Parliamentary questions
Tim Eagle
1,487 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its target date is for all domestic properties to be converted from gas to hydrogen; how much it is estimated to cost, and what grant funding will be available.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Hydrogen is not considered the primary approach to decarbonising domestic heat; however, it does still have a role to play where electrification is not the optimal solution.Our Heat in Buildings Strategy set out the potential for hydrogen to replace natural g…
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether restocking rivers with eyed ova and unfed fry would have a greater impact on increasing salmon stocks than releasing hatchery reared fry and parr into Scottish salmon rivers; what the reasons are for its position on this matter, and whether this position i…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Decisions on stocking in salmon fishery districts are a matter for District Salmon Fishery Boards (where such Boards exist) under the provisions of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003.Decisions on the life stages used in st…
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of green hydrogen it projects will be produced in Scotland by (a) 2030, (b) 2040 and (c) 2050.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is committed to helping the Scottish hydrogen sector develop and grow to realise an ambition of generating 5GW of green and low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 and 25GW by 2045. Working with our Enterprise Agencies, we are actively engaging wi…
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the reported commercial benefit of producing chlorine gas alongside hydrogen and oxygen when producing green hydrogen from sea water, and what its position is on whether that would help to reduce the projected price of green hydrogen.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government recognise that lowering the production cost of green hydrogen is a key factor in the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland. We are supportive of innovation and technological advances that could support this aim.Innovation wit…
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what studies it has commissioned to ascertain what long-term impact water abstraction through (a) dams and (b) borehole abstraction has on the (i) dynamics and (ii) water flow of streams and rivers.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government supports a wide range of research projects investigating the impacts of water abstraction, including on river dynamics and water flow.The Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Programme (2022-2027) is modelling future drought …
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any evidence that shows whether restocking Scottish rivers with brown trout reared in hatcheries is more successful than releasing hatchery reared salmon fry and parr.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government is not aware of any direct comparison of outcomes between stocked brown trout and salmon.
16 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage mortality was of naturally produced (a) salmon ova, (b) alveins, (c) fry, (d) parr and (e) smolts in each year since 2021.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measurable reductions in (a) littering and (b) fly-tipping have been recorded since the implementation of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24 Action Plan, and whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority area of (i) any such data and (ii) the number of inci…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy is a six year plan. According to Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Local Environmental Auditing Monitoring System (LEAMS) data, 92.7% of audited street sites met acceptable litter standards in the most recent survey, …
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any financial impact of fly-tipping on (a) rural landowners and (b) farmers, and what measures it is taking to support the removal of dumped waste on private land.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has assessed the wider costs of fly-tipping in Scotland through the Litter and Flytipping: Scale and Cost report, published in 2023. This estimated that the overall direct cost of litter and flytipping in Scotland was £81.2m. Dir…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the construction, agricultural and retail sectors to prevent commercial fly-tipping, and what outcomes have resulted from any such discussions.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government recognises the need to continue to address flytipping from commercial sources and has been consistently working with delivery partners under the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy to do so. For example, through SEPA's partnership …
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of fly-tipping have been made via (a) the Dumb Dumpers platform and (b) other public reporting channels since 2020, and what proportion of these resulted in enforcement action.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government does not hold consolidated national data on the number of flytipping reports or enforcement outcomes. Between 2020 and its closure in March 2023, fewer than 900 reports were received annually via the Dumb Dumpers platform. In compariso…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on developing a new national online reporting system for littering and fly-tipping, and when this will be operational.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy identifies the need for a new national online reporting system and this remains an ambition. Initial work has been undertaken to consider requirements for future reporting improvements, taking into account learning …
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that rural communities have equal access to (a) waste disposal facilities and (b) civic amenity sites, in order to reduce any risk of fly-tipping in remote areas.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Local authorities are responsible for the provision and accessibility of household waste and recycling services, including civic amenity sites. However, the Scottish Government recognises the particular challenges faced by rural communities and continues to w…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with rural and agricultural stakeholders in the (a) development and (b) delivery of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24 Action Plan, and whether it maintains any ongoing engagement with any such stakeholders.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government engaged with rural and agricultural stakeholders during both the development of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and the 2023-24 Action Plan. During the 2022 public consultation on the draft Strategy, responses were received…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to each local authority to support the implementation of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has made available record funding of £15.1 billion for Local Government in 2025-26. The vast majority of funding allocated to councils is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local autho…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fixed penalty notices for (a) littering and (b) fly-tipping have been issued in each year since 2019, and what percentage of these were paid in full.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government does not hold centralised annual data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for littering and flytipping, or on payment rates. Responsibility for issuing and managing fixed penalties rests with local authorities and other desig…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop and deliver a national anti-littering media campaign, and, if it has any such plans, how it will assess its effectiveness in changing behaviour.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, published in 2023, recognises the importance of supporting behaviour change so that individuals, communities, and organisations are more aware of the problems caused by litter, understand their responsibilities and…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many community-led litter prevention initiatives it has provided financial support to since the publication of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24, and how much funding it has provided in total.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Keep Scotland Beautiful has been provided with grants of £620,000 from Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Government in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 to deliver aspects of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy focused on litter prevention, data impro…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that there is consistent enforcement of fly-tipping offences across local authorities, as set out in the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24 Action Plan.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening consistent enforcement of flytipping across Scotland. We continue to engage with local authorities and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to understand barriers and share good practice. In 2023…
12 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific support it is providing to rural local authorities and communities to address fly-tipping in remote and sparsely populated areas, in light of the commitments in the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government recognises the particular impact of flytipping on rural and remote areas and is taking steps to address this through National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) is represented on the St…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to assess the interaction of section 20 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill with deer management powers in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The two Bills have different provisions for deer management. Part 2 of the Land Reform Bill contains provisions for compensation for agricultural damage caused by game, including deer. The Natural Environment Bill has a different purpose, it aims to improve t…
10 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32826 by Jim Fairlie on 16 January 2025, whether it will provide an update on Transport Scotland's consideration of new vessels for the Dunoon to Gourock ferry route, and when a decision will be taken.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: A range of new vessel options for the Gourock to Dunoon and Kilcreggan ferry services are being considered within the wider Outline Business Case for investment in the routes, which also includes port infrastructure upgrades. When complete, the Outline Busine…
9 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30469 by Fiona Hyslop on 1 November 2024, whether it will provide an update on the number of commercial (a) vehicles carried and (b) vehicle lane metres used in (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025, broken down by individual routes.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland does not hold this information. However, CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) has provided the information as they do capture the number of Commercial Vehicles carried, and the number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used.A table has been placed i…
5 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to increase the number of breeding (a) cattle and (b) sheep.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government does not set targets for the number of breeding cattle or sheep in Scotland. Livestock numbers are primarily driven by market conditions and individual business decisions.However, we are committed to supporting a resilient and sustaina…
5 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Quality Meat Scotland's research, Meating our Potential, and in what ways the Scottish Government can help to support its aims.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government is unequivocal in its support for Scotland’s red meat supply chain given its vital role in underpinning our rural communities and making possible our world-class produce.We are committed to transforming Scottish agriculture, and …
29 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme payments were made to new entrant farmers in each year since 2021-22.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The number of eligible Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS) applicants each year from 2021 and how many of these were new entrant farmers is detailed in the following table.Scheme YearEligible SUSSS applicantsNew Entrants% New Entrants2021113770.62202…
29 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of applicants that were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in applying for a Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme payment for 2025-26, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The application window for the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS) scheme year 2025 does not open until 1 September 2025.In the following table, details are provided of the number of businesses that had a successful or unsuccessful application under …
29 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when any outstanding Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme payments for 2025-26 will be paid to applicants.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The application window for the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS) in scheme year 2025 does not open until 1 September 2025.Payments under the SUSSS for scheme year 2024 commenced in May 2025, as set out in the 2024 Payments Strategy timetable.As per…
29 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants who applied for a Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme payment for 2025-26 have yet to receive their payment, and what the reasons were for any delay of payments.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38250 on 17 June 2025. 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-…
29 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering introducing a multi-year funding model for future Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme payments, and, if so, whether it is able to provide any details of this.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government understands the importance of multi-year budgets to the agriculture sector and consistently makes the case to the UK Government that a single year budget settlement does not give the stability and certainty that we need. If the UK Gove…