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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5O-00197

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to widen university access.

We have already delivered substantial progress on access: in 2014-15 there were 1,000 more university entrants from our 20% most deprived communities than there were in 2006-07.

However we recognise that there is more to do. That is why we established the Commission on Widening Access and have committed to working with partners to implement its recommendations in full.

In the meantime we continue to invest more than £51 million every year to support around 7,000 places targeted on disadvantaged learners and those progressing from college.

Question reference: S5W-03001

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when its accessible travel framework will be published.

Question reference: S5W-03066

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the removal of CTS links in Scotland and whether there be any cross compliance implications for farmers in Scotland.

CTS links will cease to operate in Scotland at the end of 2016. The Scottish Government has been working with the joint industry working group and invested in ScotEID to develop a new and innovative system, ‘ScotMoves’ which allows the use of an online holding register to record moves within a farm business. To encourage uptake of the ScotMoves system first time breaches incurred by farmers in 2017 will not incur a financial reduction to their direct payments.

Question reference: S5O-00171

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what type of digital mapping system it uses for making rural payments.

Question reference: S5O-00128

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to control the trade in puppies.

Question reference: S5W-01559

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 17 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how European funding supports the science, data and compliance costs for the sea fisheries sector.

The newly reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) provides a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. The implementation of the CFP is directly supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the period 2014-20. EU fisheries management relies on data collected, managed and supplied by EU countries under the aligned Data Collection Framework Current Marine Scotland fisheries programme budgets supported by European funding are as follows:

Programme (2014-20) Scotland Allocation*

Fisheries Innovation Scotland awards £330,000

Data Collection Framework £16,718,186

Compliance/control costs £15,927,666

European funding also supports international applied science projects that has Scotland as a partner or project co-ordinator. In the current year, Marine Scotland is a partner in eight projects funded by the European Commission or Horizon 2020, with a total project value to Scotland of £0.600 million. Scottish Universities are involved in at least another three sea fisheries projects with a total value to Scotland of over £0.600 million.

*Subject to exchange rate fluctuation £/

Question reference: S5W-01560

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the value is of Scottish fish and seafood exports to the EU and what percentage this is of its total food exports to the EU.

Question reference: S5W-01561

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported the development of the fishing, processing and aquaculture sectors through the previous European Fisheries Fund.

Question reference: S5W-01562

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much money Scotland receives from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

Question reference: S5W-01910

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 12 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to hasten the pace of application and approval of forestry planting.

I am determined to achieve a step change in pace and scale of new planting to ensure long-term availability of timber and to meet our climate change commitment to plant 10,000 hectares per year. Following discussions with stakeholders, I have asked Jim Mackinnon CBE, a former Scottish Government Chief Planner, to provide an analysis of the current arrangements for the consideration and approval of forestry planting proposals and to make recommendations for improvements to the process. I expect to discuss progress with the forestry sector at the summits I am planning to hold in the autumn.