- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers were translocated from Tayside from 1 May 2019 to 31 December 2019.
Answer
15 beavers were trapped and translocated under licence (between 1st May and 31st December 2019). Scottish Natural Heritage plans to work with licence holders to see what more can be done to make this option practicable as an alternative to lethal control.
Further details of the beaver translocations carried out in 2019 are provided in the Scottish Natural Heritage Beaver Licensing Summary report which was published on 28 May 2020 and is available on their website at https://www.nature.scot/snh-beaver-licensing-summary-1st-may-31st-december-2019 .
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how many spot-checks of licensees for the lethal control of beavers were carried out in the calendar year, 2019.
Answer
Scottish Natural Heritage has not carried out spot checks on beaver licence compliance, but continues to work with those in receipt of licences. Compliance checks are made as part of checking licence returns.
Those carrying out lethal control are required to be accredited to ensure best practice is followed and that accredited controllers are familiar with beaver ecology. Scottish Natural Heritage ran a series of training events to ensure that practitioners have the correct skills and knowledge to undertake any lethal control humanely.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of experience gained from the first year of the management of beavers as a protected species, what plans Scottish Natural Heritage has to review the Beaver Management Framework to (a) reduce the requirement for the need for lethal control in response to animal welfare concerns and (b) facilitate an expansion of the population to occupy suitable habitat (i) inside and (ii) outside its current range.
Answer
The Beaver Management Framework is intended to be adaptive and will be subject to ongoing review with input from the Scottish Beaver Forum.
a) We expect the forum to hold further discussion of the licensing figures and to consider how the Forum membership can collectively seek to balance the needs of land managers and reduce the ongoing need for lethal control.
b) (i) Scottish Natural Heritage intends to consider opportunities for conservation translocations of beavers within existing catchments from high to low conflict areas to improve the resilience of existing populations.
(ii) In conjunction with the Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage will also consider other alternative measures as part of a wider beaver national strategy.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish Natural Heritage has imposed date restrictions regarding the timing of authorised interventions when issuing all licences permitting the disturbance or lethal control of beavers since 1 May 2019.
Answer
Scottish Natural Heritage licences which permit the use of lethal control specify as a condition that ‘Lethal control or removal of mature dams (over 2 weeks old) during the Kit Dependency Period (1 April to 16 August) must only be carried out in exceptional circumstances i.e where there is an imminent threat of serious damage or to public health or to a public interest’.
The Scottish Natural Heritage licensing team must also be notified within 7 days of the action being undertaken.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 April 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has issued in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak with regard to the (a) frailty assessment of patients with autism and learning difficulties being treated for the condition and (b) rationing of ventilators if intensive care units are overwhelmed.
Answer
There are not and have not been any plans to ration medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every effort is being made to ensure that the capability and capacity needed are quickly put in place and to date that has been achieved.
The Chief Medical Officer published COVID-19 Clinical Advice on 3 April, which supported health and care professionals with clinical decision making during this pandemic. This guidance is currently being updated to make it clear that the Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) should be used as part of a general assessment that is recorded clearly. Clinicians should have awareness of its limitations, particularly in younger adults (those below 65 years of age) and those with stable long-term disabilities (for example, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities or autism). For these groups, alternative person-centred assessments may be more appropriate.
This guidance is subject to an Equalities Impact Assessment which started at the end of April. The Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities has agreed to take part in the EQIA.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any polling on the level of support for low emission zones.
Answer
The Scottish Government conducted market research surveys in February and March 2019 to gather data on the understanding of, and support for, plans to introduce Low Emission Zones into Scotland’s four biggest cities. Of those surveyed, 84% of the general population and 79% of businesses agreed that Low Emission Zones are a good option to tackle poor air quality.
The Scottish Government also published two consultations in 2017 and 2020 to help inform Low Emission Zone legislation development. 95.3% of individuals were in overall support of the principle of Low Emission Zones in 2017. The 2020 consultation responses are currently being analysed.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 April 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding participation in the EU procurement of therapies for COVID-19.
Answer
The Scottish Government is involved in discussions with the UK Government on participation in the EU procurement of COVID-19 therapeutics. This important work will supplement the enormous efforts already being undertaken by Scotland, both independently and in direct collaboration with the UK Government, other Devolved Administrations, and international partners. As the UK is a signatory to the EU Joint Procurement Agreement, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) represents the UK, including Devolved Administrations, on the EU’s Joint Procurement Steering Group where joint procurements are discussed. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with DHSC officials to ensure that any future UK participation in EU Joint Procurement exercises takes into account the health and social care needs of Scotland during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 19 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not yet published guidance on allowing recycling centres to reopen.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 19 May 2020
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association regarding creating offences and sanctions in relation to animal trap damage, broken down by (a) date and (b) location of discussion.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had any recent discussions with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association about creating offences and sanctions in relation to animal trap damage.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28294 by Michael Matheson on 30 April 2020, how many vehicle trips it estimates have been made on each day since 9 March 2020, broken down by the percentage of vehicles making these trips that it estimates travelled above the speed limit on (a) roads managed by Transport Scotland and (b) other roads.
Answer
As I noted in my answer to S5W-28294, Transport Scotland maintains a number of automatic traffic count sites across the motorway and trunk road network that are able to record vehicle speeds. The following table presents the answer to part (a) the total recorded number of vehicles that passed this group of sites from 9 March 2020 up to 07 May 2020. In addition, the table also reports the number of vehicles that were recorded as travelling over the speed limit and as a proportion of the total vehicles.
With regard to part (b) of the question, the Scottish Government does not hold this information. The collection and collation of speed data on other roads in Scotland is the responsibility of the respective 32 local authorities. Any specific requests for such data should therefore be directed to the relevant local authority.
I would further note that the additional data presented in this response continues to show that since the COVID-19 lockdown was announced on the 23 March, the proportion of vehicles recorded over the speed limit has risen, while the actual number of vehicles observed speeding has fallen by approximately 50% compared with a typical weekday or weekend prior to COVID-19 restrictions being introduced.
Table: Response to part (a) Vehicles over the Speed Limit on roads managed by Transport Scotland
Date | Total recorded vehicles (at sites where data was available) | Number of vehicle movements over the speed limit | Proportion of vehicle movements over the speed limit |
09-03-2020 | 1,528,929 | 300,470 | 19.7% |
10-03-2020 | 1,547,452 | 312,407 | 20.2% |
11-03-2020 | 1,559,566 | 314,360 | 20.2% |
12-03-2020 | 1,564,448 | 299,124 | 19.1% |
13-03-2020 | 1,606,097 | 384,164 | 23.9% |
14-03-2020 | 1,166,771 | 336,332 | 28.8% |
15-03-2020 | 1,042,651 | 297,450 | 28.5% |
16-03-2020 | 1,431,085 | 296,135 | 20.7% |
17-03-2020 | 1,359,666 | 276,409 | 20.3% |
18-03-2020 | 1,341,195 | 313,061 | 23.3% |
19-03-2020 | 1,345,437 | 323,522 | 24.0% |
20-03-2020 | 1,356,171 | 342,792 | 25.3% |
21-03-2020 | 902,376 | 271,477 | 30.1% |
22-03-2020 | 776,166 | 239,532 | 30.9% |
23-03-2020 | 1,090,990 | 289,940 | 26.6% |
24-03-2020 | 803,308 | 226,453 | 28.2% |
25-03-2020 | 633,380 | 175,697 | 27.7% |
26-03-2020 | 589,997 | 158,421 | 26.9% |
27-03-2020 | 573,025 | 162,939 | 28.4% |
28-03-2020 | 322,254 | 98,542 | 30.6% |
29-03-2020 | 270,126 | 79,468 | 29.4% |
30-03-2020 | 517,039 | 149,108 | 28.8% |
31-03-2020 | 530,146 | 152,681 | 28.8% |
01-04-2020 | 532,787 | 154,942 | 29.1% |
02-04-2020 | 535,028 | 154,754 | 28.9% |
03-04-2020 | 556,168 | 170,071 | 30.6% |
04-04-2020 | 335,472 | 108,830 | 32.4% |
05-04-2020 | 273,387 | 90,734 | 33.2% |
06-04-2020 | 528,218 | 153,462 | 29.1% |
07-04-2020 | 540,414 | 160,820 | 29.8% |
08-04-2020 | 551,759 | 166,432 | 30.2% |
09-04-2020 | 568,367 | 169,019 | 29.7% |
10-04-2020 | 497,763 | 162,433 | 32.6% |
11-04-2020 | 332,285 | 109,498 | 33.0% |
12-04-2020 | 256,464 | 87,412 | 34.1% |
13-04-2020 | 392,037 | 125,101 | 31.9% |
14-04-2020 | 547,055 | 163,160 | 29.8% |
15-04-2020 | 561,405 | 170,333 | 30.3% |
16-04-2020 | 569,542 | 173,280 | 30.4% |
17-04-2020 | 578,703 | 183,008 | 31.6% |
18-04-2020 | 369,127 | 122,672 | 33.2% |
19-04-2020 | 311,722 | 105,787 | 33.9% |
20-04-2020 | 575,655 | 173,821 | 30.2% |
21-04-2020 | 587,684 | 175,720 | 29.9% |
22-04-2020 | 600,393 | 182,072 | 30.3% |
23-04-2020 | 613,779 | 188,777 | 30.8% |
24-04-2020 | 624,363 | 198,912 | 31.9% |
25-04-2020 | 400,861 | 136,473 | 34.0% |
26-04-2020 | 338,994 | 111,982 | 33.0% |
27-04-2020 | 600,773 | 180,156 | 30.0% |
28-04-2020 | 617,454 | 185,149 | 30.0% |
29-04-2020 | 623,926 | 183,284 | 29.4% |
30-04-2020 | 640,638 | 193,722 | 30.2% |
01-05-2020 | 652,740 | 205,004 | 31.4% |
02-05-2020 | 430,369 | 141,547 | 32.9% |
03-05-2020 | 363,890 | 120,441 | 33.1% |
04-05-2020 | 618,414 | 179,945 | 29.1% |
05-05-2020 | 661,830 | 197,008 | 29.8% |
06-05-2020 | 672,190 | 202,531 | 30.1% |
07-05-2020 | 673,977 | 205,908 | 30.6% |