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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: S5W-17011

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2004.

The Scottish Government monitors the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 through reported crimes and prosecutions. In addition, informal monitoring is undertaken by local and National Nature Reserve wildfowling wardens and local authority rangers where wildfowling on the foreshore is controlled through a permit system.

Question reference: S5W-17010

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering changes to the system for regulating the use of lead firearm ammunition.

Question reference: S5W-17013

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the level of compliance with the Environmental Protection (Restriction on the Use of Lead Shot) (Scotland) No. 2) Regulations 2004.

Question reference: S5O-02243

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to fill vacancies at NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S5W-17012

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have there been each year for breaches of the Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2004.

Question reference: S5W-16592

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the total annual harvest of mountain hares in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not have access to the National Gamebag Census (NGC) dataset held by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). GWCT routinely publish only summary data, in the form of trend indices.

Following a request from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in June 2017, estimates of the number of hares culled were provided by GWCT to SNH up to and including 2015 only. The NGC data for 2016 and 2017 (which are required to derive these estimates) were not available at the time.

The estimated values are:

2013: 29,634

2014: 37,681

2015: 26,952

These figures are derived using modelling and calibration of NGC game bag figures against a historic baseline, namely the figure of 24,529 for 2006-07 as published in SNH commissioned research report 278: The distribution of Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) in Scotland (2006-07). There is no indication of effort (i.e. number of guns and days of shooting etc) and the population index values from which these estimates are derived are, themselves, subject to varying levels of statistical confidence.

Question reference: S5W-16591

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what payments were made by Scottish Natural Heritage to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust for (a) access to and (b) analysis of National Gamebag Census data for mountain hares in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017 and (iii) 2018.

Question reference: S5W-16593

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5F-02186 by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 March 2018 (Official Report, c. 20), what options are being explored to prevent the large-scale culling of mountain hares, and when this process will be concluded.

The independently-led group, chaired by Professor Werritty set up to examine how to ensure grouse moor management is sustainable and compliant with the law is also examining mountain hare management. The group will report back to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform in Spring 2019.

We are currently considering whether interim measures may be appropriate. Assessment of all the available data required to inform that consideration is underway.

Question reference: S5W-16589

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all contracts with Kier Construction Scotland that it has contributed, or is contributing, funding to.

The Scottish Government has no direct contracts in place with Kier Construction. The following table sets out the projects that the Scottish Government has contributed (or is contributing) funding towards, where Keir Construction has been the contractor. This table does not include projects procured by contracting authorities under their own programmes of work:

Contracting Authority	Project Name
East Ayrshire Council	William McIlvanney Campus, Kilmarnock
Falkirk Council	St Bernadette’s Primary School, Stenhousemuir
Golden Jubilee Foundation	Golden Jubilee Hospital Extension
Highland Council	Alness Academy, Alness
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	The National Secure Forensic Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
NHS Grampian	Backlog Maintenance Phase 1 & Ambulatory Facility
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital & Glasgow Royal Infirmary Infrastructure Upgrade Projects
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	Rowanbank Medium Secure Care Appurtenance
North Ayrshire Council	Garnock Community Campus, Glengarnock
South Ayrshire Council	Queen Margaret Academy, Ayr
South Ayrshire Council	Ayr Academy, Ayr
South Ayrshire Council	Marr College, Troon
South Lanarkshire Council	Halfmerke/ West Mains Primary School, East Kilbride

Question reference: S5W-16252

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost of maintaining the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet has been in each year since 2010.

As the vessel owners, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) undertake statutory upgrades to the CalMac fleet. Details on the levels of recent investment are detailed in the following table for years 2010 to 2018:-

Year	£m
2010	£0.9m
2011	£1.3m
2012	£1.2m
2013	£0.8m
2014	£1.9m
2015	£2.5m
2016	£2.0m
2017	£3.0m
2018	£3.0m (Estimate)

For future years CMAL have an annual statutory upgrade budget of £3m. From time to time there are changes in legislation which require statutory upgrades to the vessels. In addition, there are also other upgrades that are agreed with the vessel owners which will enhance or benefit the asset.

In addition to the monies invested by CMAL, CalMac have confirmed the undernoted levels of investment in maintenance of the CalMac fleet in financial years ending between March 2010 and March 2017.

Financial year ending	Maintenance investments (excl. owner upgrades) £m

March 2010	£9.6m
March 2011	£9.9m
March 2012	£11.0m
March 2013	£15.0m
March 2014	£18.7m
March 2015	£20.2m
March 2016	£21.0m
March 2017	£20.8m

CalMac’s future programme of maintenance work is subject to change according to the vessels maintenance programme. In general terms the level of planned work will be broadly comparable to recent years. The level of work can vary due to planned variations in workscope and there will be an element of reactive maintenance work as a result of inspections and survey. During the course of day to day operations, there will also be unplanned breakdown maintenance which is included in the cost of maintenance of the fleet.