Parliamentary questions
Ariane Burgess
706 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) programme, how many farmers and crofters have claimed the Soil Analysis and Development Payment under the PSF programme in each year since it was launched in spring 2022; what data it holds on how many farmers and crofters have carri…
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) has received a total of 1964 claims to date for soil analysis with a development payment associated with the first claim, with the following number of claims per scheme year: 607 (2022); 1201 (2023); 156 (2024, to date)…
24 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle dangerous driving behaviours, such as (a) speeding, (b) driving too slowly, (c) using a mobile phone while driving and (d) racing, and what measures are in place to improve road safety across Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and a long-term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050.In response to interim figures in…
18 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its 2024-25Programme for Government to "consult on modernisation of the compulsorypurchase system to help deliver a wide range of projects in the publicinterest", whether this consultation will include compulsory sale orders andcompulsory rental orders in i…
17 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to share the analysis of the responses submitted to the Energy Performance Certificate reform consultation, and what opportunities there will be to build the learning from that consultation into its proposed Heat in Buildings Bill.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Our Programme for Government 2024-25 set out that we will bring forward a Heat in Buildings Bill that is deliverable and affordable for households and businesses, setting the long term direction of travel and, in turn, providing certainty to building owners a…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the consultation process for the Firth of Clyde fisheries management for 2026 and 2027 will consider the health of the Clyde cod population, and, if so, how this will be monitored.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) provides annual advice on the population of Northern Shelf cod which currently includes the West of Scotland (6a) and the Clyde areas.During the 2024 closure we enhanced our data collection in t…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28647 by Mairi Gougeon on 19 August 2024, what factors it will consider as part of the consultation process on fisheries management in the Firth of Clyde for 2026 and 2027.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We are open to considering if any factors are new and will make recommendations for future management on that basis. The consultation in summer 2025 will gauge public opinion on the closure in light of the best available evidence on environmental and socioeco…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment that it gave to Environmental Standards Scotland on the matter, whether the current policy position on Ramsar sites, which are officially designated as "wetlands of international importance", will be reviewed by autumn 2024, and by what date any revised policy…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is currently reviewing its policy position on Ramsar sites and a revised policy statement will be published before the end of 2024. We will be conducting a targeted consultation on the proposed new policy position in early October to i…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to protecting the Gairloch herring spawning habitats through variations in licence conditions that would prohibit bottom-towed vessels from operating in the area.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The spawning in Gairloch was a short-term event, lasting only a few days, and has not occurred there in recent years apart from this spring. This is not sufficient evidence to justify immediate protection as a spawning area, especially as measures that will r…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will include a target for 100% community-owned energy, alongside the proposed target for community- and locally-owned energy.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scotland’s potential for renewable energy generation is one of our greatest environmental and economic opportunities. The forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will chart a path to a clean, fair and secure energy system.As part of a just …
10 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in the Programme for Government 2024-25 to consult on further protection measures for Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features, whether it will consult on fisheries management measures for both the remaining Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marin…
Answer · Gillian Martin: Putting in place the remaining fisheries management measures remains a top government priority. We want to achieve this as soon as possible, however developing the evidence based and effective fisheries management measures for over 180 sites is a complex and …
10 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £250 million 10-year Peatland ACTION funding package that has been committed for peatland restoration remains to be spent in the remainder of the delivery period, and how much it expects to spend in each of the remaining years.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The spend on peatland restoration in recent years is shown in the following table:YearSpend (£m)2020-218.02021-2214.62022-2317.32023-2427.9Total:67.8Budget allocations are considered each year as part of the Scottish budget process.
28 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the delivery of superfast broadband in rural areas, particularly in any places where mobile phone signal, data connectivity and broadband speed are extremely limited.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Despite the reserved nature of telecommunications in the UK, the Scottish Government has chosen to step in and make substantial investments in both broadband and mobile digital connectivity across Scotland.The over-£600 million investment in the Reachin…
27 Aug 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported decision to instruct local authorities to divert money from the Nature Restoration Fund towards local government pay settlements, what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action that can be taken to mitigate any impact…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the IT system for agricultural payments, whether it remains committed to the approach set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map, including the proposed list of measures for inclusion in Tier 2.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to the approach set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map. The proposed measures was not a final list but examples were published to highlight the broad types of actions that may be required in the future to access…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified any practical limitations caused by the current IT system for distributing farming and crofting payments that will impact on the approach taken to agricultural support framework Tiers 2, 3 and 4.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The current paying agency is performing well, making payments more quickly and stably than before. The existing system was built to deliver against the CAP and while we work to reform the support system we must also prioritise existing payment delivery to ens…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use Tier 2 of the new agricultural support framework to support farmers and crofters to deliver on objectives around nature and climate improvement.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Tier 2 will deliver Enhanced support payment which is designed to be a universally accessible payment that supplements Base.Funding will also be made available through Tier 2 for a replacement for Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS), where people are f…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to split funding between Tiers 1 and 2 of the new agricultural support framework, in light of the announcement in February 2024 that at least 70% of the overall budget would sit within those tiers.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A phased transition approach to the new Future Support Framework is outlined in the Agriculture Reform Route Map. Tiers 1 and 2 are the tiers that most closely resemble the current Basic Payment Scheme and Greening payments and will receive at least 70% of th…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to deliver on its commitment to make half of all funding for farming and crofting targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaptation.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Agricultural Route Map states that from 2025 the support framework will be aimed at delivering against the following five outcomes with at least half of all funding targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaption:High Q…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its announced review of Community Right to Buy, which stakeholders and community groups it plans to invite for informal discussions and how these were selected; whether the review will consider previous independent reviews of community right to buy, and what role it envis…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government issued a general call for evidence on the Scottish Government’s X Account on 10 July. In addition, since announcing the review on 6 March at a visit to the Heart of Newhaven project in Edinburgh, we have emailed stakeholder and c…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is committed to at least maintaining current funding levels for the Nature Restoration Fund during the remainder of the current parliamentary session, in light of the reported continuing loss of nature and the Fund's positive reputation amongst stakeholders.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Protecting and restoring our natural environment is key to addressing the twin crises of nature loss and climate change. Our commitment to the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), and to introduce a Natural Environment Bill which will set a framework for statutory …
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Nature Restoration Fund's contribution to maintaining populations in rural and island communities.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: We remain firmly committed to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss across Scotland. However, we are also taking on very significant additional financial pressure following decisions made at a UK level, and the Finance Secretary has…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the Nature Restoration Fund's record so far, including the (a) total amount of funding awarded, (b) number of projects funded, broken down by (i) terrestrial and (ii) marine, (c) number of beneficiary organisations and (d) number of jobs created or …
Answer · Alasdair Allan: (a) To date, just over £51 Million has been awarded through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). This includes just over £32 Million awarded through the NRF competitive strand, just over £1.3 Million through NRF-funded Scottish Marine Environm…
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Nature Restoration Fund's impact on tackling the nature and climate emergencies.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has appointed an analyst to carry out an evaluation of the first three years of the Nature Restoration Fund. Work on this exercise began in August 2024, and the findings will be published in due course.
26 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many private landlords on the Scottish LandlordRegister have been found, over the past 10 years, to have not complied withtheir legal responsibilities to (a) provide an Energy Performance Certificateto the tenant and in any advertisement to rent the property, (b) issue a copyof the l…
Answer · Paul McLennan: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Landlord Registration is administered and enforced by each local authority for their own geographical area. Any records of non-compliance by a landlord are kept by the relevant local authority.
22 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the planned date of commencement of the prohibition of the use of snares, as provided for in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: A complete ban on the use of snares, as provided for in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, subject to parliamentary procedure, is expected to come into force on 25 November 2024.
20 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its timeline for consulting on the Good Practice Principles for community benefits from offshore renewable energy developments.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Community benefits from our abundant energy resources, and the potential for communities to own a share of renewable energy projects, are important components in empowering people and communities to help shape and benefit from the energy transition. We are cu…
12 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) affords more or less weight to the climate and nature emergencies than the previous planning frameworks.
Answer · Ivan McKee: National planning Framework 4 (NPF4) signalled a turning point for the Scottish planning system, placing climate and nature at the heart of decision making. For example, Policy 1: Tackling the climate and nature crises, encourages, promotes and facilitates de…
12 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether any of the policies within the Fourth National Planning Framework (NFP4) are prioritised over the others.
Answer · Ivan McKee: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) should be read and applied as a whole. A plan-led approach is central to supporting its delivery and it is a legislative requirement that planning decisions must be made in accordance with the development plan, unless mate…
12 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its agriculture reform programme will meet the recommendation set out in the 2021 report, Just Transition Commission: A national mission for a fairer, greener Scotland, (a) for "a new model of farm advice, with advisory services upscaled and upskilled to help farmers and land ma…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP) will deliver the Vision for Agriculture which makes clear that Scotland will have a robust and coherent framework to underpin our future agricultural support regime from 2025 onwards, that delivers climate mitigation an…
12 Aug 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress against each of the recommendations on land use, particularly relating to agriculture, in the 2021 report, Just Transition Commission: A national mission for a fairer, greener Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The work, advice, and recommendations of the Just Transition Commission (JTC) continue to be an important part of the Scottish Government’s drive towards a Just Transition to our net zero future. We are committed to providing an annual statement to upda…