Donald Cameron

17 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any assessment of how its proposed Highly Protected Marine Areas will be compatible with its National Islands Plan, and, if so, whether it will publish details of this work.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The National Plan for Scotland’s Islands says that, as part of Strategic Objective 2, the Scottish Government will “Build on Scotland’s National Marine Plan to ensure that fishing and other economic activities stemming from the sea provide increased opportuni…

17 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any assessment of how its proposed Highly Protected Marine Areas will be compatible with its National Strategy for Economic Transformation, and, if so, whether it will publish details of this work.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: To secure long term economic opportunities from our seas, we must take transformative action to protect and restore nature and broaden our measures of economic success. Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transition sets out our ambition to become a we…

17 Apr 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas, following the end of its public consultation.

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it permitted the Lord Advocate to travel to (a) Belgium, (b) the Netherlands and (c) Austria, in 2022, at a reported total cost of £1,430.

Answer · Angus Robertson: To help bring benefits to the people of Scotland. The Lord Advocate attended the 13th Conference of the Network of Public Prosecutors or equivalent institutions at the Supreme Judicial Courts of the Member States of the European Union (Nadal Network) Confere…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it permitted the Solicitor General to travel to (a) Mauritius and (b) Italy, in 2022, at a reported total cost of £7,228.

Answer · Angus Robertson: To help bring benefits to the people of Scotland. The Solicitor General attended the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Mauritius in November 2022 as part of the UK delegation, led by Justice Minister Mike Freer, to raise and maintain Scotland’s profile a…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments made by the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee on 20 March 2023 that “I and my office decline more invitations to attend international events than I accept”, whether it can confirm the number …

Answer · Angus Robertson: This information is not held centrally.

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14004 by Ivan McKee on 26 January 2023, for what reason it does not directly measure the contributions of its Trade and Investment Envoy network.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Trade and Investment Envoys are a voluntarily network of senior business people who offer their time to share their business insights, connections, and expertise to help guide our collective trade and investment effort. They provide a valuable contribution th…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the support provided by each of Scotland's enterprise agencies to the snowsports sector in each of the last six years.

Answer · Maree Todd: The following table details the support given from the enterprise agencies between 2017 and 2022 to the 5 mountain centres and Snow Factor (currently closed). Please note the drawn down figure can be lower than the overall allocation available from the enterp…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2022, whether it can provide a (a) list of projects that have successfully applied to the Islands Heritage and Culture Project and (b) breakdown of how much funding has been allocated to each project.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To support delivery of the National Islands Plan, through the Islands Heritage and Culture Project the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of the following six projects:The Orkney Digitisation Project, delivered by Orkney Islands Council;The Angus …

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in relation to its commitment in its strategy paper, A Scotland for the future: the opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population, to "actively consider the Scottish Government's workplace footprint and explore opportunities to distribute our wor…

Answer · Shona Robison: In 2021 the Ministerial Population Taskforce published Scotland's first Population Strategy, a key building block of which is to create conditions for Scotland’s population profile to be spatially distributed in as balanced a way as possible. Delivering on co…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in relation to its commitment in its strategy paper, A Scotland for the future: the opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population, to "consider community work hubs for people to work in who may no longer need to work in offices every day, but to …

Answer · Emma Roddick: A key component of Scotland’s Population Strategy is to create conditions for Scotland’s population profile to be spatially distributed in as balanced a way as possible, to support communities, economies and public services to thrive.   The 2022 Town Centre…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2022, what action VisitScotland is taking to promote tourism in the islands.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As part of their core activity VisitScotland promotes tourism in Scotland’s island destinations across their marketing, PR, destination development and support for tourism businesses. April is Islands month as part of VisitScotland’s marketing calendar with …

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken in relation to its commitment in its strategy paper, A Scotland for the future: the opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population, to "explore how we and partners can offer a support package to those who wish to move and work in Scotland, incl…

Answer · Emma Roddick: Scotland is in a global competition to attract talent. By taking us out of the EU and ending free movement, the UK Government has recklessly hindered our ability to attract people to Scotland. We want to build Scotland’s reputation as a career destination, pr…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2022, whether it will provide a (a) list of projects that have been funded by the £1 million Islands Programme resource funding allocated to support the National Islands Plan and (b) breakdown of how much funding has been allocated to …

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: 20 projects were funded through the 2022 Islands Programme resource funding to support delivery of the National Islands Plan. These can be found in the following table: Project Amount Scottish Islands Federation ? £56,000.00 Scottish Futures Trust £128,…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects (a) Kisimul Castle, (b) the Bonawe Historic Iron Furnace and (c) Kilchurn Castle to reopen to the public.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to contact the member directly with an answer to his question. I can confirm that Historic Environment Scotland would be happy to arrange site visits for the member to discuss matters with its experts.

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in relation to its commitment in its strategy paper, A Scotland for the future: the opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population, to "work with the housing sector to make self-build homes a mainstream delivery option".

Answer · Paul McLennan: We are supporting people who want to self-build through the extension of the Self-Build Loan Fund for up to five years from November 2022, with a further £6m recyclable loan funding available to borrowers. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), adopted and pu…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2022, what action EventScotland is taking to promote the events industry in the islands.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: EventScotland is the events directorate of VisitScotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17143 on 2 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be foun…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve infrastructure in order to enable all-year access to snowsports venues.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is committed to working with the Scottish Snowsports sector and our economic agencies to contribute to the sectors financial sustainability. Independent research commissioned by the Scottish Government ( Snowsports sector - Economic, …

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (a) excused and (b) exempted a potential juror from appearing for jury duty because the court location was not accessible for disabled people, in each year since 2007.

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.

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last held its disabled people’s summit, and whether it has any plans to hold another such summit during the current parliamentary session.

Answer · Emma Roddick: The last Disability Summit was held in December 2020 to evaluate the impact of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Delivery Plan 2016-2021. Over 100 people attended online and the voices of disabled people with lived and living experience were heard. The …

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to bring forward an updated strategy for disabled people during the current parliamentary session, following its publication in December 2016 of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People.

Answer · Emma Roddick: We are working with Disabled People’s organisations and their members to develop a new Disability Equality Strategy. Our focus is on listening to what disabled people have told us are the challenges and obstacles they face, and finding solutions that we can d…

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all court locations managed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service are accessible for disabled people.

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.

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many court locations managed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service are (a) fully, (b) partially and (c) not accessible for disabled people.

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.  

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total financial penalty incurred by CalMac would be for an instance of (a) Level 1 Lateness and (b) Level 2 Lateness.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17036 on 4 May 2023. 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-committees/w…

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of any (a) newspaper and (b) TV adverts that it placed in relation to its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government did not place any newspaper or TV adverts in relation to our initial public consultation on our overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas.

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland is considering chartering any additional ferries to improve resilience on the Clyde and Hebrides network, in light of the nine-month charter of the MV Alfred, and if so, whether it can provide details of this.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: It is the responsibility of the operator, CalMac Ferries, to conduct negotiations for the charter of a vessel. Scottish Ministers have no involvement in these discussions. Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and CalMac Ferries continue to pursue any opport…

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland included a service reliability target in its contract with CalMac, and if this is the case, what that target is.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Under the terms of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) contract CalMac do not report on a target for reliability of services. However, CalMac do report on both Contractual Reliability and Contractual Punctuality.

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held any in-person sessions related to its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas, and if so, what the (a) date and (b) location of each session was.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s stakeholder engagement during this initial phase of policy development, when no sites have been identified, was conducted online to enable wide participation. See the answers to S6W-16733 on 28 April 2023 and S6W-17046 on 15 May 2023…

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S6W-13316 by Jenny Gilruth on 17 January 2023, whether (a) the Minister for Transport and (b) Transport Scotland officials have met with the National Farmers Union Scotland regarding reported concerns about agricultural vehicles and CalMac’s sys…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: No meeting has taken place between my predecessor and the National Farmers Union and subsequently there is no information to publish. The request to meet with the National Farmer’s Union will carry over to me as the new Transport Minister to consider within m…

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it advertised its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas on (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter and (c) Instagram, and if so, whether it will provide details of engagement figures for each platform.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As well as a press release and supporting social media on the consultation opening on 12 December 2023, ?the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate frequently promoted the consultation, stakeholder information sessions and the extension of the consultat…