Kate Forbes

31 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the First Minister's visit to Brussels on 28 May 2018.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister visited Brussels on Monday 28 May. Her visit included a meeting with the European Union's Chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, to discuss the key issues of concern for Scotland as the Brexit negotiations continue. Following the meeting…

31 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact Brexit will have on protecting the designation, exports and global reputation of Scotch whisky.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In 2017, around a third of all Scotch Whisky exports, amounting to £1.37billion, went to the rest of the EU. The Scottish Government believes that Scotland’s future is best served by continued EU membership, in line with the wishes of the Scottish people, ex…

31 May 2018 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in its discussions with the UK Government on the devolution of air passenger duty.

Answer · Derek Mackay: At the time of the UK Autumn Budget in 2017 we announced that the introduction of Air Departure Tax (ADT) in Scotland would be deferred until the issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption had been resolved. The Scottish Government has b…

30 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes will have been built between 2007 and 2021.

21 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to regulate the cosmetic hair transplant industry.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has progressed the work of the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group significantly with the development, consultation and implementation of new legislation to regulate all independent healthcare clinics in Scotland where service…

21 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the implementation of the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group's recommendation of a three-phase approach to the regulation of cosmetic interventions.

Answer · Shona Robison: This legislation, the first in the UK came into force in April 2016 and required significant new duties on both clinics, including private dentists, travel clinics, slimming clinics as well as cosmetic clinics from both the regulator (Healthcare Improvement S…

25 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on protecting young people's right to religious observance, education and freedom of religious belief in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Freedom of religious belief is an important feature of Scottish life that must also apply in schools. The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 provides a statutory basis for local authorities to provide Religious Observance and Religious and Moral Education in Scot…

3 Apr 2018 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the Minister for International Development and Europe’s visit to Zambia in February 2018.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Following the 2016 public consultation on the future shape of the Scottish Government’s International Development Programme, we published our new International Development Strategy in December 2016, which included Zambia as one of our four partner countries, …

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the average payment per patient will be (a) nationally and (b) in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney and (iv) Shetland under the new GP contract, including for global sum location and incomes/expenses protection.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following table provides a breakdown of the average payment per patient (a) nationally and (b) in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney and (iv) Shetland under the new GP contract, including global sum allocation and incomes/expenses guarante…

27 Mar 2018 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the National Marine Plan Review 2018: Three year report on the implementation of Scotland’s National Marine Plan (inshore and offshore waters), on 23 March 2018, whether the Scottish Ministers plan to amend or replace the Plan.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Ministers have considered the Review Report and decided not to replace or amend the National Marine Plan at this early stage of implementation and period of considerable change. This view was generally shared across the range of stakeholders consulte…

13 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring or analysis it carries out of microplastic pollution (a) in rivers and (b) at beaches.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: (a) The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for water quality monitoring in rivers. It does not currently monitor for microplastics but is engaged with academic researchers looking into improving understanding of this problem. (b) Scottis…

8 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the licenses to trial electrofishing for razorclams have awarded to people who have (a) received penalties and (b) been convicted for offences relating to the illegal use of electricity in fishing operations.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: 26 vessels have so far been invited to participate in the scientific trial of electro-fishing for razor clams. Of the applicants awarded a place on the trial, 2 have received a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for electrofishing, 1 has been convicted of electrofish…

8 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the size is of the spawning stock biomass of razorclams in (a) each area of the Marine Scotland electrofishing trial area and (b) the rest of the country.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There is limited information available on the size and extent of Scottish razor clam stocks. As part of preparations for the electrofishing trial, two razor clam surveys were undertaken over the summer of 2017, in the Firth of Clyde and the Sound of Harris. T…

8 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many razorclams caught under electrofishing licenses have been (a) landed and (b) exported.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: a) The scientific trial of electro-fishing for razor clams commenced on 1 February 2018 with 7,500kg of razor clams landed so far. b) Marine Scotland does not hold Scotland-level export figures for specific species. However, UK-level exports are recorded as p…

27 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to improving school buildings in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency since May 2016.

Answer · John Swinney: Through the Scottish Government’s £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future, The Highland Council has been awarded significant funding of over £63 million towards the construction of five school projects. These projects were identified by the Council as…

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake any engagement with salmon farm operators regarding netting materials in order to minimise breaches and escape of stock.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Technical Standard determines technical requirements for fish farm equipment in Scotland and applies to all species of finfish. Discussions will continue with the industry to ensure that these standards are adhered to.

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the main causes of net breaches at Scottish salmon farms, and what advice it gives to operators to minimise these.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14787 on 5 March 2018. An assessment of the main causes of net breaches at Scottish Salmon farms is available in the following report - http://www.sarf.org.uk/reports/ All answers to written parliamentary que…

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what environmental assessment it has undertaken regarding reports of 21,700 farmed salmon escaping at Loch Snizort.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: At this stage it is important that the Fish Health Inspectorate undertake their escape investigation and enhanced containment inspection before any further assessments are considered.

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it will undertake with Grieg Seafood, in light of reports that 21,700 farmed salmon escaped from its Loch Snizort site.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In accordance with standard practice, the site will be visited by the Fish Health Inspectorate to undertake an escape investigation and enhanced containment inspection.

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it gives to salmon farmers to protect against the escape of stock into the wild.

Answer · Fergus Ewing:  As part of their responsibilities, the Fish Health Inspectorate will make recommendations and outline enforcement action where necessary following statutory inspections and fish health surveillance to ascertain whether satisfactory measures are in place for …

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of salmon that have escaped from Scottish farms in each year since 1999, and what action it is taking to help reduce these numbers.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Details on the number of salmon that have been reported to have escaped from Scottish fish farms are published on Scotland’s aquaculture website - http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_escapes.aspx . The Fish Health Inspectorate undertake a programme…

16 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it will undertake with the supermarket chain, Iceland, following its pledge to eliminate plastic packaging from its own-brand products, and whether it will encourage more retailers to adopt this approach.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Through our delivery partner, Zero Waste Scotland, we are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including Iceland on plastics, particularly with regard to deposit return. Scottish Government policy is to help reduce the use of single-use items overall, r…

10 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact is on teacher numbers of immigration policy.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to ensure that we have the right number of teachers, with the right skills, in the right places. This has halted a period of steady decline in teacher recruitment, resulting in almost 800 more teachers than…

8 Jan 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to reduce the use of single-use disposable plastics such as plastic straws.

4 Dec 2017 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects the branch closures announced by RBS will have on communities across Scotland.

28 Nov 2017 · Written Question

 To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of (a) homes, (b) businesses and (c) SMEs (i) nationally and (ii) in rural areas has been offered access to fibre broadband as a result of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, and what estimate it has made of what this would have been had the progra…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Over 800,000 premises have now been connected to fibre broadband through the DSSB programme, with the vast majority of those having access to superfast broadband. We remain on track to reach our target of 95% fibre broadband coverage by the end of 2017 throug…

28 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of (a) homes, (b) businesses and (c) SMEs (i) nationally and (ii) in rural areas has been offered access to superfast broadband in each year since 2014, and what information it has regarding how this compares with (A) England, (B) Wales and (C) Northern Ireland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on superfast broadband access in Scotland, broken down by the categories requested. The majority of broadband access is delivered commercially. Suppliers are not obliged to share this with the Scottis…

28 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has sought its advice in light of the recent announcement that UK ministers plan to offer access to superfast broadband to 100% of premises in England.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The UK Government has not indicated that it plans to extend access to 100% of premises in England. Instead, the UK Government is pursuing a 10Mbps option, either through a Universal Service Obligation or a voluntary deal with BT. That will see those without s…

27 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it held with partners at the recent Arctic Circle Forum in Edinburgh.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government was pleased to host, in partnership with the Arctic Circle organisation, Scotland and the New North, the first Arctic Circle Forum to be held in the UK. The Arctic Circle Forum allowed Scottish Government representatives to engage with…

15 Nov 2017 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the membership of the National Council of Rural Advisers.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In light of one of the members stepping down, the National Council of Rural Advisers sought to have a replacement member appointed from the Highlands and with expertise in the tourism sector. On that basis Willie Cameron has been appointed. More information a…