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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-13389

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on engagement with social landlords regarding the approach to rent setting for 2023-24 in light of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

We have been clear since the introduction of our emergency legislation that we would work with the social rented sector to seek an agreed way forward as an alternative to the continuation of the rent cap in the social rented sector beyond March 2023. To support this we have been working with a range of social rented sector organisations including landlord representative bodies COSLA, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations.

Statements of Intent have now been published by COSLA, confirming local authorities’ commitment to keeping rent increases in April 2023 to an average of no more than £5 a week, and by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, who report that their members are consulting with tenants on a set of increases in April 2023 that will average 6.1%.

The agreement to set out average figures, rather than set a fixed cap, allows flexibility for landlords to respond to their consultations with their tenants.

While we anticipate that many rents will be increased at a level below these average figures, there may be some social sector landlords who will for specific reasons go beyond this level, for example to allow planned improvements or maintenance to proceed.

This will allow for the statutory tenant consultations currently taking place to be taken into account for housing associations’ business plans and local authorities’ housing revenue accounts.

No social landlord is consulting on a rent increase at or above CPI inflation, which was 11.1% at the time of the data being collected.

Given the voluntary agreements reached we anticipate that the first statutory report on the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act 2022, due by 14 January, will formally confirm our intentions to expire the social rented sector rent cap provisions from March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-13236

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legislative requirements regarding the stunning of farmed fish at slaughter, which would be the equivalent to the requirements that already exist for terrestrial animals.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13235 on 20 December 2022. The UK Animal Welfare Committee is currently considering the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter and we will explore the need for any changes to current practice or legislation once the committee publishes its findings. 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-13235

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the merits of introducing mandatory CCTV in fish slaughterhouses, in line with the Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (Scotland) Regulations 2020, which, under the Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009, mandates the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses for terrestrial animals and excludes fish slaughterhouses.

Question reference: S6W-13234

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the criteria that the Animal Plant and Health Agency uses to assess farmed fish welfare during inspections at fish processing sites in Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold this information. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has been asked by Scottish Ministers to visit farmed salmon slaughter facilities in Scotland and to assess the need for further inspections. This will be carefully considered alongside any recommendations made by the UK Animal Welfare Committee working group, expected early next year, on the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter.

Question reference: S6F-01670

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the First Minister what actions the Scottish Government will take forward as a result of COP15, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Question reference: S6W-12683

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is taking forward recommendation 75 of the Deer Working Group, regarding a short committee inquiry into the use of section 7 control agreements under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 in the Caenlochan area.

Recommendation 75 of the Deer Working Group report was that “the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament should consider holding a short inquiry into the use of section 7 Control Agreements under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 in the Caenlochan area.” Given the nature of that recommendation, and as we outlined in our response to the report, this is a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

Ben Macpherson MSP, then Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment wrote to the convener of the Environment Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) committee on 24 March 2021 to bring this recommendation to their attention and offer the support of Ministers and officials in taking it forward.

Question reference: S6O-01675

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeframe for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2016 Sludge Review into the spreading of sewage sludge on land.

Recommended actions from the 2016 sludge review already completed include publication last year, of the James Hutton Institute's report on the impacts on human health and the environment arising from the spreading of sewage sludge to land, and implementation of the remedial actions that were recommended be taken by Scottish Water.

The legislative changes recommended by the review are being implemented via the Integrated Authorisation Framework regulations. Development of these regulations was delayed due to Covid-19 and other priority work, however work has now recommenced.

A consultation on the proposed regulations is due to be published in 2023 and stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals relating to sewage sludge.

Question reference: S6W-12345

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether exceeding the headline advice for stocks with precautionary advice meets the precautionary, scientific, ecosystem and sustainability objectives of the Fisheries Act 2020.

The Fisheries Act 2020 outlines that sustainable fishing means environmental, economic, and social considerations are appropriately balanced when managing our fisheries to benefit present and future generations. To ensure we are achieving this balance, we will take management decisions and negotiation positions that are informed by the best available evidence. The recently published Joint Fisheries Statement further outlines that we consider both the short-term and the long-term impacts of decisions on fish stocks and the fishing industry before taking action. This aligns with the sustainability, precautionary, scientific evidence, and ecosystem Objectives in the Act as well as wider international treaties, such as UNCLOS.

The Scottish Government’s approach to negotiations on Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits is underpinned by the best available scientific information, usually the advice from ICES, and we fully support following the headline scientific advice and setting fishing opportunities that are consistent with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach wherever appropriate. However, setting an MSY-based TAC is not always possible, and it is sometimes more appropriate, for the stock and for fishing industries, to set a TAC above or below the headline scientific advice. There are a number of stocks where MSY based reference points are not available, for instance due to the data being limited. These stocks include North Sea and West of Scotland ling, North Sea and West of Scotland tusk, North Sea blue ling, and Rockall Cod. In the absence of better evidence being available, we believe following other models recommended by ICES should also be considered as being sustainable.

Question reference: S6W-12382

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding would potentially be released, which could be used to meet the goals of its Vision for Agriculture, in the event that current direct payments made through the Basic Payment Scheme and Greening payments to each Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) claimant were capped at (a) £5,000, (b) £10,000, (c) £15,000, (d) £20,000, (e) £25,000, (f) £30,000, (g) £35,000, (h) £40,000, (i) £45,000, (j) £50,000, (k) £75,000 and (l) £100,000 per year.

Question reference: S6W-12370

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be a public consultation on any proposals to cap, front-load and/or taper base-level agricultural payments.