- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to tourism and other businesses within island communities to mitigate the impact of any connectivity issues affecting them.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), how many cases have occurred in which SSSIs have been compromised by management activities, and whether NatureScot has entered into any agreements to provide compensation for any such cases; how many (a) charges and (b) convictions resulted from individuals intentionally or recklessly damaging the protected natural features of an SSSI, in each year for which data is available, and whether it will provide a list of any SSSIs that have been intentionally or recklessly damaged since 2013.
Answer
There are records of 212 instances of damaging or unconsented activities on SSSIs that have not been attributed to third parties. No compensatory agreements have been entered into as a result of these cases.
NatureScot is only obliged to offer compensation to a land manager if the SSSI consenting process restricts the established management of their land and where this leads to a loss of income. NatureScot has 89 active compensatory Management Agreements with land managers to prevent damaging activity. The majority date back to before 2013. The majority of active Management Agreements entered in to by NatureScot contain provisions for proactive management to restore or maintain biodiversity.
The following table sets out the charging and convictions data requested:
Year | Charged | Charged & Convicted |
2004 | 1 | |
2007 | 1 | |
2008 | | 3 |
2015 | | 1 |
2021 | | 1 |
2022 | | 1 |
Issues of motivation are judged on a case by case basis and so are not recorded in a way that can be aggregated.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 7 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research’s updated report, published in April 2023, Infants Born into Care in Scotland, including the reported finding that around one in every 100 children born in Scotland enters care before their first birthday.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to Keeping the Promise and ensuring that families are supported to stay together when it is safe to do so. While we still have more work to do, it is positive progress that the recent Infant's Born into Care Report confirms that the proportion of children entering care before their first birthday in Scotland has fallen since 2018 - from 122 in every 10,000 to 91 in every 10,000 in 2021.
The Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach ensures that children and families can access support across maternity, health visiting, family nursing and social work services to help them thrive. Where it is deemed that a child requires statutory support for their care, the Local Authority becomes their Corporate Parent and are responsible for working with partners to ensure that the right services are in place to deliver a personalised plan to meet their needs.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17750 by Lorna Slater on 19 May 2023, how many beaver carcasses have been submitted to NatureScot for an independent post-mortem, since it became a legal requirement.
Answer
The beaver kit dependency period is between 1 April and 16 August and no licences to control beavers have been issued in this period. As such, there has been no legal requirement for carcasses to be submitted to NatureScot for an independent post-mortem.
The legal requirement for licence holders to submit carcasses for independent post- mortem to NatureScot will take effect when new licences granted by NatureScot commence on 17 August 2023 and thereafter.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) site checks and (b) full site condition monitoring assessments have been carried out by NatureScot in each year since 2017.
Answer
The following number of Site Checks and Site Condition Monitoring assessments for protected areas were completed by NatureScot since 2017:
Year | Site Checks | Site Condition Monitoring |
2017 | 149 | 252 |
2018 | 99 | 93 |
2019 | 51 | 21 |
2020 | 30 | 20 |
2021 | 98 | 41 |
2022 | 31 | 5 |
2023* | 52 | 144 |
* Figures presented to 31 March 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the plans for Scottish Water to install monitors at 1,000 combined sewer overflows, and how many have been installed to date.
Answer
As referred to in the answers to S6F-02135 on 18 May 2023 and S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023, Scottish Water has now identified the priority locations for 1,000 spill monitors. Installation is programmed between summer 2023 and the end of 2024.
The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 18/05/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the recommendations in the report of the Short-life Food Security and Supply Taskforce, published on 23 June 2022, have been implemented to date, and how many staff will be employed in the new dedicated Food Security Unit announced on 18 May 2023.
Answer
The Short-Life Food Security and Supply Taskforce set out a number of short and long-term recommendations in its report and all of the immediate actions are either complete or substantially complete, including the establishment of a Food Security Unit, with other actions becoming legacy activity for it.
As the Food Security Unit becomes more established, the number of staff involved directly will vary depending on business needs. The Food Security Unit will work collaboratively with the wide range of teams across the Scottish Government that work on aspects of food security.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many suspected marine invasive non-native species have been reported to Marine Scotland in each year for which data is available.
Answer
Marine invasive non-native species (INNS) are reported to the Scottish Government by statutory organisations such as NatureScot and SEPA and regional partnership groups, to inform international reporting obligations for INNS monitoring.
Year | Number of INNS reported to Marine Scotland (OSPAR data call & MSS data) |
2022 | 8 |
2021 | 18 |
2020 | 2 |
2019 | 3 |
2018 | 6 |
2017 | 14 |
2016 | 32 |
2015 | 0 |
2014 | 2 |
2013 | 10 |
2012 | 5 |
A small number of ad hoc reports are received from the general public though these are not always possible to verify due to incomplete information received or absence of physical specimens to analyse in a laboratory. Marine INNS are not all reported directly to the Scottish Government but may be submitted via iRecord by members of the public. All verified reports are then collated on the National Biodiversity Network Atlas and freely accessible to all.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16710 by Jamie Hepburn on 16 May 2023, whether all parties to the Bute House Agreement agree with this policy.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the position set out in S6W-16710, which outlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to being guided by the democratically expressed wishes of the people of Scotland on these matters.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments by the chief executive of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, reported on 11 May 2023, that short-term lets licensing in Edinburgh constitutes a "de facto ban" on small holiday let operators, "in favour of big business".
Answer
Scotland is not alone in regulating short-term lets globally. We are doing this in two ways. The first, licensing, has been introduced to ensure short-term lets are safe and the people providing them are suitable. Guests can have confidence that licensed hosts and accommodation have reached a recognised standard of assurance complying with mandatory conditions for fire, gas, water and electrical safety. Many hosts are already complying with these through existing law or best practice, and we do not consider them onerous. Licensing authorities may also apply additional conditions to address local issues such as noise, antisocial behaviour and littering. Licence applications must be granted unless there are grounds to refuse them, for example, if anybody named on an application is not a fit and proper person. We are unable to comment on the specific short term let licensing policy in Edinburgh, due to ongoing legal proceedings.
The second, control areas, can be designated by councils where short-term lets are causing problems for neighbours and making it harder for people to find homes to live in. From the point of designation, the change of use to provide short-term lets in accommodation that is not a host’s only or principal home will always require planning permission. It is for councils to decide whether a control area is needed to help them manage high concentrations of short-term lets.
