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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-26116

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the peer review of NHS Western Isles patient escort process will be published.

Following receipt of the proposed scope for the peer review, the Scottish Government asked NHS Shetland and Orkney to extend the scope to include representation from relevant patient groups involved with the previous review of the application process, which was led by NHS Western Isles. This is an important part of ensuring that concerns on the escorts approvals process can be appropriately considered.

This part of the review has not yet concluded and Officials have asked the Boards to confirm by the end of March as to when the output will be available.

Question reference: S6O-03274

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when its review of capital spending will be complete.

Question reference: S6W-25949

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential public expenditure or contingent liability implications for its Budget to de-risk or otherwise sufficiently underwrite private investment in nature sufficient to deliver private investment at the scale of (a) £5 billion, (b) £10 billion and (c) £15 billion up to 2032, in the absence of carbon prices capable of fully funding private investment ambitions, and whether it will publish any such assessment.

Options are currently being explored for spending models on nature restoration that can encourage greater responsible private investment while maximising the value of public spending. This includes consideration of ‘blended finance’ mechanisms where public funding is used in a more targeted way to support increased nature restoration activity by attracting responsible private investment.

The Scottish Government has not assessed potential public expenditure or contingent liability implications for its budget to de-risk or otherwise sufficiently underwrite private investment in nature. Budget implications would be published in line with usual processes.

Question reference: S6W-25991

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the consultation on crofting reform legislation will be launched.

Question reference: S6W-25947

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of degraded peatland requiring restoration is on land that is within crofting tenure, and what the approximate acreage is of such land.

There is around 484,000 hectares of Common Grazing land in Scotland that is registered in claims and applications with Rural Payments and Services. Of this, there are an estimated 286,000 hectares of peatland (50cm depth), or around 60% of the total land area. Around two-thirds of this peatland is in a degraded state. The Scottish Government’s Crofting Bill Team and stakeholder group are considering a number of proposals that will make it easier for crofters to use their common grazings for other purposes than agriculture, such as peatland restoration.

Question reference: S6W-25846

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what creative approaches it is taking towards identifying and treating people with hepatitis C, as set out in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-2026.

Question reference: S6W-25502

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 9 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the 2020 opinion of the Court of Session regarding the respective rights of the landowner of a common grazing and the crofters in relation to the use of the land, whether it plans to take action to ensure that crofters can (a) carry out peatland restoration on common grazings and (b) have ownership of any carbon credits associated with such peatland restoration, and, if so, what processes it would need to follow to implement any legislative changes required to achieve this, particularly in relation to sections 19A and 50B of the Crofting (Scotland) Act 1993 as amended by the Crofting Reform etc. Act 2007.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that crofters can benefit from investment in projects such as peatland restoration and woodland creation, particularly when carried out on common grazing land, much of which we know is underutilised.

The Crofting Bill Team and stakeholder group are considering a number of proposals that will hopefully make it easier for crofters to use their common grazings for purposes other than agriculture, including peatland restoration. One of the proposals would make provision for crofter-led projects and landlord collaborations / joint ventures, for carbon sequestration, habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement.

We are committed to taking forward the Crofting Bill before the end of the current parliamentary term.

Question reference: S6W-25948

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent meeting its tree planting targets depends upon land under crofting tenure, and what proportion of land with planting potential is assessed to be within crofting tenure.

The Scottish Government is supportive of woodland creation on crofts and recognises the multiple environmental and economic benefits this brings. There are several initiatives and funding in place to encourage and support crofters to make applications. Due to spatial data limitations it is not possible to identify the total proportion of land with planting potential that is under crofting tenure.

Question reference: S6W-25394

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce consultations on (a) applying a cap to fishing activity in inshore waters and (b) the management of marine protected areas, and how it will conduct both of these consultations in a way that ensures that those affected understand the proposals and are able to take part in the consultation in a meaningful way.

The Scottish Government will explore proposals relating to inshore fishing activity as part of a broad package of management measures for inshore fisheries improvement that we will consult on in late 2024.

Our co-management Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) and Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (RIFG) networks will help shape our consultation proposals, enabling policy that balances our economic and environmental responsibilities. Wider stakeholder engagement on the development of fisheries management measures is ongoing and will continue during the consultation.

For both inshore and offshore MPA consultations, over and above our normal stakeholder engagement, we are using an innovative consultation approach to allow respondents to use a map-based interface to receive information and comment on a site-by-site basis, allowing those affected to understand more clearly the proposals that affect them. The consultation on fisheries management measures for offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) is currently being prepared and will be launched in the coming months, and the exact date for the inshore MPAs and priority marine features will be announced in due course.

Question reference: S6W-25649

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has regarding any impact of deer numbers in Scotland on the natural regeneration of trees and scrub; what its position is on what the optimal number of deer per hectare on unfarmed land is that would achieve sustained natural regeneration of tree cover, and how any such optimal number of deer per hectare compares with current numbers of deer per hectare on unfarmed land in Scotland.

The natural regeneration of trees, scrub and associated ground vegetation across most parts of Scotland will be potentially vulnerable to deer (and other herbivore) impacts, such as browsing, fraying and trampling (as will young, planted trees and shrubs). When considering the impact of deer on our natural environment we look at a variety of evidence as well as advice from NatureScot. The data available for the impacts of deer numbers on natural regeneration is limited and may be combined with data for planted trees.

On Scotland’s National Forests and Land alone, which makes up almost 10% of Scotland, around 150 million young trees, naturally regenerated and planted, can be vulnerable to deer damage impacts at any one time. This includes native woodland, productive woodland (broadleaved and soft conifer tree species), and the expansion of natural regeneration onto open ground. The number and area of young trees and scrub vulnerable to deer damage impacts across the whole of Scotland will be significantly higher.

In terms of national data and evidence, recent statistics on Woodland Ecological condition produced by Forest Research shows that herbivore damage, which includes wild deer, is widespread with almost 50% of woodland area in unfavourable condition as a result of grazing.

Alongside that report, a 2013 a study on the National Forest Estate found that 15-20% of young trees had been damaged by deer. Then in 2014 the first Native Woodland Survey of Scotland assessed around 311,000 hectares of Scottish woodland, found that deer were present in over 70%, and that over 30% of that area had high or very high browsing impacts which were considered too high for the woodlands to survive by natural regeneration.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to deer densities and our focus is on evidence of impacts when considering the best approach, the Deer Working Group recommended a target of 10 red deer per square kilometre in open hill, red deer range. We accepted that recommendation, and recognise that there are some areas of Scotland where that target is already being met. However, there are also areas of Scotland where deer populations, all four species, may be in excess of 20 deer per square kilometre and will be causing significant damage. We also recognise that in areas where there is to be natural regeneration, a density of 10 deer per square kilometre is still too high. The successful establishment and sustained management of natural regeneration can require low to very low deer densities of 1-5 deer per square kilometre, and for many woodland and open ground habitats may need to be sustained at densities as low as 2-3 deer per square kilometre.