Fergus Ewing

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the pilot gull management for the city of Inverness, announced by the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity in his ministerial statement on 1 October 2025, has now been finalised, and, if not, what progress has been made since the statement was made, and whether the pilot wil…

Answer · Jim Fairlie: NatureScot continue to engage and further develop the existing management approaches for Inverness with officials from Highland Council.Through this shared commitment to establish the City of Inverness as a leading example of adaptive urban gull management th…

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NatureScot has completed its work to develop a co-ordinated gull management plan with local authorities, as announced by the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity in his ministerial statement on 1 October 2025, and, if not, when this work will be completed.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: NatureScot has developed the aims, objectives and desired outcomes for the £100k funded initiative to be made available to Local Authorities. NatureScot intend to have a first engagement with Local Authorities before the end of December 2025.

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its position on the transfer of children's vaccinations to GPs by NHS Highland due to proceed in April 2026 has changed, and whether it will provide a detailed statement of the timetable for the processes involved in the transfer of this service to GPs.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland continue to support NHS Highland and Highland HSCP to ensure consistent, safe and timely access to vaccination across the area under the new model. The detailed timetable is a matter for NHS Highland and High…

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the hybrid system of vaccinations of NHS Highland shared between its teams and GPs, what the estimated annual (a) extra costs of maintaining a dual system and (b) costs of each of the two parts of the service are, in each of the next five years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: This is a matter for NHS Highland and Highland HSCP.

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Highland requires a vaccination distribution licence and, if so, what the reasons are for this, what the cost is of such a licence, and whether the cost requires to be met by NHS Highland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: A Wholesale Distribution Authorisation (WDA) is typically required to legally supply a medicinal product to another legal entity, for example for a Health Board to supply a GP Practice. There is no requirement to hold a WDA where medicinal products are being …

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate has been made of the extra costs of the continuance of a hybrid arrangement in NHS Highland for the delivery of vaccination services, with some provided by GPs and some by NHS Highland vaccination teams.

Answer · Jenni Minto: This is a matter for NHS Highland and Highland HSCP.

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) the levels of uptake of the winter flu vaccine and (b) whether there is a significant risk of death as a result of a lack of vaccination.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Levels of uptake of the winter flu vaccineAs of the 16 November, 941,833 adult flu vaccinations have been administered. Around the same point last year (17 November 2024) 861,472 adult flu vaccines had been administered. Therefore, this year 80,361 more adult…

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Public Health Scotland Board (a) currently receives and (b) formerly received regular updates regarding the uptake rates of the winter flu vaccine, and, if it no longer receives these updates, who decided to discontinue this practice, and for what reason.

Answer · Jenni Minto: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally by Scottish Government.

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Highland has run a Hospital at Home programme, and, if so, what the cost has been to date, and how many patients have taken part in it.

Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Highland operates a Hospital at Home service as part of the Scottish Government’s wider programme to provide acute hospital-level care in people’s own homes. NHS Highland currently have a service running in Argyll & Bute and a new service …

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the overspend by NHS Highland was in the financial year 2024-25, and whether it will provide a breakdown of this overspend.

Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Highland received financial support from the Scottish Government of £49.7 million to deliver a breakeven position in 2024-25. This support is repayable once the Board returns to financial balance.A breakdown is available from NHS Highland in their 2…

14 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the data on the uptake of vaccinations provided by NHS Highland teams and not GPs, whether GPs will be provided with immediate access to said data at the time of administering a vaccine, and, if not, by what means they will be able to know whether their patients have been vacc…

Answer · Jenni Minto: Where vaccinations are administered by Health Board teams, GPs can establish whether a patient has been vaccinated by consulting the information held within their existing systems. Local variation also exists, with some Health Boards operating additional syst…

3 Nov 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that the Auditor General conducts an investigation into the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round, in light of the finding in the Future Economy Scotland report, Rethinking ScotWind: Maximising Scotland’s offshore wind potential, that, on a per megawatt basis…

23 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the existing conditions and regime, which seek to protect inshore fishing from the impact of any loss of fishing grounds due to the seabed installation of cables for, and construction of, offshore wind installations, require to be reformed in order to prov…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether its ministers have been informed of, endorsed or approved any Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Ministry of Defence memoranda of understanding and associated business cases relating to proposals on nuclear liability t…

Answer · Gillian Martin: Scottish Government has been informed of a memorandum of understanding and initial business case between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) to carry out technical work to evaluate the potential transfer of the Vulcan Nav…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether it will propose the scheduling of time for a parliamentary debate on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s draft strategy and any proposals to transfer major defence nuclear liabilities, including Vulcan, into the…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The NDAs are currently updating their 5 year strategy to cover the period 2026 to 2031. This is a routine exercise and so we do not intend to propose a parliamentary debate on this issue.We will consider the requirement for a parliamentary debate on any propo…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether it (a) can give and (b) has given the (i) Ministry of Defence and (ii) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) any mandate to transfer defence nuclear liabilities, including Vulcan, into the civil sector in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: A) Under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 any proposal to give the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) additional responsibilities in Scotland, including defence liabilities, requires agreement from Scottish Ministers and a Designation Direction under the…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any risk assessments, regarding any potential environmental and financial impact in Scotland, of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Ministry of Defence civil defence nuclear cooperation programme and any proposals to transfer defence nuclear liabilities,…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has not carried out any formal risk assessment regarding Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil defence co-operation and the proposal to transfer any defence liabilities to the civil sector as no fo…

15 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent analysis it has carried out of the expenditureof its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs); what savings have beenidentified; whether such reviews of NDPBs are currently ongoing and, if so, inwhat areas it considers saving of a substantial amount might be achieved.

Answer · Ivan McKee: In November 2024, the Scottish Government published a report on public bodies expenditure for 2022-23 (Public bodies expenditure: aggregated data for 2022-23 - gov.scot). The data was supplied by public bodies and indicates that total resource expenditure by …

15 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what occasions in each of the last 10 years it has used a statutory power of direction in respect of (a) NatureScot, (b) SEPA (c) Creative Scotland and (d) the SQA, broken down by the (i) reason for exercising this power and (ii) outcome.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring public bodies deliver services that are high-quality, provide best value and contribute to economic growth.The Scottish Government has not exercised a statutory power of direction in respect of NatureScot, SEPA…

15 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the future of environmental public bodies, in light of reports that the UK Government plans to do similar.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in the letter from the Minister for Public Finance found here Letter from the Minister for Public Finance to the Convener of 23 September 2024, to the Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, on 23rd September 2024, Scottish Gov…

15 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) reform or (b) abolish NatureScot and transfer its functions to local and/or central government.

Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40528 on 23 September 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-commit…

15 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full- and (b) part-time staff have been employed each year by (i) Cairngorms and (ii) Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, also broken down by (A) area of work employed and (B) pay grade.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Both National Park Authorities publish sections on remuneration and staffing within their Annual Report and Accounts.For Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority this can be found at: Annual Report & Accounts - Here. Now. All of us. - Loch Lo…

8 Sep 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the worst wildfires ever recorded in Scotland affected the areas around Dava, Lochindorb and Carrbridge this summer, what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding potentially commissioning an independent review of wil…

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, since the inception of (a) the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (b) the NatureScot guidance regarding the grounds permitted for granting licences, how many (i) applications and (ii) grants have been made for licences to control mountain hares.  

Answer · Jim Fairlie: Some of the information you have requested – i) the number of licences applications made, and ii) how many licences were granted from 2012 to April 2025 to control mountain hares, is already in the public domain and can be found on NatureScot’s we…

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all persons or businesses conducting peat restoration work are expected by Nature Scot to apply for a licence to control mountain hares, and, if so, under what permissible ground under the applicable Nature Scot guidance.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: Anyone who wishes to control mountain hares must apply to NatureScot for the appropriate licence.The Scottish Government does not expect all persons or businesses conducting peatland restoration work will be required to control mountain hares, therefore, in t…

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has obtained since the passage of the amendment of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 regarding the population size of mountain hares in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The most recent mountain hare population estimate that NatureScot has available was published in 2018 (Mathews et al) which gives a figure of 132,000 (with a possible range of 79,500-516,000) and comes prior to the March 2021 amendment of the Wildlife and Cou…

27 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on (a) peat restoration and (b) the provision of equipment, training or other assistance for tackling wildfires, in each of the past three years.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: a) In the past three years the Scottish Government has spent the following on peatland restoration. Figures below include capital and resource:2022-23: £17.3m2023-24: £26.2m2024-25: £24.6mb) The Scottish Government is working with the Scotti…

25 Aug 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the future award of any grants or loans to arts or public performance venues, whether it or any public authority, including Creative Scotland, will require applicants to observe and respect freedom of expression under the law in order to be eligible for financial support, and …

25 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many orders for witness anonymity under common law and section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, similar to those imposed by Lady Dorrian in the case HMA v Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond, have been imposed in each year since 2015; in which cases they…

Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

18 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in relation to any funding grant, whether it will require the applicant body to sign and confirm that it will abide by and observe the principle that in its operations it will observe as an absolute right, freedom of expression within the law, and that any breach or failure to observe th…

Answer · Ivan McKee: In accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, Scottish Government Grants are made subject to legally binding agreements. A model offer template sets out standard terms and conditions, which include standard clauses covering default and recovery of a …