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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-27987

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the decision by the EU to ban the sale or distribution of the fungicide, chlorothalonil.

The Scottish Government is aware of the significant impact non-renewal of chlorothalonil will have in the farming sector, however this must be balanced against the ability for growers to use products safely without endangering themselves or consumers.

The renewal of authorisation was not approved due to several critical areas of concern, including the European Food Safety Authority’s classification of the substance as a carcinogen.

The Scottish Government promotes the use of Integrated Pest Management, a site specific approach that integrates a full range of measures – including cultural, biological, chemical and design strategies – to manage pests, weeds and diseases, while minimising risks to people and the environment.

As outlined in our recent programme for government, we will continue to work with land managers, including those in the agricultural sector, to increase uptake of IPM and with the Plant Health Centre to identify the impact to Scottish growers from the loss of chemical controls.

Question reference: S5O-04308

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the curriculum for excellence to include the study of agriculture.

Curriculum for Excellence empowers individual settings and practitioners to make the decisions needed to provide a coherent, flexible and enriched curriculum that is responsive to the diverse needs of individual learners and which reflects the uniqueness of their communities. This includes the study of agriculture. For each curriculum area, a series of “Experiences and Outcomes” set out what young people are expected to learn and how they are expected to progress in their learning.

For example, the Social Studies “Experiences and Outcomes”, enable young people to explore the variety of foods produced in Scotland, discuss the importance of different types of agricultural production and draw conclusions about environmental impact and sustainability.

Question reference: S5W-27984

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it has committed to support research and development in relation to climate change and agriculture.

Question reference: S5W-27741

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on developing the nine beef and sheep farms in Scotland that have been designated as GrassCheckGB pilot farms, which have been established to improve grassland productivity and pasture utilisation and help with meeting climate change targets.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Grassland Improvement Programme that has been set up across the UK by the three levy bodies, Quality Meat Scotland(QMS) Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) along with a number of other partners. In total across the UK there are 27 pilot beef and sheep farms with nine in each of the three administration.

We recognise that this pilot has the ability to provide a range of benefits in the push to decrease emissions from agriculture with grassland management improving the potential for carbon sequestration. This aligns with the Scottish Government’s PfG commitment of promoting and encouraging the multiple benefits of good grassland (and livestock management) in Scotland including the protection of our historic carbon sinks . We therefore look forward to working with QMS on how learning from this pilot can be shared across the wider industry.

Question reference: S5W-27739

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many rejected applications to the (a) Less Favoured Area Support Scheme and (b) Agri-Environment Climate Scheme in each year since 2015 have been appealed, also broken down by how many appeals (i) have been upheld and (ii) are awaiting a decision.

Question reference: S5W-27740

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the (a) Less Favoured Area Support Scheme and (b) Agri-Environment Climate Scheme in each year since 2015 have been (i) approved and (ii) are awaiting a decision.

Less Favoured Area Support Scheme

Year	Number of Applications Approved	Number of Applications awaiting decision
2015	11396	1
2016	11312	3
2017	11153	1
2018	11011	2
2019	Payments not due to start until April applications still being processed

Agri-Environment Climate Scheme

Year	Number of applications approved	Contracts not accepted by applicant
2015	594	36
2016	979	71
2017	807	62
2018	604	35
2019	492	1

There are no approval decisions pending.

Question reference: S5O-04269

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the decision by the National Laundry Programme Board not to maintain a full production laundry service at the Borders General Hospital.

No proposals relating to the future of NHS laundries have come to Scottish Government ministers to consider because NHS Chief Executives have still to review the business case.

It is unlikely that Chief Executives will complete this in the near future given the current challenge of COVID-19 and their focus on ensuring we are as prepared as we can be. So there will be no change to the current position whilst we are in this period of acute activity.

There after any review of the business case and any decision I take as Cabinet Secretary will be very mindful of the lessons the COVID-19 challenge will provide.

Question reference: S5O-04297

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-27596

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to the rural organisations, including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Scottish Land and Estates and the Countryside Alliance, that are instigating a voluntary transition away from lead and single use plastics in shotgun ammunition within five years, and what assessment it has made of these efforts.

The Scottish Government welcomes the statement from UK field sports bodies on phasing out the use of lead shot and the use of plastics in shotgun cartridges. We look forward to working with shooting organisations to ensure the highest standards of protection for wildlife, the environment and human health.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has and will continue to provide training and advice on non-lead alternatives for those undertaking shooting in relation to geese and deer management activities.

For example, in Caithness and on Orkney and Islay, SNH has introduced, as part of their work on Goose Management Schemes, shooters to the different types of non-lead shotgun ammunition that are available, demonstrated the effectiveness of different ammunitions and provided the opportunity to shoot the ammunition at clay targets. At Wild Deer Best Practice events, SNH staff have provided opportunities for participants to try the different types of rifle ammunition that are available.

Question reference: S5O-04202

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement the communities secretary has had with community councils regarding community ownership of land through the Scottish Land Fund.

Year	Number of Appeals	Appeals Upheld	Awaiting Decision
2015	0	0	0
2016	0	0	0
2017	0	0	0
2018	1	0	0
2019	Payments not due to start until April applications still being processed

Year	Number of Appeals/Reviews	Appeals/Reviews Upheld	Awaiting Decision
2015	68	13	0
2016	94	18	0
2017	55	12	0
2018	72	19	0
2019	47		31