Emma Harper

16 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on concerns of people in the agricultural community regarding livestock worrying.

14 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding future funding for Scottish hill farmers.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Over the last year, I have repeatedly pressed my counterpart in the UK government for clarity regarding future funding for Scottish agriculture, including hill farmers. Most recently, this has included a letter I sent on 23 March 2018, in conjunction with Ca…

10 May 2018 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will meet the target of making 95.24% of CAP Pillar 1 payments by the end of June 2018.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is working hard to deliver the European Commission’s payment target and this year’s payment trajectory is broadly on track compared to last year. We have already made 95% of Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme payments and are making …

9 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes were of the National Economic Forum meeting in Dumfries on 16 May 2018.

30 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in discussions regarding future cancer pathway arrangements for patients in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area.

10 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and what was discussed.

21 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what future infrastructure investment plans it has for South Scotland.

14 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle loneliness and social isolation in the South Scotland region.

28 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it and its agencies will encourage growth in exports of beef from Scotland to China following the country's decision to lift a ban on such imports from the UK.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The ban on exports of beef from the UK to China has yet to be lifted. The Chinese Government has committed to complete it's consideration of a final lifting of the BSE ban on beef within the next six months. Such an outcome will be dependent on the UK success…

28 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it and its agencies are exploring possibilities to access new export markets for Scotland’s red meat industry.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland’s food and drink industry has ambitious plans for export growth as articulated in “Ambition 2030” and the Scotland Food and Drink Export plan. The Export plan was developed in 2014 by the Scotland Food & Drink partnership to significantly increase ex…

28 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many animals were exported from Scotland for (a) slaughter, (b) breeding and (c) production purposes in 2017.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14474 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…

28 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish beef exports will benefit from the announcement in 2017 that such products are BSE-risk free, particularly in accessing international markets outside the EU.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: BSE negligible risk has advantages as some third countries tend to consider countries or regions with Negligible Risk status as having a higher health status than those with controlled status. As you will be aware from the response to question S5W–14963 on 1…

28 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it and its agencies will encourage growth in exports from Scotland of sheep meat to the Middle East, in light of Saudi Arabian authorities' decision to lift a ban on such imports from the UK.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Following delivery of a large volume of data from UK Government, the Saudi Arabian authorities have indeed lifted the ban on UK lamb imports and an Export Health Certificate has been agreed to enable trade. The conditions required have been deemed as equivale…

27 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to remove the barriers to learning faced by children with dyslexia.

Answer · John Swinney: We want all children and young people to get the support they need to reach their full potential. We continue to support education authorities in meeting their duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act to identify, provide for, and review the addit…

27 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to analysis by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), which suggests that Scotland's sheep population could reduce by 56% because of Brexit.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Brexit will have a significant impact on the day-to-day running of every farm and croft across Scotland and this important study reaffirms what other studies, such as those carried out by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute and Quality Meat Sc…

20 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its investment in tourism in the South Scotland region.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: ?We have set aside £1m of capital and marketing funding for the south of Scotland in 2018-19. £500k of this will go to VisitScotland. This will enable them to develop a marketing strategy which will build on their current activity and highlight the unique tou…

13 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of what the impact has been of the Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Act 2016 on children's health.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The first indication of the impact will come from the results from health surveys - Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) and Scottish Health Survey (SHeS). The SHeS for the first full year of the new legislation (2017-18) is…

31 Jan 2018 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the commencement of a scientific trial of electro-fishing for razor clams.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: A scientific trial of electro-fishing for razor clams commences on 1 February 2018 and will initially involve up to 26 fishing vessels operating in Scottish fishing waters. The trial has been developed following a consultation in 2016 about the potential use …

9 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage children from school into higher education.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Every young person should have the advice and support to help them make the best choice in what they will do after leaving school, whether that be university, college, work-based learning or employment. Recent UCAS statistics show a record number of Scottish…

6 Dec 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government's financial and economic policies will have on the Scottish Budget.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Alongside last month's Autumn Budget, the OBR slashed its forecasts on productivity, economic growth and pay growth for the UK economy. After seven years of failed austerity Britain’s economy is now expected to grow at below its long-term trend growth until w…

24 Nov 2017 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to introduce the role of Independent National Whistleblowing Officer for the NHS (Scotland).

Answer · Shona Robison: Legislation will be brought forward in 2018 so that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) can take on the new role of Independent National Whistleblowing Officer for the NHS in Scotland (INWO). The INWO will be given statutory powers to provide indep…

22 Nov 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to manage flood risk in the south of Scotland.

15 Nov 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to end the illegal trade in puppies.

7 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: As already stated in my answer to Claudia Beamish, the Scottish Government has invested £316.4m in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which is an increase of £21.7m from the previous year.

24 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the devolution settlement could be of the proposals in the EU Withdrawal Bill.

Answer · Michael Russell: The EU (Withdrawal) Bill, as drafted, would turn the founding principle of devolution on its head: that principle states that all matters which are not reserved are devolved. Instead, the Bill would reserve to the UK Government and Parliament control over all…

18 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of housing needs in the south of Scotland.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act places a responsibility on Local Authorities to prepare an assessment of housing needs. Local Authorities and Planning Authorities undertake this analysis every five years. These Housing Need and Demand Assessments are the re…

27 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Law Society of Scotland's warning that ending freedom of movement may deter medical professionals from moving here and have implications for people already living and working here.

21 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the uptake of cervical screening by at risk women.

Answer · Shona Robison: The latest Scottish Cervical Screening Programme Statistics were published on 5 September 2017 and can be accessed here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2017-09-05/2017-09-05-Cervical-Screening-Summary.pdf?

6 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on farmers in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether the UK will retain access to EU animal health resources, such as the vaccine bank for foot and mouth disease, after it leaves the EU.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11130 on 21 September 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…

6 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether Scotland will have access to the level of emergency EU funding that is provided in cases of serious animal disease outbreaks after the UK leaves the EU.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Discussions with the UK Government are focussing on domestic readiness, trying to identify measures etc, that will need to be in place in the event of Brexit. Issues such as crisis and emergency funding have been identified, but at this stage the discussions …