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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-02777

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it will put in place to support farmers in adapting and building resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Scottish Government is developing a new Climate Change Adaptation Programme to be published this year, this will build on the 2014 previous report and will include agriculture.

We support farming and food production with high quality advice and information on environmental and business resilience through the Farm Advisory Service, and via the Agriculture Weather Advisory Panel. We continue to support on the ground actions through avenues such as the Forestry Grant Scheme and the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme which opens to applications shortly. This follows the announcement in December of a further £39.5 million committed, bring our total support under this one scheme to over £150 million since 2015.

Question reference: S5O-02747

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in its draft Budget for capital expenditure on digital infrastructure in the next financial year.

Question reference: S5W-20621

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many hen harrier nests there were on (a) RSPB and (b) non-RSPB reserves in each of the last six years, and what information it has regarding how many failed to have any chicks fledge, broken down by the reason for such failures.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on hen harrier nests broken down by nature reserves on which the nests are located, or on reasons for nest failure.

The Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme (SRMS) and the RSPB have provided the data in Table 1 for RSPB reserves. The data are from 2013-2017.

Table 1

Year	No of pairs monitored	Successful	Failed/Outcome unknown
2013	37	12	25
2014	37	13	24
2015	43	15	28
2016*	60	12	48
2017	37	5	32

Around 80% of the records in Table 1 are from RSPB Orkney reserves. The Orkney harrier population is well known for high levels of polygyny with males often breeding with 2 or 3 females. Most of these additional females either fail or produce very few young, as normally males struggle to feed more than one female and brood. This affects the failure rate overall and the proportion of successful nesting attempts is higher on non-Orkney RSPB reserves compared to Orkney reserves.

Table 2 provides data on breeding hen harriers across Scotland from the SRMS. It does not include the data included in Table 1.

Table 2

Year	No of pairs monitored	Successful	Failed/Outcome unknown
2013	210	97	113
2014	256	164	92
2015	233	105	128
2016*	279	119	160
2017	215	114	101

* 2016 was the national survey year for Hen Harriers, so more data reached the SRMS for this species than in other years.

The number of Hen Harrier pairs recorded and monitored in and out of RSPB reserves should not be regarded as a complete inventory. Coverage of this species in Scotland is incomplete, so some pairs are not reported to SRMS.

Moreover, coverage on RSPB reserves may not be the same as coverage elsewhere. This means that the proportion of records the SRMS holds from RSPB reserves does not necessarily indicate the proportion of the population that breed on reserves.

Question reference: S5W-20361

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a national concessionary fare scheme for train travel for (a) disabled people and (b) people aged 60 or over.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Scottish local authorities for the provision of a range of local services and it is for these local authorities to decide how best to use that funding for the benefit of local people. Some local authorities offer rail discounts for older people and those with disabilities, while others do not.

The Scottish Government also ensures participation by the ScotRail franchisee in a range of UK-wide discount schemes, including: free travel for individuals who are blind; half price travel for wheelchair users; and Railcards, both for those with disabilities and for older people, which offer one third off most fares for an annual fee of £20 and £30 respectively.

Question reference: S5O-02668

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to Dumfries and Galloway Council to help deliver its vision for reshaping Stranraer.

The Scottish Government looks forward to engaging with Dumfries and Galloway Council on the new strategic plan for the development of Stranraer and its wider area. We share the Council’s view that Stranraer has significant strengths, and a range of opportunities to build a sustainable economic future. We look forward to receiving detailed proposals from the Council, and are committed to working with them to help deliver those plans.

Question reference: S5W-19703

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many licences to issue the type of weapons set out at section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 have been granted in each year since 2011, broken down by local authority; what checks must be undertaken prior to a licence being granted; what follow-up checks are made, and how many licences were revoked (a) following a follow-up check and (b) for other reasons, broken down by reason.

The number of section 5 authorisations granted by Scottish Ministers
in each year since 2011, broken down by local authority area, is
provided below. This includes new, renewed and amended section 5
authorisations. Some authorisations will be granted for short periods
to cover specific activities (e.g. visiting international athletes). In a
small number of cases it is not possible to specify a local authority
area due to the type of section 5 authorisation.

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Aberdeen City	0	1	1	0	3	1	1	3
Aberdeenshire	5	8	6	3	6	4	3	5
Angus	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Argyll & Bute	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries & Galloway	4	2	9	12	4	9	1	6
Dundee City	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	5	2	0	6	1	0	1	0
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh, City of	6	5	5	3	5	3	2	5
Eilean Siar	0	0	1	1	1	2	1	1
Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fife	4	1	4	1	2	3	1	5
Glasgow City	3	8	10	25	3	4	7	2
Highland	1	1	5	2	3	2	2	2
Inverclyde	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moray	1	1	2	3	1	0	1	1
North Ayrshire	4	5	4	4	2	1	2	0
North Lanarkshire	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth & Kinross	3	1	1	0	2	1	0	1
Renfrewshire	5	2	8	3	1	5	3	4
Scottish Borders	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	1
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	2	1	0	3	2	0	1	1
South Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stirling	0	4	2	0	4	1	1	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
West Lothian	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
Local Authority information unavailable	1	4	1	0	3	10	1	5

Firearms law is reserved and the Home Office issue guidance on its application, including
the process of section 5 authorisation and checks involved. The Home Office Guide on
Firearms Licensing Law April 2016 can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment
_data/file/518193/Guidance_on_Firearms_Licensing_Law_April_2016_v20.pdf

Section 5 authorisations usually last for 3 years and are subject to full reapplication process
on renewal. Police Scotland carry out routine follow-up checks while an authority remains
valid, as regularly as is deemed necessary. Since 2011 Scottish Ministers have revoked one
section 5 authority following a Police Scotland recommendation that the dealership could
not continue without danger to the public safety or to the peace .

Question reference: S5W-19702

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many firearms dealers in each local authority area are licenced to issue the type of weapons set out at section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.

The number of firearms dealers currently authorised by Scottish Ministers to possess section 5-prohibited items, broken down by local authority area, is as follows (local authority areas with no authorised dealers are excluded):

Aberdeen City - 3

Aberdeenshire - 8

Angus - 1

Argyll & Bute - 1

Ayrshire - 1

Dumfries & Galloway - 8

East Dunbartonshire - 1

Edinburgh, City of - 9

Eilean Siar - 3

Fife - 4

Glasgow City - 7

Highland - 6

Moray - 1

North Ayrshire - 2

North Lanarkshire - 2

Perth & Kinross - 2

Renfrewshire - 10

Scottish Borders - 1

South Ayrshire - 2

Stirling - 1

West Dunbartonshire - 1

West Lothian – 1

Question reference: S5W-19704

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether shipping containers are appropriate for the storage of the type of weapons set out at section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.

Question reference: S5O-02593

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the creation of new national parks.

Question reference: S5W-19430

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a mechanism in place whereby communities or individuals can claim compensation should wind farm developers be found to demonstrate an outstanding lack of integrity within the planning process.

There is no such compensation mechanism in the planning system. Planning makes decisions about future development and use of land in the long-term public interest. A range of enforcement powers are available to planning authorities where any developer has acted in breach of the terms of any planning permission or without any necessary permission.

Without knowledge of any specific circumstances the member may have in mind, I would suggest remedies may also be available through the Courts.