Parliamentary questions
John Finnie
1,255 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether forces other than Police Scotland could be permitted to operate surveillance drones in Scotland and, if so, which.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The regulation of airspace is a reserved matter. The Civil Aviation Authority is directed by the UK Parliament to manage UK airspace in the Transport Act 2000 and the Civil Aviation (Air Navigation) Directions issued by the Department for Transport. The publ…
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government and its agencies regarding the use of drones in Scotland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the UK Government and its agencies regarding the use of drones.
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 applies to the use of surveillance drones.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 applies to surveillance that is covert and is undertaken for the purpose of a specific investigation or operation; in such a manner as is likely to result in the obtaining of private information about…
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports Police Scotland's use of drones for (a) overt and (b) covert surveillance and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Surveillance is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Where that surveillance is covert, Police Scotland must comply with the requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the (a) Office of Surveillance Commissioners and (b) Police Scotland regarding the use of drones.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has held no discussions with either the Office of Surveillance Commissioners or Police Scotland regarding the use of drones.
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what power it has to control how drones are operated in Scotland and under what legislation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Regulation of airspace is reserved to the UK Parliament. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is directed by the UK Parliament to manage UK airspace in the Transport Act 2000 and the Civil Aviation (Air Navigation) Directions issued by the Department for Transp…
20 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many drones (a) it and (b) each of its agencies (i) owns, (ii) leases and (iii) contracts and for what purposes.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government neither owns nor leases any unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Historic Scotland owns two UAVs for the purposes of survey work and assessing buildings. The Forestry Commission Scotland has contracted the use of two UAVs for the purpose …
17 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it holds any unpublished reports by Alan Radford on marine matters and, if so, when it plans to publish them.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Marine Scotland has commissioned consultants Grid Economics (Geoff Riddington and Alan Radford) to produce an economic analysis of the impacts of possible new management measures in Scotland’s inshore fisheries. We have received a draft report which is curren…
13 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who would deal with a complaint from a member of the public about the misuse of greenfield and agricultural land in its ownership or control.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Any complaint would be to the appropriate Scottish Government directorate. In the case of agricultural land, that would be the Rural Payments and Inspections Division. No directorate has overall responsibility for greenfield land so any complaint would have t…
13 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which of its directorates are responsible for (a) greenfield and (b) agricultural land in its ownership or control.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Responsibility for agricultural land in the ownership or control of the Scottish Government lies with the Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities Directorate (under the management of the Rural Payments and Inspections Division). The Scottish Government has l…
13 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will produce a register of all land assets in its ownership or control.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23164 on 27 November 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliament…
13 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider a moratorium on the disposal of land that it owns or controls pending the development of a land use and food production policy that includes details of the assets that it has held, the disposal of such assets and their subsequent use.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s policy is that property holdings, including land, should be kept under regular review. As part of our forthcoming consultation on land reform we are exploring ways to ensure public sector land is proactively managed in the public int…
13 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22861 by Derek Mackay on 13 November 2014, whether it considers that it can meaningfully contribute to a debate on land use and food production.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: A wide range of Scottish Government policies have the potential to influence land use and food production. In 2011, the Scottish Government published Scotland's first Land Use Strategy, which sets out a number of objectives and principles in support of achiev…
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the membership of the board of Marine Scotland.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Marine Scotland was established on 1 April 2009 as a directorate of Scottish Government by merging together the functions and resources of the previous Scottish Government Marine Directorate, Fisheries Research Services and the Scottish Fisheries Protection A…
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on jobs if the three mile fisheries limit for all mobile gear around the Scottish coast were reinstated.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: We have commissioned independent research from the consultants Grid Economics to assess options for management of Scotland's inshore fisheries, including the socio-economic impact of applying a three mile limit on mobile fishing gear. We expect this research …
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to assess the impact of Norway's ban on scallop dredging.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: There are no immediate plans to assess the Norwegian model of scallop management as scallop fishing in Norway is not analogous to scallop fishing in Scotland. In Scotland, scallop fishing is targeted principally by dredgers alongside a small but important, o…
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Marine Protected Areas apply fishing restrictions to certain species rather than managing the overall ecology of the designated areas.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 under which the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been designated provide powers to designate MPAs for the conservation of marine flora or fauna, marine habitats and geological features. T…
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish Technical Report: Economic Impact of Recreational Sea Angling in Scotland (the Radford report).
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role Scottish Natural Heritage plays in setting the parameters of a marine protected area.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Natural Heritage provides advice to Marine Scotland on Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for territorial waters. This includes advice on the selection of Nature Conservation MPAs, how the conservation objectives of an MPA may be achie…
12 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on scallop dredging.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the dredged scallop fishery to Scotland. However, we are aware of its environmental impact and have and are taking steps to help manage this. Scotland has a long tradition of commercial scallop dredging an…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to discuss with Skills Development Scotland the implications for unemployed adults of courses previously offered at stage 4 of the Employability Fund no longer being considered financially viable to deliver in remote and rural areas.
Answer · Angela Constance: Officials have discussed this issue with Skills Development Scotland (SDS). SDS has raised this matter with its Highlands and Islands advisory group who report that this has not been raised by local partners. I have asked SDS to add this to the agenda for th…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of concerns regarding a review by Skills Development Scotland that could result in a further reduction of the contribution rate for modern apprenticeships in the hospitality sector and the impact that this could have on recruitment and retention in remote and rural co…
Answer · Angela Constance: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) undertook a review of Modern Apprenticeship contribution rates in 2013 which resulted in initial changes to the contribution offered for those starting on a small number of frameworks, including hospitality, in 2014-15. SDS …
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will encourage Skills Development Scotland to assess the impact on remote and rural communities of any review of contribution rates for modern apprenticeships.
Answer · Angela Constance: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) undertook a review of Modern Apprenticeship contribution rates in 2013 which resulted in initial changes to the contribution offered for those starting on a small number of frameworks in 2014-15. The review was supported by t…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider reintroducing funding arrangements such as those that applied under Highlands and Islands Enterprise's delivery of national training programmes, to reflect the costs of delivering training in remote and rural communities.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Employability Fund, which replaced the previous national training programmes, has only been in operation since 2013-14. The development of the Employability Fund identified the opportunity to achieve increased progressions for participants towards and in…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to assess the impact on remote and rural communities of the modern apprenticeship and Employability Fund programmes.
Answer · Angela Constance: A formative evaluation of the Employability Fund is underway which is expected to report later in the year. This will look at how the fund is being delivered across different areas of Scotland. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has recently published the Hig…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing additional funds to encourage the development and delivery of work-based training in remote and rural communities.
Answer · Angela Constance: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has recently published a Highlands and Islands Skills Investment Plan, developed in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Funding Council, the University of the Highlands and Islands and local author…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on remote and rural communities of the Employability Fund paying a flat rate to training providers regardless of where the training is delivered.
Answer · Angela Constance: The development of the Employability Fund identified the opportunity to achieve increased progressions for participants towards and into employment though better alignment of funded provision at a national and regional level. The aim of the fund is to improve…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the rationale was for paying enhanced training rates to training providers in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area from 2008 until the introduction of the Employability Fund and for what reason the practice ended.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Prior to the establishment of Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Get Ready for Work (GRfW) was delivered by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). In the SE area GRfW included ‘lifeskills’ provision to support those needing addit…
7 Nov 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on remote and rural communities of the transfer of delivery of national training programmes from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to Skills Development Scotland.
Answer · Angela Constance: Government supported training programme data indicates an increase in the number of starts in Highlands and Islands local authority areas (Argyll and Bute, Eilean Siar, Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands) from 2007-08, the year before Skills De…
5 Nov 2014 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what proportion of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme is invested in the fossil fuel, defence and tobacco industries.