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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-36568

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that people across Scotland are able to exercise their legal rights to (a) assembly, (b) demonstrate and (c) peacefully protest, without fear of undue harassment or victimisation by law enforcement.

Question reference: S6W-36569

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Israeli parliament’s reported decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel coming into effect on 30 January 2025, what plans it has to provide funding for UNRWA in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-36020

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to landowners for the (a) creation and (b) management of riparian buffer strips for beaver reintroduction.

In July 2023, Scottish Forestry launched the Woodlands for Riparian Benefits Forestry Grant Scheme, targeting specific areas to enhance Scotland’s riparian woodlands. The scheme offers increased grant rates for areas along watercourses. Around 175,000 hectares have been identified where planting riparian woodland can be prioritised to deliver and maximise multiple benefits.

There are also measures in the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme for the management of water margins, management of wetlands and floodplains and capital items to support river restoration approaches. While these are not specific to beaver reintroduction, these schemes can be used to enhance riparian habitats in those circumstances.

Question reference: S6W-36019

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action NatureScot is taking to (a) carry out strategic environmental assessments (SEA) of new catchments for beaver release and (b) streamline the SEA process.

NatureScot has published Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA for Tayside, Knapdale, the Forth catchment, Loch Lomond catchment, the River Spey and the Beauly catchments, as well as publishing a screening report for the Rivers Ness and Lochy catchments.

Given the body of work to date and the likelihood of assessing similar environmental effects in different catchments, NatureScot has proposed that it will adopt an SEA screening approach to new catchments to determine if there are novel interests and interactions that may require a more detailed assessment. This will streamline the approach to future SEA assessments. Prioritising assessments will depend on where there is interest from land managers and organisations in hosting beavers.

Question reference: S6W-36017

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many sites have been identified in a pipeline of new receptor sites for beaver management translocations, and how many beavers each receptor site is likely to accommodate.

Work has been ongoing within public agencies to identify sites where beaver release may take place, within and on the edge of current range and in new catchments. A licence issued to the Cairngorms National Park Authority allows for a further five beaver families to be released. Forestry and Land Scotland have submitted an application for beaver translocation to Glen Affric within the Beauly catchment which is currently being assessed by NatureScot.

NatureScot encourages any landowner who is interested in hosting beavers to come forward so that they can discuss the licence application process with them and the suitability of sites. The number of beavers hosted will vary depending on the number of release sites and the local circumstances, however, this forms part of the application process considered by NatureScot.

Question reference: S6W-36016

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether its approach to issuing lethal control licences for beaver mitigation is consistent with the approach that it uses for licensing lethal control for other European protected species.

Yes. The approach NatureScot take, as the licensing authority for the issuing of lethal control licences for beaver management, is consistent with the approach that it uses for licensing lethal control for other European Protected Species, in that the licensing tests are the same. The interpretation of these will have some nuance depending on the interests being affected, the availability of satisfactory alternatives for different conflict situations and the conservation status of the species.

Question reference: S6W-36018

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the NatureScot report, Scotland's Beaver Strategy 2022-2045, how it will maintain the supply of sites for beaver translocation.

Question reference: S6W-36021

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether in applications for (a) lethal control and (b) trap and removal licences for beavers, evidence is required to prove that alternative mitigation options have been tried but deemed unsuccessful.

All applications for trapping or lethal control of beavers require that satisfactory alternatives are considered.

The beaver licence application form asks what alternative mitigations have been attempted. NatureScot specialists can advise whether there are other satisfactory alternatives that could be put in place and can require that these should be attempted first, before determining an application for a licence.

Question reference: S6W-35999

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) Maritime and Coastguard Agency to improve the welfare of seafarers and offshore workers on vessels that use Scottish ports.

The Scottish Government has regular communication with the UK Government and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on a variety of issues affecting the maritime industry in Scotland including related to seafarer welfare.

Whilst shipping safety, seafarer welfare and employment conditions are reserved functions, the Scottish Government is committed to working with the UK Government and the MCA to ensure that these matters are given the highest priority on those vessels accessing Scotland’s waters and ports.

Question reference: S6W-36000

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) Maritime and Coastguard Agency regarding any environmental impact on Scotland of the recent collision in the North Sea between an oil tanker and a cargo ship.

The Scottish Government's Marine Directorate operates a 24hr on-call cadre of Spill Response Duty Officers (MD-DOs). The role coordinates the environmental and public health response to any pollution event, or potential pollution event, in Scottish marine waters. Duty Officers are contacted regularly about incidents in Scottish and wider UK waters through the circulation of POLREPS (Pollution Reports) and SITREPS (Situation Reports). On Monday 10 March 2025, The MD-DO was included in the circulation of a SITREP from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, detailing the initial circumstances of the allision between the vessels MV Solong and the MV Stena Immaculate. The MD-DO was informed at an early stage that there was little or no risk of pollution in or close to Scottish waters and that information was passed to Ministers. Further updates were circulated from the UK Government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and also shared with Ministers. The final update was shared on 13 March 2025, when the incident had stabilised and the emergency response was well established.