Parliamentary questions
Finlay Carson
905 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a significant number of people in Dumfries and Galloway moving from NHS dental services to paying privately for dental services, whether any funding that was previously used for NHS dental services has been ring-fenced for future reinvestment in NHS dental provisi…
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39369 on 11 August 2025. 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-committee…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a significant number of people in Dumfries and Galloway moving from NHS dental services to paying privately for dental services, where any funding that was previously used for NHS dental services has been reallocated.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Payments to independent contractors providing NHS dental services, responsible for almost all primary care dental service provision, is funded through a national General Dental Services (GDS) budget. This is a non-cash limited budget where National Services S…
26 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the Rural Support Plan.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 requires the Scottish Ministers to publish a five-year Rural Support Plan and have regard to it when exercising functions under the 2024 Act. The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 (…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the eligibility criteria for tier 3 of the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme support a range of actions, such as managing species-rich pastures, and do not only support tree planting.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Since it was launched in 2015, the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) has supported land managers to undertake a wide range of actions to benefit the environment. Support is provided for the management of species-rich grassland and small-scale tree planti…
5 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-37894 by Jim Fairlie on 3 June 2025, whether it will provide the information requested, specifically regarding what its position is on what role precision agriculture has in reducing nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser use, and for what reason i…
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The answer to question S6W-37894 referred to a range of economic and environmental benefits that the Scottish Government believes can be delivered through the use of precision agriculture. These are understood to include the reduction of nitrous oxide emissio…
4 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to ensure that rural communities have access to public transport.
27 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce ovarian cancer surgery waiting lists in the south of Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) continue to focus on reducing waiting times and improving outcomes for people diagnosed with ovarian cancer. They have made recent innovations in both the pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis parts of the pathway:Pre …
27 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce ovarian cancer surgery waiting lists across Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The three regional cancer networks continue to make operational improvements to service provision across Scotland to reduce ovarian cancer surgery waits. Improvements taken to date include increasing surgery provision, by increasing surgical teams and theatre…
27 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to move towards surgery for ovarian cancer patients being undertaken after three cycles of chemotherapy, for those being treated with neoadjuvant regime, in light of its previously reported commitment to achieve this by April-J…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Jenni Minto: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have and are continuing to take action to simplify scheduling of these complex cases. They have advised that achieving surgery within three cycles of chemotherapy for this patient group remains a Board priority. Ther…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role energy crops have in its land use strategy, and how it will support their uptake.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government’s Land Use Strategy supports our ambition to achieve sustainable land use in Scotland.The third Strategy was published in March 2021 and resets our focus on the integrated nature of land use, by showcasing the range of demands an…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that (a) woodland creation and (b) peatland restoration projects deliver biodiversity benefits alongside carbon sequestration.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Forestry is a major land use in Scotland for positive economic, social and environmental outcomes. Forests and woodland are some of the most biodiverse habitats in Scotland. Scotland’s forests are for example home to 172 priority species including pine …
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection of a required 67% increase in the rewetting and restoration of degraded peatlands by 2045, what progress has been made toward meeting this target.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We are making good progress towards the levels of peatland restoration implied by the CCC recommendations and to celebrate World Peatlands Day on 2 June, SG announced record levels of peatland restoration during 2024-25.Through our Peatland ACTION partnership…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support land managers to integrate agroforestry and hedgerows into productive farmland.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government fully recognises the benefits of hedgerows and trees.We have a range of policies and initiatives in place to support the integration of trees on farms. The Forestry Grant Scheme offers financial support for the creation of new woodland…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to double woodland planting rates, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection that the proportion of woodland cover will need to rise to 23% by 2045.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government’s plans for woodland creation will also raise woodland cover to 23% by 2045. Scotland is leading the UK, planting 75% of all new woodland in the past 10 years. The Government will continue to use the Forestry Grant Scheme and oth…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to prevent carbon leakage from agricultural imports as a result of any reduction in domestic agricultural production.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government does not accept the premise of the question. As the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands set out at the Royal Highland Show on 19 June, while we have accepted the Climate Change Committee’s proposed carbon…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that agricultural emissions reductions are achieved without compromising food security.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Scotland’s resilience to acute food security challenges comes largely from its diversity of supply. Scotland’s food and farming sectors have a critical role to play in Scotland’s food security, producing food for consumption in Scotland, and…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to support the development of alternative proteins and plant-based food production.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scotland already produces a wide range of fruit and vegetables; the Scottish Government provides funding through the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme enabling groups of growers, recognised as Producer Organisations (POs), to increase their competitiveness in t…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to monitor the uptake of low-carbon farming technologies and practices across different regions.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Agricultural and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 requires Scottish Ministers to publish reports on the implementation of the Rural Support Plan and the schemes delivered under it. These schemes constitute the Scottish Government’s primary mech…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to engage with the public on the benefits of land use change and sustainable agriculture.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37886 on 4 June 2025. 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-commit…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that low-carbon farming practices are accessible to small and tenant farmers.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government is committed to providing support and guidance to the agricultural sector to adopt low-carbon farming practices, while meeting the changing needs of farmers and crofters. This includes financial support for carbon audits, soil testing,…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role public procurement will play in supporting lower carbon diets.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government promotes and facilitates the procurement of healthy, fresh and seasonal produce in contracts for food and catering to support our vision of Scotland as a Good Food Nation.The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, proposes a range of …
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to incentivise farmers to diversify into (a) renewable energy, (b) agroforestry and (c) nature restoration.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We are continuing to transform the way we support farming and food production in Scotland, to deliver our Vision for Agriculture, and become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.We want our agriculture sector to be productive and profit…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection of a 36% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers by 2045, how it will assess the impact of any reduction in the beef herd on the abattoir and meat processing industry.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government will consider the advice of the Climate Change Committee before setting out its own proposals for taking necessary actions on climate change.The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting our livestock farmers in playing a ful…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans are in place in the event that emissions reductions from agriculture and land use do not progress in line with its net zero targets.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government expects that all policies and proposals set out in the forthcoming Climate Change Plan will be delivered. Progress of these policies and proposals will be monitored closely throughout the plan period through a robust Monitoring and Eva…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection of a 36% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers by 2045, how it will assess the impact of any reduction in the beef herd on rural communities.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government recognises the vital role the livestock sector plays in supporting rural communities. We do not have a policy to reduce livestock numbers and fully recognise the value that livestock plays in Scotland's rural communities, maintaining b…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that any land use changes align with its (a) biodiversity and (b) water quality goals.
Answer · Gillian Martin: There are a range of ways in which the Scottish Government provides an enabling framework for land use change to align with biodiversity and water quality goals, the key ones being the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), the Strategic Framework for Biodiver…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role precision agriculture has in reducing nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser use.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of precision farming technology and has provided capital support to allow farmers and crofters to invest in precision farming equipment.
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role local authorities will play in delivering land use change and emissions reductions.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government’s Land Use Strategy supports our ambition to achieve sustainable land use, while reducing greenhouse gas emission and maintaining globally renowned food production in Scotland. Through the strategy we are seeking to support commu…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that any reduction in livestock production does not lead to increased imports of high-emission meat and dairy.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a sustainable future for our livestock sector - one that reduces emissions while maintaining high-quality food production and rural livelihoods. We are investing in a just transition that helps farmers adopt …
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will track progress towards net zero in the agriculture and land use sectors.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to our recently published Climate Change Plan Update Monitoring Report for 2025, which shows our progress against the individual policies in the agriculture and land use sectors.The most recent Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics from 2022 s…