Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-35950

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to complete phase 1 of the Aviemore to Carrbridge non-motorised user route as soon as possible, in light of a petition from the local community emphasising the need for the section to be finished in order to enable safer active travel.

The Scottish Government is committed to promoting active travel throughout Scotland and we are working with our partners in the Cairngorms National Park Authority and The Highland Council to progress the Aviemore to Carrbridge Non-Motorised User (ACNMU) scheme

Transport Scotland has committed to include the proposed ACNMU scheme in the A9 Dualling construction programme as part of the nearby Dalraddy to Slochd project providing all the statutory consents and the necessary land are in place for the ACNMU project.

A planning application for this 9km active travel route was submitted to The Highland Council on 31 March 2025. Progression of the ACNMU scheme, either in part or whole, can only commence if approved under the relevant statutory authorisation procedures and thereafter a timetable for delivery can be set.

Question reference: S6W-35951

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the formation of a joint working group, consisting of government and aerospace industry representatives, to discuss the adoption of hybrid electric technology, particularly in regards to airline routes in the Highlands and Islands.

The Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement explicitly calls for a more positive and constructive conversation about aviation and its many benefits, while committing to working with the sector on decarbonisation.

The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity recently attended the first meeting of the Sustainable Aviation Scotland Group, which involves several senior aviation stakeholders, to encourage greater collaboration on reducing aviation emissions.

A Ministerial roundtable will be held this year to discuss the infrastructure required to enable electric and hydrogen flight, which is expected to be particularly suitable for the Highlands and Islands. Final arrangements are being made but the roundtable will include stakeholders from across the aviation sector.

Question reference: S6W-35947

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, whether it will ensure that homelessness legislation is brought within the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Section 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 makes it unlawful for a public authority to act, or to fail to act, in a way that is incompatible with the UNCRC requirements. The section 6 compatibility duty in that Act applies when a public authority is delivering functions conferred by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament or common law. All of the free standing provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill and those provisions that amend Acts of the Scottish Parliament will be in scope for this compatibility duty. This includes protections for tenants and provisions to help prevent homelessness.

There are some provisions on homelessness that are conferred by Acts of the UK Parliament. As housing is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, it would be possible to bring these provisions into the scope of the section 6 compatibility duty by re-enacting them in Acts of the Scottish Parliament. (The same is true of all devolved measures that are conferred by Acts of the UK Parliament.) However, that would be a time-consuming task that would have a significant impact on the Scottish Parliament’s law-making capacity.

Our hope is that, through engagement with the UK Government, there may be a more straightforward way of extending the reach of the compatibility duty in the UNCRC Act (and other future human rights protections), which would not require the re-enactment of individual Acts of the UK Parliament. Next steps are being considered.

Question reference: S6W-35948

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings and recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, what steps it will take to ensure that families in temporary accommodation do not face additional financial penalties as a result of becoming homeless.

The Scottish Government is taking wide-ranging action to support low income families and to help those in temporary accommodation to live dignified lives.

As part of over £3 billion of investment to tackle poverty and the cost of living for families in 2025-26, we have committed £644 million in our package of benefits and payments only available in Scotland. Among these, the Scottish Child Payment is forecast to be supporting the families of around 333,000 children. We are also continuing to invest around £1 billion a year to provide 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds, helping children to get the best start in life and parents to work and earn more, and supporting families through free bus travel for all under 22s, and free school meal provision for all children in primaries 1 to 5.

We have committed to strengthening the support available to families by further expanding free school meal provision, investing to enable the expansion of breakfast clubs across Scotland, and by developing the systems needed to scrap the impact of the two-child cap by April 2026.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government will allocate at least £15.8 million for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice, an increase on our allocation for these services in 2024-25.

Scottish Government modelling, published on 27 March 2025, showed that on average, households with children in the poorest 10% of households are estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-26 as result of Scottish Government policies, with this value projected to grow to an average of £3,700 a year by 2029-30.

A household offered temporary accommodation can be asked to pay a reasonable charge for any accommodation provided directly by the local authority, or a reasonable amount for accommodation supplied by another provider but paid for by the local authority. In deciding what is reasonable, the local authority should take account of the household’s earnings and what the household can afford to pay.

If the household has no income or a low income, the local authority must help the applicant apply for Housing Benefit to help cover the cost of temporary accommodation.

We recognise that there are other costs households may face when living in temporary accommodation, including travel, energy and household equipment costs.

The Scottish Government funds local authorities to administer and disburse the Scottish Welfare Fund. The fund provides emergency support and a lifeline to people in need, through crisis grants to help meet immediate short-term needs arising from exceptional circumstances and community care grants to help eligible people establish or maintain a settled home.

Question reference: S6O-04513

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is engaging with Highlands and Islands communities on the future of land reform policy.

Question reference: S6W-35570

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £750,000 that it provided for aid in Gaza, what its response is to the Israeli government's reported decision to block such aid for people in Gaza, and what information it has on whether any aid that it has provided or funded will be impacted.

Since the current escalation began, Scottish Government has provided £1m to support humanitarian response efforts in Gaza and the wider region. £750k of this was channelled through the UN Relief and Works Agency in November 2023. These funds have been fully used to provide food, medicine and shelter for displaced people in Gaza.

We provided a further £250,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee, Mercy Corps and SCIAF in November 2024. I am concerned that the current Israeli blockade of aid entering Gaza, now in its third week, could lead to delays in this lifesaving support reaching the men women and children who so desperately need it.

I urge all parties to reengage in negotiations in good faith and with due regard to their obligations under international humanitarian law which requires the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief.

Question reference: S6W-35949

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings and recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, whether it will improve guidance on Education Maintenance Allowance policies so that children experiencing homelessness do not lose this benefit when their ability to fulfil the terms of their learning agreement, such as on attendance, is compromised by their housing situation.

Question reference: S6O-04314

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its policies on land reform and land use, what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any action that can be taken to tackle land banking investment scams in the Highlands and Islands, in light of the reported impact that such scams can have on the right of a community to have more of a say in how the land that they live on is used.

Question reference: S6O-04265

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the Scottish Prison Service to help give people in custody the best chance of reintegrating into the community at the end of their sentence.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities and third sector delivery partners to provide throughcare support to people leaving custody to help them transition back into the community.

This includes over £3 million a year to support short-term prisoners address essential needs such as healthcare, social security payments, housing and employment opportunities. This support is available across the prison estate and begins 12 weeks before an individual is released.

We will be building on this existing support by funding a new national throughcare service for all short-term prisoners and those on remand, commencing in April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-34323

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring forward legislation to change the close season for female deer.

The Scottish Government consultation “Managing deer for Climate and Nature” proposed implementing the recommendation from the independent Deer Working Group’s report of January 2020, to make changes to the close season for female deer. These changes may be made by order under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. However, following consultation with stakeholders, I have concluded that, in most cases, the cull levels required to reduce the overall deer population to support nature and climate objectives can be achieved within existing deer seasons. Where it is necessary to cull outwith existing seasons, there will continue to be the ability to apply to NatureScot for authorisations. In coming to this decision, I have taken careful note of the potential distress caused to many stalkers by being required routinely to shoot heavily pregnant female deer and I have decided against any wider change to the timings of the female close season.

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