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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: S6W-30697

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the statutory powers under the Wildlife and Countryside (Registration and Ringing of Certain Captive Birds) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 to collect registration fees for schedule 4 birds in Scotland, and, if so, whether it will state the statutory mechanism by which this is achieved.

The Scottish Government has given the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the statutory powers under the Wildlife and Countryside (Registration and Ringing of Certain Captive Birds) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 to collect registration fees for schedule 4 birds in Scotland.

The statutory mechanism that enables this is the Scotland Act (Agency Agreements) (Specification) Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/745) which specifically allows the Scottish Ministers to enter into agency arrangements such as the function in section 7(2A) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Act for determining a charge, and charging, for registration.

Question reference: S6W-30696

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 12 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is complying with its duty under the Wildlife and Countryside (Registration and Ringing of Certain Captive Birds) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 to maintain a register of captive bred schedule 4 birds held by keepers in Scotland, and, if not, whether this means that keepers of schedule 4 birds in Scotland are acting unlawfully by not having their annex A birds registered with the Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6O-03952

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the reduction in police numbers since 2010 on Police Scotland’s ability to respond to all incidents of crime, including antisocial behaviour, within its responsibilities.

Question reference: S6O-03877

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the most accurate and up-to-date science and data is used when making decisions that impact Scotland's fishing sector.

Question reference: S6O-03690

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its recently announced budget reductions will have on investment in infrastructure that supports agriculture in remote and island communities.

Question reference: S6O-03565

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is informing tourists and other visitors of how to use roads across the Highlands and Islands safely.

Question reference: S6W-27285

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has undertaken with stakeholders in relation to wildfire prevention ahead of summer 2024.

The Scottish Wildfire Forum, which is chaired by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, includes Local Authorities, Regional Resilience Partnerships and other Agencies as members to assess wildfire risks and consider what mitigating actions might be taken.

Alongside the Forum, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continue to work closely with land managers and local communities prevent wildfires ever occurring.

Work is also ongoing within our National Parks to address concerns around the risk and impact of wildfires. The Cairngorms National Park (CNP) consultation on Fire Management, which ran from February to April of this year, sought views on proposals to reduce fire management byelaws which aim to reduce the risk of wildfires being ignited, and on how the Park Authority might enhance its communication and education approach.

Both the CNP and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park also engage with key stakeholders through Visit Scotland’s Visitor Management Strategy Group Visitor Management: Scotland's Plan & Objectives | VisitScotland.org t o develop messaging around visitor related fires.

Question reference: S6W-27291

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its multi-faceted approach to wildfire prevention, including any forthcoming public awareness campaigns and education programmes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27283 on 28 May 2024.. This year’s public awareness campaigns will build upon and enhance those of 2023.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code education pack was refreshed in 2023 and is aimed at teachers, leaders and others working with young people, with viewing figures of nearly 13,000 times since it was updated. This year NatureScot will focus on raising awareness of this resource amongst uniformed groups such as the Scout Association and in relevant university and college courses.

NatureScot are also working with the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education and the Outdoor Learning network to improve guidance and ensure consistency in messaging about fires in the outdoors.

Young Scot have created a series of animations conveying key messages from the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. During 2023-24, there were over 1500 visits to these webpages. Young Scot are presently planning the social media campaign for summer 2024 with an outdoors focus.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-27293

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what metrics it uses, or assessments it undertakes, regarding the effectiveness of existing wildfire prevention strategies, and whether it will outline its related roadmap for ongoing refinement and adaptation.

One of the major contributors to the increase in wildfire risk comes as a result of climate change. The 2022 Fire and Rescue Framework sets out seven strategic priorities for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Strategic Priority 4 is focused on climate change, and ensuring that SFRS is suitably equipped to respond to the realities of our changing climate, including wildfires.

On a practical level, planning for and taking action to prevent wildfire is the responsibility of the land owner, with SFRS as Category 1 Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

While we know that the majority of wildfires in Scotland are related to grassland and moorland, rather than forest land, wildfires can move into woodland once established. That is why guidance on Building wildfire resilence into forest management planning (forestresearch.gov.uk) Practice Guide 22) was published in 2014 to support the UK Forestry Standard, and help reduce the likelihood and severity of wildfires in forests and woodlands, especially given the increased risk of fire due to climate change.

The Scottish Forestry - Wildfire prevention published by Scottish Forestry in 2023, supports forest owners, planners, and managers in Scotland to implement Practice Guide 22 in a Scottish context, to understand the wildfire risk to the forests they manage, and how to reduce this risk through good practice in forest design and planning.

As we continue to work to meet the challenge of changing climates we will continue to assess the suitability of our climate plans and strategies.

Question reference: S6W-27289

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is facilitating community engagement and supporting grassroots or volunteer initiatives to support wildfire prevention efforts.

As we expect to see more extreme weather events, and further warming in Scotland, the Scottish Government recognises how important it is to adapt and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Our land managers and local communities have a vital role in mitigating and responding to wildfires. In line with the Fire and Rescue Service Wildfire Operational Guidance Fire and Rescue Service Wildfire Operational Guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) t he Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to encourage and support the formation of local fire groups such as those operating in North and South Grampian as well as Badenoch and Speyside.

At recent significant wildfires, the involvement of partners has been instrumental in successfully managing the incidents. SFRS have, and will continue to, learn from these experiences as well as consider where improvements can be made.

Wildfire mitigation is an important part of land management, and the Scottish Government will continue to engage with communities to ensure we are able to respond to wildfire risks.