Rachael Hamilton

12 Apr 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing a gamekeeping taskforce.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: I am committed to engagement of the type I think Ms Hamilton is suggesting. I, and my officials, frequently meet with land management stakeholders, including organisations representing gamekeepers, and I am due to meet again with the Scottish Gamekeepers Asso…

31 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential financial impact on local authorities of its proposed licencing scheme requirements for short-term lets, in light of any inflationary pressures as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Answer · Shona Robison: Licensing authorities will recover the costs of establishing and running the licensing scheme in their area through licence fees.

31 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the projected revenue that will be generated for each local authority as a result of its proposed short-term let licensing scheme, and whether it will provide projected figures broken down by local authority.

Answer · Shona Robison: Licensing authorities must determine their own fees and fee structures to recover establishment and running costs specific to their area. Licensing authorities must review their fees from time to time to ensure that revenue from fees remains in line with the …

31 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on establishing the licencing scheme frameworks for local authorities to take forward its proposed registration requirements for short-term lets.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 came into force on 1 March 2022. Licensing authorities have until 1 October to open schemes in their areas to receive applications from new and existing hosts. We published upd…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK's exit from the EU, whether it is waiting for the EU to make a decision on amending legislation to decouple the regulation of genome-edited products from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and, if so, (a) for what reason and (b) how this will impact on progress on …

Answer · Mairi McAllan: In September 2021 Defra announced plans to facilitate gene editing (GE) in plants for research trials, and after that to review the regulatory definitions in England of a genetically modified organism (GMO) to exclude organisms produced by gene editing and ot…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made, regarding any potential impact on Scotland or its policies, of the European Commission consultation on legislation for plants produced by certain new genomic techniques.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: We are aware of the EU’s policy initiative to propose a new legal framework for plants obtained by targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis and for their food and feed products. Should the EU move to change its regulatory framework, we will consider the implicati…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long after a seed potato crop is planted can Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture order that the crop be destroyed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government can order a crop haulm to be destroyed at any time during the season. The Scottish Government conducts an annual surveillance programme of testing to ensure potato crops in Scotland remain free from many economically important pests an…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation is available to seed potato farmers who have been ordered by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture to destroy their crops (a) in general and (b) when the crops have been planted with previously certified seed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government do not provide compensation to potato farmers who have been ordered by SASA to destroy their crops to prevent further growth. Article 4 of The Plant Health (Potatoes) (Scotland) Order 2006 provides an explicit power to require that th…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to seed potato farmers to control rising aphid levels, which are key vectors of viruses that affect these crops.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The SASA website hosts a number of pages dedicated to viruses of importance to potatoes, including information on aphid monitoring of seed potato crops, virus epidemiology and varietal propensity to virus infection. Scottish Government staff participate in t…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it determined the level of virus that is acceptable in a seed potato crop before it should be ordered to be destroyed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Seed Potatoes (Scotland) Regulations 2015 stipulate the disease tolerances for seed potato crops in Scotland, and all seed crops must comply with the requirements laid down in the Regulations to be certified as a seed crop. The tolerance permitted for…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated through the Marine Fund Scotland in each year since its creation.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Marine Fund Scotland was launched in March 2021, with £14m awarded over the financial year 2021-22. The fund will shortly reopen for funding bids over the 2022-23 financial year.  

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of Scotland-produced malting barley have been used in the production of whisky in Scotland in each year since 2007.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Specific information on the tonnage of malting barley produced in Scotland that is used in the production of whisky is not held. Information on the production and disposal of cereals including barley is published at Scottish cereal harvest: estimates - gov.s…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its definition is of (a) genetic modification and (b) gene editing in the context of agriculture.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: There is no single definition of a GMO for the agricultural context. Different definitions for GMOs exist in different regulatory regimes, including:in relation to deliberate release: section 106 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990,in relation to contain…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation is available to farmers in relation to damage caused by beavers to farmland and any impact on their livelihoods.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Beavers have the potential to bring significant biodiversity benefits to Scotland. They may also have adverse impacts on some land uses. Our main policy focus at this point is to prevent and mitigate negative impacts of beavers before damage can occur. Natur…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Food Security and Supply Taskforce will report on its work.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Food Security and Supply Taskforce met for the third time on 20 April and continues its work to monitor, identify and respond to any potential disruption to the food and drink supply chain resulting from to the impact of the war in Ukraine. The Taskforce …

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures SEPA has taken to manage flood risk on the River Teviot, between its headwaters and Hawick.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The independent Scottish Environmental Protection Agency lead and coordinate strategic flood risk management planning, provide advice and guidance to planning authorities, and are the flood forecasting and warning authority for Scotland. SEPA monitors water…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment SEPA has made of non-native species in its priority catchments.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: SEPA conducts assessments of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) that affect the aquatic environment through River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) status assessments and routine impact monitoring, carried out as a subset of the wider condition assessment. The…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated within SEPA for (a) managing river catchments in general and (b) reducing diffuse pollution in priority catchments, in the current financial year.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: SEPA allocated approximately £30.1m of its £88.6m spend in 2021/22 to managing river catchments. This funded work to protect and improve the water environment including permitting, regulating activities, monitoring water environment and producing River Basin …

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the new capital budget of £12 million over four years for coastal change adaptation, and how it will be distributed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: We announced the new capital budget of £11.7 million for coastal change adaptation in the 2020 Programme for Government. Scottish Ministers and COSLA agreed a methodology to distribute the new budget to coastal local authorities based on evidence from Dynamic…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action SEPA and local authorities have taken on the next round of their shared strategies and plans, and how this action is informed by the recommendations of any joint Scottish Government/COSLA working groups on these issues.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: SEPA’s flood risk management plans for Scotland were approved by Scottish Ministers in December 2021, and published on SEPA’s website. The plans, produced in partnership with responsible authorities, identified flood management actions for over 440 priority c…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the priority list that was agreed by the National Prioritisation Advisory Group that it chaired on flood risk management schemes.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Schemes proposed in the flood risk management strategies (now referred to as plans) published by SEPA in December 2015 were prioritised according to their cost benefit ratio and taking into account a series of additional criteria, encompassing the environment…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on the commitment in its Programme for Government to provide an extra £150 million for flood risk management over the next five years.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Confirmation of the additional £150 million for flood risk management was provided to COSLA by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance in her letter of 4 February 2021. The indicative annual capital allocations, as set out in the letter, are provided in the attache…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers have been culled in Scotland in each year since 2007.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: NatureScot only hold details of beavers controlled under licence since they became European Protected Species in May 2019. The data from 2019 and 2020 licence returns is available on the NatureScot website at https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-beaver-li…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to set up a deer monitor farm, as outlined in Beyond the Glen: a strategy for the Scottish Venison Sector to 2030.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The “Beyond the Glen” strategy for the Scottish venison sector is an industry-led strategy, the implementation of which is being co-ordinated by the Scottish Venison Association (SVA). The action with regard to a deer monitor farm is the joint responsibility …

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the value of sporting shooting to the economy in Scotland.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As part of our work to take forward recommendations from the Grouse Moor Management Review Group, the Scottish Government also commissioned Scotland’s Rural College and the James Hutton Institute to undertake research into the biodiversity and economic impact…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress of the actions set out on page 8 of Beyond the Glen, A strategy for the Scottish Venison Sector to 2030.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The “Beyond the Glen” strategy for the Scottish venison sector is an industry-led strategy, the implementation of which is being co-ordinated by the Scottish Venison Association. In common with other food and related rural businesses, the Covid pandemic has …

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of community access to allotments through the Community Wealth Building strategy.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government has embraced the Community Wealth Building (CWB) approach to economic development as it is geared to helping local businesses and communities own a greater stake in how their local economy functions. The CWB model involves local author…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing a Venison Hub, as set out in Beyond the Glen: a strategy for the Scottish Venison Sector to 2030.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The “Beyond the Glen” strategy for the Scottish venison sector included an action to establish a “go to” Venison Hub for market research and industry technical advice. The Scottish Venison Association has taken on the role of the Venison Hub.

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many allotments have been delivered through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 in each local authority.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities as set out in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. In accordance with section 121 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, local authorities report annually on provisio…

30 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its target for three of Scotland’s islands to become fully carbon neutral by 2040, and whether it will name the islands.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has raised this ambition even further, now aiming to support six islands to become fully carbon neutral by 2040. Work has been ongoing with our External Technical Working Group to identify which islands will be part of the project. Th…