over more than 60,000 hectares of land, including native woodland and open habitats, in order to create the opportunities for natural regeneration of trees and expansion of native woodland habitats. The funding for these support measures is regularly reviewed to ensure it is able to address demand.

In areas where there has been a high level of uptake of this approach by landowners, such as in the Cairngorms National Park, over half the new woodlands supported by FGS, over 5,000 hectares since 2016, have been through natural regeneration.

Whilst significant public grant support is already targeted at native woodland restoration and expansion we recognise the need to do more to increase levels of activity and Scottish Government and its agencies are committed to working actively with a range of partners in order to achieve this.

Question reference: S6W-32012

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Tree Planting Task Force announced on 28 November 2024, and whether the task force will also consider the need to enhance biodiversity and plant native trees, rather than funding further expansion of Sitka Spruce plantations.

The first meeting of the Tree Planting Taskforce took place on 28 November with Ministers representing the Scottish, UK, Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments in attendance. The Scottish Government outlined the importance of forestry in Scotland, and our recent successes in delivering the majority of woodland creation across the UK.

The Taskforce was an opportunity to highlight the importance of all types of trees, both native and productive, as part of increasing biodiversity and driving woodland creation.

There was broad agreement within the group about the value of further cross-border collaboration and the collective challenges we face, such as future woodland management, addressing the skills shortage in the sector and tackling the threat of pests and diseases. The next steps and detailed future work of the Taskforce is still to be decided and agreed by its members.

Question reference: S6W-31739

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms it has put in place to monitor the effective implementation of the provision of free period products across local authorities.

As outlined in the Access to period products: Monitoring and Evaluation strategy 2021/22 - 2024/25, we intended to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021(the Act) in 2025. However, due to funding for local authorities being baselined from this financial year (2024-25) under the Verity House Agreement, the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed that local authorities will not be asked to collect any data going forward. This means that the planned evaluation will no longer take place.

Local authorities are under a statutory duty to meet the requirements of the Act and are open to challenge by Judicial Review.

Question reference: S6W-31687

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of job losses in (a) shellfish fishing, (b) sea angling, (c) tourism and (d) other sectors that have been reportedly caused by the salmon farming industry in each year since 1999.

The economic and social benefits of salmon farming are clear. The sector produces the UK’s number 1 food export and supports around 12,000 jobs in Scotland across its supply chain, providing a steady stream of revenue to Scotland’s coastal communities.

National Planning Framework 4’s policy on aquaculture seeks to ensure that new aquaculture development is in locations that reflect industry needs and considers the impacts of proposed developments and how producers contribute to communities and local economies. The new National Marine Plan 2 will set out a coherent vision for the future development of Scotland’s land and seas and will guide all marine licensing and consenting decisions.

The planning system ultimately delivers a cost benefit analysis of every development proposal. The planning system carefully considers the economic, social and environmental impacts of fish farms and experienced local authority planners are charged with making decisions in the best interest of their communities and in line with the statutory development plan.

We continue to believe it is for local authorities to analyse the impacts of development proposals through the planning system.

Question reference: S6W-31777

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25557 by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2024, whether the Scottish Ministers (a) plan to conduct a Habitats Regulations Appraisal for the wrasse fishery that would assess the consequences of wrasse removal from special areas of conservation and the wider effects of the wrasse fishery, as well as the physical impact of pots and (b) will commit to conducting a full Habitats Regulations Appraisal ahead of any decision on whether to reopen the wrasse fisheries in 2025 within special areas of conservation.

Question reference: S6W-31776

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) common grazings are included in the biodiversity audit process for crofting and (b) crofting biodiversity audits assess the economic earnings potential of biodiversity restoration on common grazings; what plans the Scottish Government has to undertake a (i) cost-benefit analysis and (ii) feasibility study into common grazing biodiversity restoration, as part of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045, and when the findings of any such analysis will be published.

The foundations of the Whole Farm Plan will become a requirement in 2025 for the Basic Payment Scheme. At this stage, businesses with a share in a common grazing do not need to include the common grazing in their biodiversity audit. The Scottish Government is continuing to co-develop a proportionate approach to account for these valuable areas in the future as part of the wider Agriculture Reform Programme.

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy highlights the need to mainstream positive outcomes for biodiversity across a much wider range of Scottish Government policies, although we have no current plans to take forward the activities suggested.

Question reference: S6O-04106

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide to the community on Mull regarding whether Learning Estate Investment Programme funding can be used flexibly to support both the construction of a new high school in Craignure and the refurbishment of the existing site in Tobermory for nursery and primary provision.

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