Donald Cameron

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to students from the Saltire Scholarship programme in each year since 2020-21.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Since 2020-21, the Scottish Government has allocated funding levels of £2,650,000 for all Saltire Scholarship programme students; this consisted of £200,000 in 2020-21 and £2,450,000 in 2021-22.

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to support the work of Scotland’s Makar in each year since the position was created in 2004.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has allocated funding to support the work of Scotland’s Makar in each year since the position was created in 2004, as follows: Year SG Funding Allocation for Makar/National Poet for Scotland 2004 - 2010 £5,000 per annum 2011 - 201…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Black History Month fund, whether it can provide (a) the names of organisations that received funding and (b) a breakdown of what each organisation spent its money on.

Answer · Shona Robison: Two applications met the aims and criteria of the fund. Scoutable United received £1,000 to provide and promote equal opportunities for people from minority ethnic communities to participate in football. The funding was utilised to secure training facilities…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reopen its Black History Month fund for 2022.

Answer · Shona Robison: We are currently reviewing all of our budgets for promoting Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, in the light of the constraints imposed by the Resource Spending Review. We have no current plans to provide a Black History Month Fund for 2022, but across Equa…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm which islands it plans to include in the eligibility criteria for its proposed Islands Bond.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The specifics of the Islands Bond are still being carefully considered in light of the strong feedback we have received from island residents, and within the new context of the current energy crisis and rising living costs which are being experienced by many …

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of each stakeholder engagement session it has held in relation to its proposed Islands Bond scheme.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Officials held engagement sessions on the Islands Bond with a number of key island stakeholders in the latter part of 2021. These are detailed in the table below. In addition to these sessions, officials also engaged with the National Islands Plan Delivery G…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme, (a) how many (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful applications it received and (b) what the total funding awarded annually has been, for each year since it was introduced,

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme was first published in August 2021, when a £715,000 fund was made available. All 39 applications received were successful, totalling a spend of approximately £654,000. In February 2022, the scheme was extended to of…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been allocated to projects from the (i) Rural Housing Fund and (ii) Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2020-21.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Rural and Islands Housing Fund (RIHF) provides an additional funding route for organisations, such as community trusts, who are not able to access traditional affordable housing funding to further increase the long term availability of affordable housing …

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can commit to (a) extending and (b) increasing the (i) Rural Housing Fund and (ii) Islands Housing Fund for each year of the current parliamentary session. 

Answer · Shona Robison: The Rural and Islands Housing Fund (RHIF) has been described as a ‘game changer’ for community-led housing development helping increase the supply of affordable housing in rural and island areas. Taken together with our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, th…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet (a) last met and (b) will next meet in the Highlands and Islands region.

Answer · George Adam: Cabinet last met on 28 June 2022 in Bute House, Edinburgh. The programme of travelling Cabinets was paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and there are currently no Cabinet meetings planned in the Highlands and Islands region.

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will invite all constituency and regional members of the Scottish Parliament from the Highlands and Islands region to attend the next Convention of the Highlands and Islands.

Answer · John Swinney: Meetings of the Convention of the Highlands and Islands are open to the public and MSPs are welcome to attend and observe the proceedings.

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership is not included in Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Hospital at Home scheme.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The announcement of funding to support the development of Hospital at Home followed a round of engagement between Scottish Government and Healthcare Improvement Scotland with all Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships. Initially Argyll and Bute…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it plans to launch its proposed Islands Bond.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The specifics of the Islands Bond are still being carefully considered in light of the strong feedback we have received from island residents, and within the new context of the current energy crisis and rising living costs which are being experienced by many …

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown of what the £150,000 of funding, allocated by Crown Estate Scotland to wild salmon conversation projects, has been spent on.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Crown Estate Scotland contributed £150K funding towards the data collection component of the National Electrofishing Programme (NEPS) for Scotland 2021. The total cost of data collection for NEPS 2021 was ca. £416,337 and was issued as a Grant to Fisheries M…

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Convention of the Highlands and Islands will next meet.

Answer · John Swinney: The next meeting of the Convention of the Highlands and Islands is scheduled to take place on Monday 3 October 2022.

19 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of a forensic laboratory to be run by the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services, as announced on 9 July 2021.

Answer · Keith Brown: A new forensic laboratory based at Junction 24 Business Park in Glasgow is being prepared for the handover of the Post Mortem Toxicology Service from the University of Glasgow to Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Forensic Services. In July 2022, I visited the …

12 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the international consensus principles for ethical wildlife control, and how these relate to the Shared Approach to Wildlife Management as agreed by organisations and NatureScot. 

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is aware of the international consensus principles for ethical wildlife control and alongside the recent Parliamentary debate on the issue, I previously met with OneKind to discuss those principles in more detail, and last month Scotti…

12 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress NatureScot has made in introducing a pilot for community deer management in Scotland.

Answer · Lorna Slater: NatureScot, in conjunction with the Scottish Government, and in their capacity as Scotland’s Nature Agency has recently launched a pilot community deer management scheme at Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. Creag Meagaidh is managed by NatureScot and is…

12 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many contracts have been awarded through NatureScot for deer management in Scotland in each year since 2007, broken down by the cost of each individual contract.

Answer · Lorna Slater: This is a matter for NatureScot. This information is not held centrally.  

12 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement any of the recommendations set out in British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) Scotland’s report, Our Deer, Community Integrated Deer Management in Scotland. 

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government has read BASC Scotland’s report on Community Integrated Deer Management in Scotland with interest. We greatly value the contribution of local deer stalkers, their skill set and those involved in the management of deer across Scotland. …

12 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill on rough shoots where there are two or more dogs present for the purposes of beating or retrieving birds.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill is concerned with the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals and, as such, does not affect shoots where dogs are only being used to beat or retrieve game birds. As I stated in the Rural Affairs, Islands, and Natural Environmen…

28 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what its position is on and (b) whether it supports the continued use of Asulox for the purposes of bracken control.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government has approved an emergency authorisation for the use Asulox for bracken control in 2022 in limited and controlled circumstances. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders to explore options for long-term s…

28 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding the potential impact on Scotland of HSE's consideration of the application to re-licence the use of Asulox for the purposes of bracken control.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the independent regulator for pesticides receive and assess Emergency Authorisation requests. HSE then provide the Scottish Government with a full assessment and scientific advice. Where necessary they will provide add…

16 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will match the amount of grant funding that it offers to farmers and crofters through its Agriculture Transformation Fund with that of the UK Government’s Slurry Infrastructure grant.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The full amount of the Agriculture Transformation Fund of £5 million, which is part of wider transformative actions including the National Test programme, has been allocated to the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) 2022 which will provide s…

16 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s Slurry Infrastructure grant offering funding of between £25,000 and £250,000, for what reason its Agriculture Transformation Fund only offers grants up to £20,000 towards slurry infrastructure investment.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The full amount of the Agriculture Transformation Fund of £5 million has been allocated to the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) 2022 which has been designed to focus support on low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store cover…

6 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans the National Records of Scotland has to scan copies of the paper returns of Scotland’s Census 2022, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Angus Robertson: All valid paper returns from Scotland’s Census 2022 will be scanned in full and digital files created. In addition, digital data from responses for all scanned census returns, including online or paper, will be produced and retained. High quality scanned ima…

30 May 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is taking to assist ferry operators in the (a) prevention and (b) control of fires relating to electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries.

Answer · Ash Regan: Fire prevention and awareness raising are an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Service has been assured that manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (EVs) have taken steps to ensure that their products are safe. Provided that the Lit…

24 May 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much additional funding it has allocated to the National Records of Scotland.

23 May 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority received of the £7 million that was committed for the provision of free music tuition in schools in the 2021-22 academic year.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: In the 2021 academic year we provided a share of £5 million to local authorities based on the number of pupils 5-18 on the school roll in each area. In addition, an allocation of top-up funding of around £3m was provided to those authorities who had budgeted …

23 May 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to continue funding free music tuition in schools, and, in light of £7 million being committed for the 2021-22 academic year, what funding will be available for local authorities in the 2022-23 academic year.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Following agreement with COSLA, a total funding allocation of £8 million across local authorities on a per-pupil basis for the academic year 2022 has been agreed to continue funding free instrumental music tuition in schools. An additional allocation of arou…