- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) coniferous, (b) broadleaved, (c) native and (d) non-native trees have been planted in Scotland since 1 January 2021 to date.
Answer
10,195 hectares of new woodland has be planted in Scotland since 21 st January 2021. The area that was planted as (a) coniferous, (b) broadleaved, (c) native and (d) non-native is shown in Table 1. This balance of planting is in line with SG targets.
Area of New Woodland Creation in 2020 | 10,195 | ha |
Coniferous | 6,806 | ha |
Broadleaved | 3,389 | ha |
Native | 3,850 | ha |
Non-native | 6,345 | ha |
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering any proposals to rewrite or remove questions contained within the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22.
Answer
There are no proposals to rewrite or remove questions contained in the Health and Wellbeing Census.
I also refer the member to the answer given to S6W-04878 on 17 December 2021 regarding the appropriateness of the Census questions.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority area of the 11,000 hectares that have reportedly been planted with trees in the last year.
Answer
Scottish Forestry has a breakdown, by local authority area, of new woodland creation planted in the last full financial year.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when NHS dental care will resume operating at the same capacity as prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04082 on 9 November 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on NHS dental care services.
Answer
Many dental procedures involve the use of an aerosol which, for the safety of both patients and staff, needs to be done under strict Infection Prevention and Control guidelines. This means that NHS dental teams are unable to see the same numbers of patients as before the start of the pandemic.
From February 2022, we will bring in new and increased fees for dentists for a range of treatments, supporting them in their efforts to clear the backlog which has built up during the pandemic. We have already provided £50 million of additional financial support (on top of the budget for General Dental Services), plus supplied £30-£35 million of free PPE, to ensure NHS dental services emerge well-placed to care for the oral health of everyone in Scotland.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government who designed the questionnaire for the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22.
Answer
The information requested is available from
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what volume of wood has been imported into Scotland in each of the last five years, also broken down by the country it was imported from.
Answer
The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 63053).
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of birds that have been killed in the last 10 years due to windfarm activity.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold complete information on the number of birds killed by windfarm activity. Prior to consent, surveys are undertaken in relation to the impact any proposed windfarm would have on bird populations. The survey results then determine whether mitigation and/or further monitoring is required and a specific condition to that effect is included in the windfarm’s consent. The information gathered from this monitoring is provided to the relevant Planning Authority. Not all windfarms have significant levels of bird activity and therefore they are not all required to report collisions.
Since 2013 NatureScot has operated a voluntary reporting scheme via their website, and have received 51 collision reports.
Some collisions are recorded by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA), and these reports are published quarterly on the SASA website and can be found here: .
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish SPCA in relation to (a) powers to investigate wildlife crime, (b) any offers of assistance by experienced Scottish SPCA inspectors to investigate wildlife crime and (c) the setting-up of a taskforce to review the extension of wildlife powers and enforcement in relation to wildlife crime.
Answer
As stated in the answer to question S6W-04876 on 20 December 2021 we have committed to establishing an independent taskforce to consider investigatory powers of the Scottish SPCA. The taskforce’s remit will cover the Scottish SCPA’s role in investigating wildlife crime and will involve engaging with the Scottish SPCA, alongside other relevant stakeholders, as it conducts its review.
Furthermore, the Scottish Government has regular discussions with stakeholders, including the Scottish SPCA at both official and Ministerial level. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders as work on the taskforce develops.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of road have been constructed as a result of (a) commercial forestry and (b) windfarm developments in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
It is not possible for the Scottish Government to quantify nor confirm the total mileage of all roads constructed anywhere and by anyone for these purposes in each of the last ten years. However, on Scotland’s national forests and land, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) constructs roads for use on a multi-purpose basis e.g. timber transport, tree planting, environmental improvement works, recreational access. FLS does not hold data that ascribes a particular use to sections of forest road, nor does it hold specific data as to what lengths of road have been constructed by windfarm developers. Over the past ten years levels of forest road construction by FLS have been as follows:
2012: 46 Miles
2013: 52 Miles
2014: 43 Miles
2015: 34 Miles
2016: 37 Miles
2017: 37 Miles
2018: 44 Miles
2019: 32 Miles
2020: 27 Miles
2021: 24 Miles