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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-02391

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on bringing deer management into closer alignment with Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029.

Woodland creation is central to our meeting Scotland’s ambitious climate change targets. Scotland's Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 sets out the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase woodland cover to 21% of the total area of Scotland by 2032 and robust, effective deer management is fundamental to the strategies success.

The report by the independent Deer Working Group includes legislative and non-legislative changes and recommendations which will bring the Scottish Forestry Strategy and Scotland’s systems of deer management into closer alignment.

We are working closely with Scottish Forestry, an agency of Scottish Government, and other key partners, including NatureScot who have statutory responsibility for deer management in Scotland, to progress these recommendations which will ensure there are robust systems of deer management in place within the forestry sector.

Question reference: S6O-00158

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what its position is on the proposed timetable changes set out by ScotRail in its Fit for the Future consultation.

Question reference: S6W-02008

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue with its approach of aligning with or exceeding EU environmental standards, and what its response is, regarding the potential impact on Scotland, to the UK Government’s reported proposals to change the application of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 in England.

The Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to maintain or exceed environmental standards in place upon EU exit, and to maintain alignment with developing EU standards, as far as possible. We have legislated under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (“the Act”) for a discretionary power to align devolved law with EU law, where appropriate and practical to do so.

Scottish Ministers are currently preparing the policy statement, as required by section 6 of the Act, which will set out the approach to be taken, the factors to be taken into account and the process to be followed when considering whether to exercise this discretionary power.

The Scottish Government is committed to action to protect its natural environment. The policy on the protections and standards afforded by the Habitats Regulations remains unchanged following our departure from the European Union. The proposed amendments to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 must not result in a reduction of the level of environmental protection.

The UK Internal Market Act was imposed against the will of the devolved administrations and is a risk to our ability to exercise devolved decision-making powers across a wide range of policy areas, including environmental policy. The Scottish Government will seek to ensure that regulations made by the UK Government take into account potential cross-border impacts on Scottish interests.

Question reference: S6W-02392

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address (a) the threat of (i) rhododendron ponticum invasion and (ii) overgrazing and (b) other key threats to native woodland condition.

The management of deer and invasive non-native species are fundamental to our efforts in tackling the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Action to address threats to native woodland condition is being taken on a number of fronts, in particular to address key threats such as overgrazing and invasive species, principally Rhododendron .

While NatureScot and other public bodies take an operational lead supporting the control of invasive non-native plants in priority areas, the main responsibility for the management of invasive non-native species rests with landowners. The Scottish Government makes funding available for rhododendron control projects under the Scottish Rural Development Programme’s (SRDP) Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS). To date more than £730,000 has been committed for this purpose.

Scottish Forestry (SF) has worked with NatureScot to develop ‘ An approach to prioritising rhododendron control in Scotland ’ which encourages landscape-scale partnership work and helps guide funding to those areas where it will achieve the greatest benefit to biodiversity.

Since 2011 Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has undertaken rhododendron control in forests, mainly in protected areas. FLS’s future rhododendron control will be co-ordinated with the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest and other land managers, with the aim of achieving effective long-term control at a landscape scale.

Addressing overgrazing by deer in woodland has been identified as one of the six Strategic Priorities for ‘ Scotland’s Wild Deer: A National Approach’ . This will require Government departments and agencies to work together with land managers to implement actions using a mixture of incentive and regulation to improve the health of our woodlands.

An independent review by the Deer Working Group into the management of wild deer sets out 99 recommendations to improve the management of wild deer in Scotland, including a number of legislative changes. The Scottish Government has set out our commitment to take forward recommendations in this parliamentary term.

SF offer a number of grants through the FGS that support the management of ecosystems. This includes support to restore plantations to native woodland and active management to expand native woodlands through natural regeneration.

Trees for Life are surveying Caledonian Pinewood remnants on Scotland’s national forests and land and FLS will develop a programme of management to address the threats it identifies.

Question reference: S6W-02292

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what reasonable adjustments it has put in place to support disabled people applying for the STEM teacher education bursary, and whether it will consider introducing an extenuating circumstances policy as part of the application process.

To ensure that a policy, project or scheme does not unlawfully discriminate against any protected characteristic, the Scottish Government develops an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) at the onset of each policy. The 2021 STEM bursary EQIA can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/stem-bursary-equality-impact-assessment-2021/

Extenuating circumstances will be considered at the STEM bursary advisory group in advance of a 2022 STEM bursary scheme.

Question reference: S6W-02043

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available for land managers to manage beavers through (a) lethal control and (b) translocation.

The Scottish Government does not provide direct support to land managers to manage beavers through either lethal control or translocation.

However, NatureScot, through the Scottish Beaver Mitigation Scheme, offers free advice and support to land managers and can provide and install equipment to help them mitigate the impact of beavers on their land. More information about the support available from NatureScot under this scheme is available on their website - Beaver Mitigation Scheme | NatureScot

Question reference: S6W-02124

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how the hand-dived scallop sector is represented on the Scottish Scallop Sector Working Group.

Question reference: S6W-00722

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, following the announcement that a deposit return system for cans and bottles will launch in Ireland by the end of September 2022, whether it has contacted the Irish Government to ask for advice on setting up such a system efficiently, given the significant delays to the deposit return scheme in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-00724

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the terms of reference are for the gateway review into the deposit return scheme for drinks containers.

A Gateway Review 0: Strategic Assessment is a programme-only review that sets the programme in the wider policy or corporate context. This review investigates the direction and planned outcomes of the programme, together with the progress of its constituent projects.

In addition, the Gateway Review 0 into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) had a particular remit to examine the delivery schedule for DRS, especially in light of the impact of COVID-19.

Question reference: S6W-00726

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Ministers will publish the findings of the gateway review into the deposit return scheme for drinks containers in full, prior to making a decision on whether to accept its recommendations.