Douglas Lumsden

19 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions have been brought under the Road Traffic Act 1988 in relation to illegal e-bikes in each year since 2020.

Answer · Angela Constance: It is not possible to separately identify prosecutions under the Road Traffic Act 1988 that specifically relate to the illegal use of e-bikes. While the Act does not explicitly mention e-bikes, their illegal use may be prosecuted under a variety of offences. …

19 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, what measures are in place to avoid public funds being used for, and Scottish institutions being implicated in, cases of international corruption.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The measures to mitigate the impact of potential international corruption in the management of public resources in Scotland are found in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), and within the relevant Scottish Government policies and Civil Service Code. Re…

19 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on international development, whether it has had any official or unofficial contact with any representatives in relation to infrastructure or financial projects in Bangladesh.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Our International Development work focuses on three partner countries in Africa. The Scottish Government has not had official or unofficial contact with representatives from Bangladesh in relation to International Development, for either infrastructure or fin…

19 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, how it (a) assesses and (b) responds to any corruption risks associated with financial markets and infrastructure projects linked to foreign governments.

Answer · Ivan McKee: a) The Scottish Government’s Counter Fraud Toolkit within the Counter Fraud Framework contains a range of processes for assessing risks associated with fraud and corruption in all areas of public sector spending. These are aligned with the UK Government…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding allocations have been made for the flood advisory service referred to in the Flood Resilience Strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Developing a National Flood Advisory Service to improve Scotland’s flood resilience and embed best practice on a nationwide scale is one of the actions in Scotland’s first National Flood Resilience Strategy. The Service will provide support and ad…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role peatland restoration plays in meeting the flood mitigation objectives.

Answer · Gillian Martin: In addition to contributing to our climate change targets and net zero ambitions by capturing and storing carbon, Scottish Government recognises that restoring Scotland’s peatlands will provide many additional benefits: including reducing risks of flood…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are used to select communities for inclusion in the Flood Resilience Strategy pilot programmes.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy does not make reference to ‘pilot programmes’.

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the success of the Flood Resilience Strategy will be measured over the next decade.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Strategy will be delivered via an implementation plan that will focus on the six priority action areas, including a range of core deliverables and outcomes, starting with the establishment of the Flood Advisory Service. That implementation plan will be de…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will integrate blue-green infrastructure initiatives into urban planning under the Flood Resilience Strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out our vision for working with partners to deliver shared outcomes for people and places and supporting a broader range of flood actions where evidence suggests they can provide a positive contribution to improving…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources are being developed to help (a) individuals and (b) households improve their flood resilience.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Flooding Forum, funded by Scottish Government, already makes a broad range of resources available to individuals and households. These cover preparation and protection, what to do if flooding occurs, recovery and guidance on actions communities c…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will balance investment in large-scale flood protection schemes with property-level flood resilience measures.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy commits to review available flooding budgets to assess how a proportion of flood funding can be directed to support a broader range of flood actions - including smaller flood protection schemes and property level flood r…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the funding gaps identified in the Flood Resilience Strategy to ensure timely implementation.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out a long-term vision for a flood resilient Scotland through to 2045, this will continue to require significant public and private investment.Scottish Government already provides substantial funding to support floo…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to ensure that community input is incorporated into flood resilience planning decisions.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Scottish Government promotes community-led action and works to embed community resilience through a number of connected policy areas which enable collaboration between community resilience groups, voluntary sector organisations, Government and statutory respo…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support will be provided under the Flood Resilience Strategy to communities most vulnerable to flooding.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy will not replace the Flood Risk Management Planning Process which is the primary delivery vehicle for flood risk management actions in Scotland.SEPA are responsible for identifying Potentially Vulnerable Areas and produc…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how real-time data is used to support emergency response and recovery during flood events.

Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA, as Scotland’s hydrometric and flood warning authority, and a civil contingency category one responder, provides a range of real time data including Floodline flood alerts and warnings; rainfall data at over 250 locations and water level data at ov…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role local authorities will play in supporting community flood groups under the Flood Resilience Strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Under the Flood Risk Management Planning process introduced as part of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, SEPA, local authorities, Scottish Water and others to work together to deliver actions to increase our flood resilience.Scottish Government a…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what datasets are being developed to improve flood resilience decision making.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy demonstrates our commitment to improving flood resilience through the use of data. It sets out that we will work with partners to review how we can improve the presentation and use of data to drive flood resilient activi…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what long-term plans are in place to avoid redevelopment in areas at high flood risk.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Our fourth National Planning Framework (NEF) is a long-term plan looking to 2045 that guides spatial development, sets out national planning policies, designates national developments and highlights regional spatial priorities.Planning authorities are prepari…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the so-called Place Principle is being applied to ensure that flood resilience is considered in land-use decisions.

Answer · Gillian Martin: In 2019 the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to adopt the Place Principle to help overcome organisational and sectoral boundaries, to encourage better collaboration and community involvement, and improve the impact of combined energy, resources and invest…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how agricultural policies will align with the flood mitigation goals outlined in the Flood Resilience Strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our recently published National Flood Resilience Strategy, we are considering how farmers can be supported to make changes to handle extremes in water availability; for example, through improving soil management practices. We continue to work wi…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve flood risk communication and awareness through enhanced data visualisation tools.

Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA is responsible for producing national flood risk maps and operating Scotland’s flood warning system. Both actions are important to communicate flood risk and rely heavily on the use of data and presenting it for greatest impact; both in terms of kn…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it collaborates with academic and research institutions to advance flood resilience modeling and forecasting.

Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA are responsible for flood forecasting and warning in Scotland and continually develop this service. They work in partnership with the Met Office to forecast for flooding and operate Floodline in Scotland to warn emergency responders, and the public, when…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to engage private sector partners in delivering flood resilience actions.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Flood Resilience Strategy commits to seek new flood resilience partners across the public, private and third sector and seek to influence policy across sectors who can contribute to creating flood resilient places.In developing the Strategy the S…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources are being allocated to SEPA’s flood forecasting and warning services.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The draft Scottish budget indicates a £52.6m grant in aid allocation to SEPA for 2025-26 and SEPA may determine how to allocate those resources, setting this out in an Annual Operating Plan each year.The recent budget includes an additional £15m t…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to prevent duplication of efforts between its international offices and UK embassies.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Other than Brussels, Scottish Government international network offices outside the UK are based in the corresponding British Embassy or High Commission. Scottish Government staff in these locations regularly engage with their UK Government counterparts, shari…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on staff (a) salaries and (b) travel expenses at each of its international offices in the last year.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The following table presents totals for (a) salaries, including overseas allowances, and (b) travel expenses for 2023-24.International Office(a) Salary Costs(b) Travel CostsChina£206,338£10,500United States£281,144£29,000Canada£1…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered reducing the number of international offices to reallocate funding towards domestic services.

Answer · Angus Robertson: No.The Scottish Government’s international network delivers tangible benefits to our people, businesses and institutions, and accounts for less than 0.02% of the Scottish Government’s overall resource spending plans.

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered alternative models of international representation to its international offices that could achieve similar outcomes at a lower cost.

Answer · Angus Robertson: When opening an international office, we consider a range of options to best represent Scotland’s interests while ensuring we are delivering value for money.Working with the UK Government as part of the FCDO platform currently provides the preferred ove…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what comparative analyses of its international office spending relative to similar devolved administrations it has carried out, and on what dates.

Answer · Angus Robertson: There have been no comparative analyses undertaken of spending relative to similar devolved administrations.However, the Scottish Government is in regular contact with the international networks of other devolved administrations to understand how they operate…

18 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that its international offices are not used to promote the case for Scottish independence.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government’s international network offices do not have a role in developing policy on options for Scotland’s constitutional future. Nevertheless, it is the role of the Civil Service to support the elected government of the day in deve…