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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-08774

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report from Strutt & Parker, which suggests that, since 2018, there has been a 333% increase in the amount invested in the purchase of estates, what steps it is taking to address rising rural land prices and ameliorate the impact of this on communities.

Scotland’s natural environment will be critical in our action to tackle climate change and ecological breakdown. We are fortunate to have such potential to sequester carbon and support biodiversity in our natural environment. The public purse cannot fund this action alone - we will need private investment to help realise this potential. It is, however, vital that this investment is responsible, high-integrity and values led where the benefits are shared with local communities.

We already have a suite of measures in place to mitigate the impacts of this rapidly evolving market. We recently published our “Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital”, which set out the Government’s expectations of those who wish to invest in our land. These include delivering community benefit, engaging communities and supporting the creation of more diverse patterns of land ownership. The principles also state that investment in offsetting should not be a replacement for emissions reductions, and should always be made in addition to having plans and demonstrable actions in place to reduce emissions as close to zero as possible, and as part of targets and transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement.

The Interim Principles sit alongside our ongoing pursuit of Land Reform in Scotland. Existing provisions under previous land reform acts have created a range of community rights to buy, some of which are compulsory. These provide the opportunity for communities across the whole of Scotland to buy land or assets to support their aspirations. Over 940,000 people across Scotland already live in communities where assets have been acquired over the last five years with funding from the Scottish Land Fund. Both the Programme for Government 2021-22 and the Bute House agreement commit to doubling the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to £20m to further support community ownership.

We are also developing proposals for a new ambitious land reform bill, which will build on our land reform measures to date and will further tackle Scotland’s historically iniquitous patterns of land ownership - including by tackling problematic scale and concentration of ownership. In addition, the Scottish Land Commission is consulting on a new protocol on responsible natural capital and carbon management.

Question reference: S6W-08776

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that land ownership patterns align with the principles set out in the Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities statement.

Scotland’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS) introduced in 2017 is a ground-breaking example of Scotland’s ambitious land reform journey. We are currently reviewing the LRRS, have recently published an analysis report of the consultation responses and will report our response (with any revisions following the consultation process) to Parliament in September. We are also committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in this parliamentary session and will undertake a wide-ranging consultation later this year on proposals for the Bill.

Question reference: S6W-08773

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to each of the recommendations in the Community Land Scotland report, Community Wealth Building and a Just Transition to Net Zero, which was published in May 2022.

We welcome Community Land Scotland’s supportive commentary on the strategic Community Wealth Building (CWB) approach to economic development into all aspects of ownership and governance of land in Scotland.

CWB has a role to play in ensuring our journey towards net-zero is fair for all and that we achieve a just transition to an economy focused equally on prosperity and wellbeing. This includes the use of Land and Property, one of five key pillars of the CWB model.

To advance Community Wealth Building in Scotland, we have committed to introducing legislation during this Parliamentary session. This will involve consideration of a wide range of views and proposals.

Question reference: S6W-08781

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done to map out land ownership since the publication of the 2019 report, The effects associated with concentrated and large-scale land ownership in Scotland: a research review by the Scottish Land Commission.

Documenting land ownership in Scotland is a key aim of the Land Register of Scotland which is held and maintained by The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (ROS) and is accessible online free of charge. Registers of Scotland (RoS) RoS are continually working to record land ownership and improve land mass coverage of records on the Land Register. Full completion of the Land Register is dependent on landowners submitting applications, however, RoS have made significant progress over the last year in their approach to making data held within the General Register of Sasines rather than the Land Register more accessible. As a result they can now link Sasine property search sheets to a map for the first time, making it visually more helpful and accessible. This is also a way of showing indicative ownership extents of Sasines titles which will help fill in current gaps in the Land Register.

Question reference: S6W-08777

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing statutory powers to apply a public interest to all landholdings above an agreed scale.

We are committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in this parliamentary session. We will undertake a wide-ranging consultation this year on proposals for the Bill, which will build on our land reform measures to date and will further tackle Scotland’s historically iniquitous patterns of land ownership - including by tackling problematic scale and concentration of ownership. The Bill will aim to ensure that the public interest is considered on transfers of particularly large scale land holdings.

Question reference: S6T-00768

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports, whether it will provide further information regarding existing ScotRail contracts with Abellio.

Question reference: S6W-08512

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to ensure that distillation and maturation developments are subject to environmental impact assessments alongside brewing and malting developments.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to review the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

The fact that a particular type of development is not specifically mentioned does not necessarily mean it falls outside the scope of the Regulations. Guidance on establishing whether EIA is required is set out in Scottish Government Planning Circular 1/2017: Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. The circular is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-circular-1-2017-environmental-impact-assessment-regulations-2017/ .

Question reference: S6W-08477

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the anticipated value is of the contract for Consultancy Services for the Concept Design of a Ro-Pax Vessel, issued for tender by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd on 3 May 2022.

No anticipated contract value has been provided in the tender information. It would not be appropriate to disclose this information during a live procurement.

More information on this procurement is available at -

https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at:

https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/

Question reference: S6W-08479

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the contract for the design of Ro-Pax vessels that was issued for tender by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd on 3 May 2022 commissions designs for (a) large and (b) small ferries that are primarily for service on the (i) Clyde and Hebrides, (ii) Northern Isles and (iii) inter-island public ferry routes.

The contract notice ‘Consultancy Services for the Concept Design of a Ro-Pax Vessel’ is for the design of a ‘Ro-Pax’ vessel to serve the Mallaig to Lochboisdale route as part of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service.

More information on this procurement is available at: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at: https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/

Question reference: S6W-08478

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that (a) CalMac Ferries, (b) passengers and (b) the recognised trade unions will be consulted on the design of (i) accommodation berths, (ii) catering facilities, (iii) engine and (iv) other operational aspects of the Ro-Pax vessels that Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has commissioned through the contract issued on 3 May 2022.

The engagement processes for the project are already well established, ensuring all interested parties and stakeholders are able to contribute throughout the project’s development. They will follow the recent example of the successful engagement carried out as part of the New Islay Vessel Project which this project follows.

CMAL, liaising with Mallaig Harbour Authority and Transport Scotland, organised a webinar (16 March 2022) to engage with stakeholders on the project and its progression which included a question and answer session.

CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) is one of the partners in the tripartite working group responsible for this project and actively contribute to the decision making process on a range of matters. They are also responsible for ensuring there is input from the trade unions.

More information on this procurement is available at: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at: https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/