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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: S5O-01810

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what further measures it is considering to address the persecution of birds of prey.

I was extremely concerned to hear about the recent disappearance of a satellite tagged golden eagle in the Pentland Hills. While we may never know exactly what happened to this bird, the circumstances are clearly suspicious. This is especially true when taken in the context of the satellite tagging report that I commissioned and was published last May. This showed that around one third of tagged eagles have disappeared in similar circumstances with many on or near driven grouse moors.

Since the report was published we have set up a review group to examine how we can ensure grouse moor management is sustainable and compliant with the law. The group, which will also consider possible regulatory options including licensing, met for the first time last month and will report back to me in Spring 2019. I await their findings with great interest.

I am also pleased to say that we are supporting a new Police Wildlife Crime Investigative Support Officer post which has now been filled. This officer will bring expertise to wildlife crime investigations across Scotland. We also expect shortly to launch a pilot project to use Special Constables to tackle wildlife crime in the Cairngorms National Park. These new measures build upon existing work, and demonstrate our commitment to put a stop to the wildlife crime that still occurs in parts of our countryside.

Question reference: S5O-01617

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring forward legislation regarding the reintroduction of beavers.

Question reference: S5W-13050

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding Dundee's 2023 European capital of culture bid.

I have spoken to Dundee City Council’s Leader to offer my full support and I have written to the UK Government and European Commission to understand the potential implications of this situation and to establish what action needs to be taken in order to address it. My officials are in regular contact with the UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Dundee’s bid team about this.

Question reference: S5O-01570

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Poverty and Inequality Commission.

The Commission was fully operational eight weeks after launch, with a full complement of commissioners from a range of expert perspectives, and is now supported by its own independent secretariat. The Commission has been tasked to advise Ministers on its child poverty delivery plan and is hard at work on that, while also beginning to develop its longer term work programme.

To date the Commission have held three meetings; minutes of these meetings are currently being published through the Scottish Government website ahead of the Commissions dedicated web presence being established early in the new year.

Question reference: S5O-01511

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on rural education provision.

The Scottish Government recognises that there can be real educational and social benefits to pupils from the delivery of quality education through small rural schools located in the communities in which they live. That is why this Government made amendments to the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 in 2014 to make the consultation process for school closure proposals more transparent and rigorous, and to strengthen the requirements relating to rural schools.

Question reference: S5O-01480

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the soft fruit sector and the UK Government regarding continuing access to a migrant workforce post-Brexit.

As the member knows, I visited Angus Soft Fruits on 8 May. More recently Fergus Ewing and I met with Laurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruits, and Lochart Porter, Managing Director of Angus Soft Fruits, at the Scottish Parliament last month, to hear about the potentially devastating effect on the sector without continued access to labour from the European Union. Case studies from Angus Soft Fruits and Bruce Farms were presented in “Brexit: What’s at Stake for Businesses?”

It is vital that the sector has continued access to the experienced European workforce to enable the sector to continue to thrive, and it needs clarity now. I have raised the issue at a JMC (EN) meeting and in bilateral discussions, in addition, Fergus Ewing wrote to Michael Gove on 2 November on this issue.

Question reference: S5O-01349

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support disabled people, in light of the paper published by the UN in October 2017, which set out its concluding observations on its initial report about UK reforms.

Question reference: S5W-11565

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 28 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) the Scottish Land Commission will lay its Strategic Plan and Programme of Work and (b) it will lay a Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement and related consultation report in the Parliament, as required by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.

The Scottish Land Commission is charged with bringing increased focus and energy to land reform in Scotland. Its creation in April this year, through the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016, underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to on-going and long term land reform, to help ensure that everyone benefits from Scotland’s land. The Scottish Land Commission laid its first Strategic Plan (SG/2017/145) and Programme of Work (SG/2017/164) in the Scottish Parliament this morning, 28 September 2017.

The Scottish Government has also laid the Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (SG/2017/162) and related consultation report (SG/2017/163) in Parliament this morning. This is the first such Statement in the world, and we will encourage everyone who owns, manages and uses land to adopt its principles.

Question reference: S5O-01199

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the impact of Brexit on Scotland's public finances.

Question reference: S5O-01181

Asked by: Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide disabled people with the necessary skills and tools to have an equal chance of competing in the labour market.

There is no doubt that the employment gap for disabled people in Scotland is too high and I am determined to meet our commitment to halve that.

A commitment that requires concerted action across all areas of government and with public and private sector employers, unions and crucially, disabled people.

This includes improvements through our devolved employment programmes, increased programme of internships, increased flexibility in modern apprenticeship programme and work with partners to agree a public sector employment target.