Parliamentary questions
Mark Ruskell
1,773 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has revised the estimated £13 million in annual savings for local authorities from a deposit returns system that was set out in the 2015 paper, Review of feasibility study for a Deposit Return System for Drinks Containers, and, if so, what the latest estimate is.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government’s “Deposit Return Scheme: Full Business Case Stage 1”, published on 8 May 2019, estimates an overall net economic benefit of £191 million for local authorities over 25 years as a result of the scheme’s introduction. This includes £133 …
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26437 by Roseanna Cunningham on 19 November 2019, what the (a) financial and (b) staff time cost was of re-branding Scottish Natural Heritage as NatureScot.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The financial cost of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) rebranding its public-facing name to NatureScot, with effect from 1 May 2020, is projected to be £63,000 in total over a three-year period. A breakdown of SNH staff time cost in support of the rebranding …
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the trees planted in Scotland using public funds are UK-sourced and grown.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not collect data on forestry plants grown outside of the UK and imported to Scotland and therefore these are not available. Data on forestry plant imports are collected at the GB level for the tree species covered by The Forest R…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to use the International Year of Plant Health to improve biosecurity measures.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I set out the Scottish Government's approach to marking the International Year of Plant Health in a statement to Parliament on 19 November. That statement can be found here The Scottish Government is engaged continuously including by working with administra…
13 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much is being spent on the project to trial driverless buses on the Forth Road Bridge.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland (TS), is a partner in the CAV Forth autonomous bus trial. The project is forecast to cost £6.09m.
11 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of the Wildlife Special Constables pilot project; how many constables participated each month in this, and how many suspected crimes they reported, also broken down by how many led to subsequent (a) arrests, (b) charges, (c) prosecutions and (d) convictions.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: a)The Scottish Government is currently undertaking an evaluation of the Special Constable Pilot Project in conjunction with Police Scotland and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. We will announce a decision on the future direction of the project in due c…
11 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) it and (b) the Cairngorms National Park Authority allocated each year to the Wildlife Special Constables pilot project.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government agreed to contribute £18,000 and the Cairngorms National Park Authority agreed to provide £10,000 for the Wildlife Special Constables pilot project.
11 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26108 by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 November 2019, on what dates (a) ministers and (b) officials have met the Health and Safety Executive to discuss operations at the Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Officials met with representatives from the Health and Safety Executive to discuss the operations at Mossmorran on 14 November 2019. There have previously been telephone discussions with representatives from the Health and Safety Executive on 3 July, 17 Septe…
31 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has provided to local authorities regarding the use of herbicides in public greenspaces.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government encourages membership of the Amenity Forum. The Amenity Forum is a UK voluntary initiative, recognised by the Scottish Government, which promotes best practice in all forms of weed management to ensure approaches that provide safe and …
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often it meets with officials from the Health and Safety Executive.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government meets with officials from the Health and Safety Executive on both a regular and ad hoc basis across various portfolios for a number of purposes.
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Health and Safety Executive regarding ongoing concerns about health and safety at the Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are following developments at the site closely and this has included contact with HSE at official level on a number of occasions to understand the actions they are taking at the plant.
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures effective communication with the Health and Safety Executive on matters of devolved competence.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Health and Safety Executive is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the UK Department for Work and Pensions. It operates with staff based across the UK who liaise with the Scottish Government as and when appropriate on devolved matters.
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24902 by Mairi Gougeon on 12 September 2019, what actions it took to ensure that the discussions with the fishing industry were compliant with (a) section 126(10) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, (b) section 82(9) of the Marine (Scotland) …
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Previous advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee helped inform the voluntary restrictions. The advice states that "The offshore subtidal sands and gravels feature is broadly distributed across the site; we have no extra information available on th…
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24905 by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2019, whether Marine Scotland Science observed trawl marks or damage to the PMFs while surveying the MPA.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Potential trawl marks were seen on a number of video tows from a survey carried out in August/September 2019. Analyses of the survey data are ongoing.
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24900 by Mairi Gougeon on 18 September 2019, what it considers to be "reasonable avoidance".
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government considers that the effect of the act on the protected feature in question could not have been reasonably avoided where the act of sea fishing complied with all current regulations in place. If, for example, damage is caused while fishi…
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24902 by Mairi Gougeon on 12 September 2019, for what reason it does not consider section 125(2) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to apply to fishing.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Section 125 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 applies to functions of public authorities, not to the authorisation of others to undertake certain activities. Therefore Section 125 does not apply to fishing.
29 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to encourage the sharing of data on chemical safety that is jointly-owned through consortia, to help avoid duplicative tests on animals for the purposes of a Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The principle of ‘one substance, one registration’ is a core principle underpinning EU REACH. In preparation for EU exit, we have agreed to UK wide legislation which ensures that this principle and therefore the capacity for submission of joint registrations …
19 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the second strategic transport projects review will engage with (a) the public and (b) stakeholders (i) online and (ii) via public events, and what the timescale will be for this.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Stakeholder engagement has already taken place across parts of Scotland to inform the Second Strategic Transport Projects Review. Advance work on the review, over the last two years, in the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and in the North East has res…
18 Sep 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what provisions are in place to ensure that there is adequate cover for music tutors in schools during periods of maternity or paternity leave.
Answer · John Swinney: The organisation and management of schools in Scotland is a matter for individual local authorities who have the statutory duty for delivering education. The deployment of staff in schools is a matter for local authorities. We highly value the contribution t…
11 Sep 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the operators of the ethylene plant at Mossmorran regarding the climate emergency and the need for a just transition.
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the review into the Climate Challenge Fund.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We will publish the outcome of the review of our Climate Challenge Fund later this year, as set out on Page 62 of The Government's Programme for Scotland 2019-20.
10 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent the percentage interim targets proposed in its Climate Change Bill equates to.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Table 1 provides an indication of the volume, in million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, of emissions associated with the percentage reduction targets in the Climate Change Scotland Bill. The estimates in this table have been calculated solely on the bas…
10 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) stakeholder engagement and (b) period of parliamentary scrutiny it plans for the revision of its Climate Change Plan.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: On 26 June we launched The Big Climate Conversation which aims to engage all communities, the public and private sectors, in a dialogue about how Scotland should respond to the global climate emergency. The outputs from the Big Climate Conversation will feed …
10 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, when revising its Climate Change Plan, what (a) percentage reduction and (b) megatonne savings from 1990 levels, will the plan be written to meet.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government’s Third Report on Proposals and Policies 2018-2032 (the ‘Climate Change Plan’) will be updated within 6 months of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill receiving Royal Assent. The update will set out the pat…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) remit, (b) timescale and (c) membership is of the Levenmouth Blueprint project.
Answer · Michael Matheson: On 8 August, at the same time as making the announcement to stakeholders of my decision to progress the re-opening of Levenmouth rail link, I stated that I had asked officials for the remit and criteria for the Levenmouth Blueprint to be set out within the ne…
23 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the distribution of fishing now taking place in the West Shetland Shelf MPA adequately protects the priority marine features (PMFs), including cod, in light of many large-size classes being present within the site.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The West Shetland Shelf MPA is designated for the protection of offshore subtidal sands and gravels. Although it covers a significant part of the previous Windsock closure, its purpose is not for the protection of cod. As yet unpublished survey-based analyses…
23 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the distribution of fishing now taking place in the West Shetland Shelf MPA will continue to enable recovery of cod within the site, in light of the repeal of the overlapping Windsock cod recovery area.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24905 on 19 September 2019. 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/parliamentarybusin…
23 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the repeal of the overlapping Windsock cod recovery area, how it will ensure that the West Shetland Shelf MPA meets its conservation objectives.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24902 on 12 September 2019 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ormain.aspx .
23 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that the conservation objectives for the West Shetland Shelf MPA are not hindered.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Licensed activities within the West Shetland Shelf MPA are consented in accordance with the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. A public authority must not grant authorisation unless they are satisfied that there is no significant risk of hindering the ac…
23 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with EU member states and Norway to reach an agreement to ensure that the distribution of fishing in the recently repealed Windsock cod recovery area is controlled.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The end-year negotiations that will shortly commence with the EU and with Norway focus on the management of fish stocks within the wider ICES area 6a in which the Windsock is located. While the UK is an EU Member State, the Scottish Government will encourage …