Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-14760

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the Risk Assessment on the spread of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) to wild birds from released, formerly captive gamebirds in Great Britain, which was published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in December 2022.

The Scottish Government is examining the risk assessment conclusion in detail given the serious impact of HPAI (High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza) on wild and kept birds and will monitor risk levels and carefully consider its response over coming months.

The release of game birds is prohibited within an avian influenza protection zone and surveillance zone.

When kept there is a legal requirement to report suspicion of notifiable avian disease in game birds.

Where Special Protected Area (SPA)/Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) are designated for vulnerable species consent from NatureScot is required for release of game birds.

Question reference: S6W-14763

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is assessing the potential risk of future high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) transmission from released non-native game birds in Scotland to wild mammals including foxes and otters.

To date nine mammals including four seals, four otters and one fox have tested positive for influenza of avian origin H5N1 in Scotland. APHA (Animals and Plant Health Agency) routinely undertakes diagnostic testing of wild animals found dead under the GB wildlife surveillance scheme. The detection of the virus does not mean that it was the cause of death of these animals. This is an unusual event and infection of mammals with influenza of avian origin remains an uncommon infection, including in humans. The risk of the H5N1 strain to non-avian UK wildlife remains low.

Of the nine mammals that have tested positive for influenza of avian origin, there are no known links to the release of non-native game birds. The Scottish Government continues to monitor the outputs the GB wildlife surveillance scheme and assess any future risks.

Question reference: S6W-13974

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can give to Highland Council's Corran Ferry Infrastructure Improvement Scheme to replace the two ageing ferries currently operating on the busiest ferry route with electric vessels, and what its position is on whether Highland Council's Scheme to replace the ferries aligns with recommendation 24 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) on ferry vessel renewal and replacement and progressive decarbonisation.

At the request of the Scottish Government, CMAL is providing assistance to The Highland Council through our Small Vessel Replacement Programme. CMAL engages regularly with The Highland Council and partners, and continues to provide assistance with the vessel concept design, feasibility and infrastructure studies, as well as exploring key areas such as low emissions technologies.

STPR 2 recommendation 24 relates only to the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry services networks that Scottish Ministers are directly responsible for.

Any proposals to decarbonise ferries are to be welcomed, however, decisions around procurement of these new ferries and funding are entirely a matter for The Highland Council.

Question reference: S6O-01801

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with community housing enablers, such as the Communities Housing Trust in the Highlands and Islands region, to support the delivery of its commitments regarding rural homes.

Question reference: S6W-13115

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is investigating any risks to food production, biodiversity and human health from per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), or so-called "forever chemicals", accumulating in agricultural soil and seeping into rivers due to the spreading of sewage sludge on land.

There is ongoing work related to identifying and monitoring risks from PFAS.

The environmental regulator SEPA has been working with partners in recent years to understand the sources, environmental concentrations, and risks of perflourinated compounds in the environment.

A 2019 SEPA study looked at the potential for organic contaminants to be present in materials spread to land, and carried out a basic risk assessment using monitoring data for prioritised substances. This study included measurement of 1 PFA substance (PFOA) levels in sludges from two waste water treatment plants, and did not identify a risk for reasonable worst-case spreading scenarios. In 2018, SEPA carried out a limited monitoring exercise looking at several PFAS in a number of rivers across Scotland, though monitoring locations were not directly targeted to potential sources of these chemicals. 65% of the 550 datapoints reported were below limits of detection.

A Scottish Government commissioned report by the James Hutton Institute on the impact of sewage sludge spreading on human health was published in 2021 and indicated that risks to human health from the polyfluorinated compounds PFOS and PFOA in sewage sludge spread to land in Scotland are likely to be low.

However, scientific understanding of risks posed by PFAS in the environment continues to develop. For example :

SEPA is reviewing its approach to evidence gathering to better characterise the current distribution of PFAS in Scotland’s environment. It is working with partner organisations to develop this understanding, and working across the regulatory landscape to support revisions to legislation, regulatory approaches, and support site operators or users of PFAS based substances to meet their legal obligations. This includes engagement with large research programmes such as ECORISC (Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment Towards Sustainable Chemical Use).
UK environmental regulators have been engaged in the UK Water Industry Research Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP UK). Through this programme SEPA has been working in partnership with Scottish Water on various workstreams for a number of years, and this investigation has included evaluation of PFAS in waste water treatment works effluent and sludge, risks to the environment and effectiveness of treatment processes.

Question reference: S6W-13104

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether Marine Scotland will accept the findings of peer-reviewed scientific literature when the area of disturbance and injury to cetaceans from an Acoustic Deterrent Device (ADD) or Acoustic Startle Device (ASD) is estimated by the peer-reviewed scientific literature as being much greater than the area estimated in an application from a fish farm company for a European Protected Species Licence.

Marine Scotland bases its decisions on the best available scientific evidence at any particular time including any relevant peer reviewed literature. Any such literature is subject to a critical review to determine its applicability. Marine Scotland’s decisions will reflect the outcome of this process as well as consideration of information provided by the applicant and any expert advice received.

Question reference: S6W-13103

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether a fish farm company application for a European Protected Species Licence to use Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) or Acoustic Startle Devices (ASDs) would be refused unless the applicant has provided strong and robust evidence that all alternatives such as fitment of double skinned anti-predator nets, recirculating aquaculture systems, semi-closed containment and/or relocation of the farm have been tried.

A licence to disturb European protected species (“EPS”) can only be granted if three licensing tests are met, including that there is no satisfactory alternative to the proposed action.

Marine Scotland has published a document that provides guidance and advice for any aquaculture production business that wishes to apply for a licence to disturb EPS as a result of ADD use –

faq_adds_and_eps_including_annex_1_and_annex_2_-_version_5_-october_2021_-_final.pdf (marine.gov.scot) . Applicants are required to provide an analysis of alternative methods of predator control tried or considered and if they have been discounted provide reasons for this. All EPS licence applications are considered on a cases by case basis and it would not be appropriate to pre-determine the outcome of the satisfactory alternative test without consideration of any justification provided by the applicant.

Question reference: S6W-13106

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, when considering European Protected Species Licence applications, whether it will reject calculations to determine how many cetaceans would be disturbed or injured by an Acoustic Deterrent Device (ADD) if those calculations are based on an incorrect assumption that cetaceans are evenly spread over a large sea area and do not travel in pods or favour certain areas.

Question reference: S6W-13105

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, when considering European Protected Species Licence applications, whether it will reject calculations to determine how many cetaceans would be disturbed or injured by an Acoustic Deterrent Device (ADD) based on a model that can only predict how many will be disturbed at one moment in time and makes no allowance for the movement of the animals during the periods of time the device is operating.

All applications for EPS licences are considered on a case by cases basis and it is expected that applicants use appropriate models and calculations such as those set out in the Marine Scotland guidance document - faq_adds_and_eps_including_annex_1_and_annex_2_-_version_5_-october_2021_-_final.pdf (marine.gov.scot) . Relevant models use data that is the best current representation of the locations where cetaceans are expected to be found.

Marine Scotland is currently updating this guidance document to include finer resolution species density surfaces and this will be published early in 2023. All applications for EPS licences will be expected to follow the updated guidance.

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.

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