Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 3332 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-28756

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a legal duty for landowners to produce management plans to protect woodland.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a legal duty for landowners to produce management plans to protect woodland. However all landowners that intend to apply to the Scottish Rural Development Programme Forestry Grant Scheme for the sustainable management of woodland must have long-term forest plans approved by Forestry Commission Scotland that set out the management objectives for their woodland.

Question reference: S4W-28757

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of a national woodlands plan to ringfence money to protect woodland.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a ‘national woodlands plan’ to ringfence money to protect woodland. However it recognises the importance of woodland protection and has allocated funds under the Forestry Grant Scheme. Information on the options available which support this objective under the Forestry Grant Scheme is available at the web link below:

https://www.ruralpayments.org/publicsite/futures/topics/all-schemes/forestry-grant-scheme/

Question reference: S4W-28752

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to end the loss of woodland, in light of a reported 14% loss of woodland in the last 40 years.

The Native Woodland Survey of Scotland identified that a 14% reduction may have occurred in ancient woodland cover over a 40 year period in unenclosed upland areas. The survey also identified that the current native woodland condition is moderate overall, with 46% of the area in satisfactory conditions.

The Scottish Government is taking action to protect ancient woodland as outlined in Scotland’s Biodiversity – a Route Map to 2020. The actions identified aim to improve the condition and extent of existing native and ancient woodland, through reducing browsing pressure and controlling non-native species, and new woodland planting.

In addition, the Scottish Government has implemented a policy on the control of woodland removal for all types of woodland. The policy is adopted within Scottish Planning Policy and provides guidance to planning authorities on how to minimise inappropriate woodland loss. With regards to ancient woodland, the policy places a strong presumption against removal.

Question reference: S4W-28754

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in each of the last five years on the protection of woodland.

Over the past five years the Scottish Government has invested a total of nearly £61 million in the protection of woodlands in Scotland. An additional £3 million was invested as part of the tree health programme over the past two years to protect our woodlands and forests from the impacts of tree pests and diseases.

This investment includes support through the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) Forestry Grant Scheme, where a range of measures is available, such as the removal of livestock, control of non-native species, browsing management and encouragement of natural regeneration. Private land owners also invest considerable amounts to protect their own forest and woodland assets.

Additionally as part of the tree health programme, the Scottish Government supports the management of tree pests and diseases, coupled with longer term resilience building measures, to maintain and expand healthy woodlands in Scotland and to sustain the related ecosystem services.

On the National Forest Estate investment is also made in appropriate protection and management of woodland, including ancient woodland, through actions such as deer management.

A breakdown of this investment is as follows:

Year	Scotland’s Rural Development Programme	National Forest Estate	Tree Health
2014	£ 1.5 million	£ 11.6 million	£ 2.3 million
2013	£ 1.6 million	£ 10.9 million	£ 0.6 million
2012	£ 0.9 million	£ 12.1 million
2011	£ 0.9 million	£ 10.1 million
2010	£ 1.3 million	£ 10.1 million

The Scottish Government is a partner with the UK Government in commissioning research to support the protection and expansion of Britain's forests and woodlands. The Science and Innovation Strategy for forestry details the activities related to woodland protection.

Forestry Commission Scotland does not routinely collate data on individual protection schemes and is therefore unable to provide a detailed breakdown of expenditure in remote locations. However for example, the SRDP supported £3.4 million of forest protection in the Highlands and Islands Conservancy area over the past five years.

A breakdown of this investment is as follows:

Year	Highlands and Islands Conservancy
2014	£ 1.1 million
2013	£ 0.8 million
2012	£ 0.5 million
2011	£ 0.5 million
2010	£ 0.5 million

Question reference: S4W-28692

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4T-01189 by Aileen Campbell on 24 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 3), how much was spent in developing and operating the Getting It Right for Every Child Programme Board.

Question reference: S4W-28691

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4T-01189 by Aileen Campbell on 24 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 3), what impact dissolving the Getting It Right for Every Child Programme Board will have on its named persons policy under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

Question reference: S4W-28690

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4T-01189 by Aileen Campbell on 24 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 3), what advice led to the decision to dissolve the Getting It Right for Every Child Programme Board.

With the passage of the Act in February 2014, the members of the board (including Police Scotland, National Parent Forum Scotland, local authorities, the NHS, Care Inspectorate and COSLA) agreed that the board should be dissolved in September 2014. The focus of activity was on the Getting It Right for Every Child National Implementation Support Group (NISG), which sat under the programme board and provided support for implementation and operational issues. The NISG has acted as the highest oversight group for implementation.

Question reference: S4W-28493

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the invasive stoat population in Orkney has been on (a) birds of prey, (b) seabirds, (c) waders and (d) other species native to the islands; what analysis it has carried out to determine what the main pathway has been for the stoats to enter; what measures it is taking to prevent their spread, and what (i) funding and (ii) other support it is providing to help with their removal.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has advised the Scottish Government that it is not possible to determine exactly how stoats first arrived in Orkney and that no significant impacts of invasive stoats on native wildlife in Orkney have been documented as yet. Any impacts, however, are unlikely to be detected until some time after the stoat population has become established.

In June 2015, SNH published the output from research into the risks that the stoat population in Orkney poses to native wildlife. This research concluded it was likely that:

Stoats will reduce the population of Orkney vole to lower than average densities;

This would have a major detrimental effect on hen harriers and short-eared owls, which prey on the voles; and

Stoats will also predate ground-nesting waders.

The Scottish Government allocates a budget annually to SNH, which it is responsible for managing to fulfil its statutory functions and to support the Scottish Government’s commitments with respect to protecting and improving the natural environment. This includes advice and strategies aimed at addressing non-native species, in their role as lead agency on the issue. To date, SNH has spent £60,960 on removing stoats from Orkney. This includes support and training for volunteers who are carrying out trapping and monitoring. Should stoats reach the non-connected islands, which are currently stoat-free, they will be removed rapidly.

Question reference: S4T-01189

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has abolished the Getting it Right for Every Child Programme Board.

Question reference: S4W-28269

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what average length of time a graduate takes to repay their student loan.

Repayment of student loans owed by Scottish domiciled students is managed on behalf of the Scottish Government by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

Repayment of Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) loans, offered to students from September 1998, are predicated upon students meeting an earning threshold. Repayment schedules and amounts are variable depending on each student's individual circumstances. Neither the Scottish Government nor the SLC hold information on the average time taken by graduates to repay their ICR student loan.

‘Mortgage style’ student loans, offered to students prior to September 1998 and sold to Erudio Student Loans Limited in November 2013 were repayable over a fixed period regardless of the amount owed. Therefore, there is no average repayment period for these loans.