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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: S5W-05190

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the total (a) tonnage and (b) value of whitefish catches was from within the Scottish inshore waters area in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-05192

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the EU derogation being sought, whether the opening of a razor clam fishery would only take place following a full stock assessment.

The Scottish Government has not to date sought a derogation from the EU prohibition on fishing with electricity. A public consultation about whether such a derogation should be sought closed on 30 September 2016, and Ministers are considering views offered through the consultation.

In the event that a regulated razor clam fishery, by means of electrofishing, were permitted, it would be subject to the provisions of domestic and EU legislation. The Government would also consider necessary preparatory steps, including the possibility of an area based stock assessment of razor clam biomass.

Question reference: S5W-05171

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) briefing, SB 16-94 The Living Wage: Facts and Figures, which shows that Dumfries and Galloway as the highest proportion of employees earning below the living wage.

The SPICe publication showed that Scotland remained the best performing of all four UK countries with the highest proportion of employees paid the Living Wage or more (79.9%). Whilst this is welcome news, there remains more to do and the figure for Dumfries and Galloway reflects that. The Scottish Government is willing to work with other local MSPs and the Poverty Alliance to help promote the Living Wage locally and to encourage more employers to pay it.

We continue to fully support the Poverty Alliance to run the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative, having this year increased funding to £300,000, and continue to work closely with them to meet the target of 1,000 Living Wage Accredited employers across Scotland by Autumn 2017.

Question reference: S5W-04920

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage tourism from Northern Ireland.

VisitScotland is actively engaged in promoting Scotland to visitors from Northern Ireland and undertakes a range of marketing activities.

In April and May 2016, VisitScotland ran a destination campaign encouraging Northern Irish visitors to come to Scotland by ferry, promoting the Larne to Cairnryan route and the ease of access that this gives to Ayrshire and Arran as a short break destination.

In May and June, VisitScotland engaged directly with commuters in Belfast to promote weekend breaks in Scotland.

More recently, VisitScotland, along with Stena Line and Stranraer Development attended a familiarisation trip in November to see the tourism product on offer on the Cairnryan to Belfast ferry route, and to explore opportunities to engage with visitors arriving at Cairnryan from Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-04828

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which organisation is responsible for the health and safety of walkers on core paths.

Health and safety is a complex area of law and is not the responsibility of any one organisation alone. Land managers owe a duty of care to people entering onto their land whether or not this is a core path and may, for example, restrict access when machinery is being used. Members of the public also have a duty of care to land managers and to other people, for example by not riding or cycling too fast.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/) sets out the access rights and responsibilities of the public and land managers. Scottish Natural Heritage has also published "A Brief Guide to Occupiers' Legal Liabilities in Scotland in Relation to Public Outdoor Access" (http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/heritagemanagement/occupiers.pdf) and "A Brief Guide to Laws Relevant to Outdoor Access In Scotland" (http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/heritagemanagement/lawsrelevanttosoac.pdf).

Question reference: S5W-04827

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility local authorities have for the upkeep of core paths.

Question reference: S5W-04923

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many planning appeals in respect of wind turbine applications in Dumfries and Galloway have been received in the last three years, and how many were successful.

The number of planning appeals received in respect of wind turbine applications in Dumfries and Galloway in the last three years* are set out in the following table:

Appeals Received

Appeals Allowed (planning permission granted)

Appeals Dismissed (Planning Permission refused)

Appeals still under consideration

Appeals Withdrawn

Dumfries and Galloway

*Figures shown relate to the period 23-11-13 to 23-11-2016.

Question reference: S5W-04924

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic impact of agriculture in Dumfries and Galloway.

The economic impact of agriculture in Dumfries and Galloway is assessed annually in the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture. This publication includes information for Dumfries and Galloway on agricultural labour, agricultural holdings, standard labour requirements, standard outputs and the sectoral composition of agricultural production. The latest issue was published June 14, 2016 and can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/5559/0.

Question reference: S5O-00436

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the money raised by local authorities should be kept in their areas.

Question reference: S5W-04921

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce illegal puppy trafficking from taking place at Cairnryan.

Unfortunately the movement of puppies originating from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland via Cairnyan is only part of a wider long-running issue of national concern including the illegal or irresponsible breeding and sale of puppies and other pet animals in Great Britain as well as imports from elsewhere in Europe. The Scottish Government supports the excellent work that has been done by the Scottish SPCA and local authorities in conjunction with other enforcement bodies in intercepting illegal consignments at Cairnryan, as well as enforcing existing legislation on licensing of commercial puppy breeders and dealers in Scotland by prosecuting those found to be selling animals illegally elsewhere.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the issues of advertising, movement and sale of pet animals in an ongoing review of pet animal welfare as well as the possibility of amending the maximum penalties available for animal cruelty offences. The Scottish Government is also working closely with key animal welfare stakeholders to explore what more can be done to address the need for greater public awareness of the risks of buying illegally bred or imported puppies and the most effective way to reinforce the vital message that puppies should only be purchased from reputable breeders and always seen with their mother at the breeder’s premises before sale.