Parliamentary questions
Mark Ruskell
1,773 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to revise its model for determining whether cetaceans can be restored to, or maintained at, Favourable Conservation Status to allow for situations where acoustic deterrent devices within a narrow channel may restrict migration and access to feeding and nursery gr…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Under Article 17 of the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive, the UK was required to assess and report on the conservation status of species listed in Annexes I, II, IV and V. The most recent report was submitted in 2019 and the UK assessments can be found …
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered (a) any evidence that the new generation of low frequency acoustic startle devices disturb and elicit the so-called startle reflex in (i) bottlenose dolphins and (ii) any cetacean, and (b) any evidence that the hearing thresholds of cetaceans and pinnipeds overl…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: There is currently only one acoustic startle device on the market. There is no empirical evidence on whether the acoustic startle device disturbs free ranging bottlenose dolphins or other cetaceans, although during field studies, harbour porpoise did not appe…
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to revise its model for determining whether cetaceans can be restored to, or maintained at, Favourable Conservation Status, in light of any evidence that almost all farms which use acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs), use multiple ADDS and that the time for hearing…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Under Article 17 of the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive, the UK was required to assess and report on the conservation status of species listed in Annexes I, II, IV and V. The most recent report was submitted in 2019 and the UK assessments can be found …
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the salmon aquaculture sector in Scotland for the period October 2018 to September 2019 for (a) Cooke Aquaculture and (b) the Scottish Salmon Company in regard to how many farms (i) used acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs), (ii) did not use ADDs and (A) used eith…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The following table provides a breakdown of the number of sites using and not using ADDs and those using anti-predator nets, for the period October 2018 to September 2019, for Cooke Aquaculture and the Scottish Salmon Company. Company name Number of sites u…
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) for what reasons it has not published the European Protected Species (EPS) licence applications for fish farm acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) submitted by the 15 January 2021 deadline for public scrutiny, but has published EPS licence applications for ADDs used for other purposes, …
Answer · Ben Macpherson: There are currently no applications for European Protected Species licences for the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices at fish farms resulting from the review instigated last year by Marine Scotland. Marine Scotland will give due consideration to any European …
19 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will revise its model for determining whether cetaceans can be restored to, or maintained at, Favourable Conservation Status, in light of any evidence that porpoises are not evenly distributed and that the habitats predicted to be of most importance to porpoises are also the a…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Under Article 17 of the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive, the UK was required to assess and report on the conservation status of species listed in Annexes I, II, IV and V. The most recent report was submitted in 2019 and the UK assessments can be found …
17 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it is providing to its agencies to ensure timely consenting of offshore wind projects that are successful in the ScotWind leasing round.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a successful offshore wind sector in Scotland. Our Offshore Wind Policy Statement and Sectoral Marine Plan set out our ambitions and identified the key barriers to consents. The offshore wind plan also provid…
17 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round might help secure supply chain investment.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scotland is an ideal location for offshore wind, with substantial resources and opportunity for investment. An integral part of ScotWind are the Supply Chain Development Statements that applicants must complete and commit to when applying for a lease option. …
17 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the outcome of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round will be published before the COP26 conference in November 2021.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The ScotWind lease option structure is currently under review and the timeline for completion of ScotWind is under consideration as part of that review.
17 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the completion of the review of the ScotWind Leasing process by Crown Estate Scotland will conclude ahead of the pre-2021 election period.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The review is targeted to be completed by 24 March 2021, ahead of the pre-election period. We and Crown Estate Scotland are prioritising our resources in working to meet this target and to provide the Scottish offshore wind sector with clarity on the way forw…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism at the recent Oxford Farming Conference to continuing "direct income support for our farmers", totalling £485 million per annum in 2021, and to increasing funding for the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme …
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland’s farmers and crofters contribute great value to our country, producing high quality food, looking after our countryside, and forming the backbone of our rural communities. It is right they are rewarded for doing so. The Scottish Government made cle…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what area of (a) land designated for its nature conservation importance and (b) priority habitats forming part of Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy it estimates will no longer be managed under Agri-Environment Climate Scheme agreements when existing agreements finish at the end of 2021, a…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The actual area of land continuing under management will be led by the eligibility and quality of applications, the options applied for and the scoring threshold selected for the different elements that provide the greatest benefit for the budget available. W…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering (a) capping Basic Payments to farmers and (b) increasing the rate of budget transfer from Pillar I of CAP to Pillar II from the current 9.5% to the maximum 15% allowed under EU rules, in order to (i) raise the funding required to fully open the Agri-Environment …
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has said direct payments made to individual recipients will be capped in the transition period. Since then we have had to deal with the combined impacts of COVID-19 and Brexit. Faced with these challenges, we decided to prioritise mai…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £34.2 million proposed funding in the 2021-22 Budget for the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme it anticipates will be available to fund new agreements, and how this compares with the proportion of funding required to pay for existing agreements.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The budget for Agri-Environmental Measures in 2021-22 is a reflection of forecast spend for ongoing existing five year Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) contracts, as well as the contract extensions for agreements that ended in 2020. Due to the lack of f…
27 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses to assess requests for an extension of negotiations on planning conditions when only one party supports such a request.
21 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it allocated to the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) elements (a) Area-based Schemes, (b) Loans and Cashback, (c) Warmer Homes Scotland and (d) Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Advice and Support in 2020-21.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: As part of our 20-21 Budget, the Scottish Government allocated £55m to support our Area Based Schemes; £41m for domestic energy efficiency Loans schemes; £26m for our Warmer Homes Scotland service; and £12.8m for fuel poverty, renewables and energy efficiency…
21 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last carried out a review of the health of kelp beds.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-34737 on 29 January 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
21 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the mechanical harvest of seaweed might have on kelp beds, and what work it has commissioned on this.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: It is our aim that the harvesting of any seaweed species should be sustainable and that our marine environment is protected. Kelp beds play a key role in supporting marine biodiversity, providing vital habitats, natural hazard protection and climate regulatio…
18 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the proposed update to fire alarm regulations take account of alarm scrappage and recycling.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Alarms which do not meet the new standard and are no longer required can be disposed of as part of general household waste. However, when lockdown measures allow, we would encourage householders to dispose of alarms either by handing them to the retailer when…
13 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of providing naloxone for frontline police officers to respond to suspected overdoses.
6 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-28898 and S5W-29681 by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May and 18 June 2020 respectively, in light of it currently waiting for a needs assessment review, a Scottish Health Council lived experience report and NHS Information Services data, and the Cabinet Se…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34568 on? 25 January 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
6 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-28898 and S5W-29681 by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May and 18 June 2020 respectively, whether the National Neurological Framework is the mode for delivering services to people with ME; which neurology departments currently offer services to people with …
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34568 on? 25 January 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
21 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31967 by Clare Haughey on 5 October 2020, whether (a) the funded training of additional psychological therapists is available to NHS staff only, (b) it is funding training in (i) clinical and (ii) applied psychology for people who do not work in the…
Answer · Clare Haughey: (a) The funded training for additional psychological therapists (for both Clinical and Applied psychology) is open to individuals from any sector and applications show that whilst the majority of applicants are from NHS settings there are also applicants from…
17 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the independently-chaired taskforce established to consider whether the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be given extra powers to investigate wildlife crime, which it announced on 17 June 2020.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: As stated by the then Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, Mairi Gougeon, in her letter of 8 June 2020 to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, the Scottish Government originally anticipated that a taskforce to consider…
17 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement on 17 June 2020 that an independently-chaired taskforce was to be set up to consider whether the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be given extra powers to investigate wildlife crime, how many times the taskforce has met; who is…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-34151 on 13 January 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
14 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects at least 80% of designated features to be in favourable condition, as set out in priority project 8 of Scotland’s biodiversity route map to 2020.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Route Map target of 80% of natural features in favourable or recovering condition was achieved in January 2016 and formally reported through the 2016 release of the Condition of Protected Nature Sites Official Statistic, available at the following link: …
14 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to replace the elements of the EU Scottish Rural Development Programme that funded (a) conservation work by land managers and (b) habitat enhancement and species conservation programmes, and when it will make an announcement on this, including the budget available.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I announced on 23 December that we will be re-opening the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) for a targeted range of options in 2021. This will focus on designated sites, organics, management supporting farmland waders, corn buntings and corncrakes, slurr…
14 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of land have been identified to meet the aims of priority project 10 in Scotland's biodiversity route map to 2020 to improve ecological connectivity; what habitats are involved; how many hectares are currently being managed for nature conservation under this programme; …
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Priority Project 10 of 'Scotland’s biodiversity: a route map to 2020' aims to improve ecological connectivity and build on previous habitat restoration work. This on-going work will remain a focus, as set out in our Programme for Government, the Scottish Biod…
14 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) land management orders, (b) nature conservation orders and (c) restoration orders have been issued by NatureScot in each of the last 10 years in order to address the condition of features on designated sites.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Land Management Orders (LMOs) and Nature Conservation Orders (NCOs) can be made by the Scottish Ministers in order to conserve or restore features of protected areas. No LMOs have been made. The NCOs in force in Scotland have been made to protect features of …
14 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which projects developed as part of priority project 8 in Scotland’s biodiversity route map to 2020 addressed the needs of priority wildlife species, broken down by the (a) commencement date for each project, (b) budget provided by the Scottish Government, (c) partners involved and (d) o…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Priority Project 8 is concerned with ensuring protected nature sites are in good condition. Many protected sites focus on priority species but information about these sites is not organised as set out in the question. Priority Project 9 relates specifically t…