Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-38151

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the enforcement of the wrasse fishery licensing conditions, how many fixed penalty notices (FPN) have been issued since April 2021, and how many of those went unpaid; of those FPNs that went unpaid, how many have (a) been referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (b) proceeded in the courts, and, of any that resulted in convictions, what the (i) nature of the offence, (ii) value of the original FPN and (iii) court disposal was.

Question reference: S6W-38034

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 6 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage its ministers are involved in applications to translocate beavers; how they approach any such interventions (a) in general and (b) when an application (i) complies with Scotland's Beaver Strategy and (ii) has strong community support, and how its ministers have approached the translocation in Glen Affric.

The responsibility of the species licensing function was transferred from Scottish Ministers to NatureScot on 1 July 2011. Scottish Ministers retain an interest in the exercise of all the licensing powers delegated.

NatureScot must inform Scottish Ministers about any novel or contentious issues that arise in connection with the exercise of the delegated licensing functions.

The Scottish Government has not been involved in the licensing decision regarding the translocation of beavers to Glen Affric. The Scottish Government fully supports the decision by NatureScot that further consultation with those land managers who may be affected by the translocation of beavers in Glen Affric will be beneficial, and to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures will be agreed before any licensing decision is made.

Question reference: S6O-04776

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding allocations it has made, and plans to make, to enable local authorities to fulfil their statutory duties to uphold the statutory right of access to outdoor spaces, commonly known as the right to roam.

Question reference: S6W-37759

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34497 by Alasdair Allan on 19 February 2025, by what date it will publish the Nature Conservation Order to protect the Parallel Roads of Lochaber Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Achnabobane.

Further to the answer to question S6W-34497 on 19 February 2025, drafting of the proposed Nature Conservation Order and associated Land Register of Scotland and General Register of Sasines searches have continued to progress. I expect to receive advice and a recommendation on the proposed NCO imminently.

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

Question reference: S6W-37743

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the outcomes of the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme will be published, and when the public consultation will open.

We received an excellent response to the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme call for evidence which ran for twelve weeks from 26 November 2024. We intend to publish an analysis in due course. The responses are both numerous and voluminous and have required longer than anticipated to fully analyse and report upon. The scale of the responses has however provided a detailed insight into the views of our stakeholders on numerous aspects of inshore fisheries management. These will be invaluable as we begin to develop proposals for a new inshore fisheries management framework, which we intend to consult on in early 2026.

Question reference: S6W-37569

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that any incidents of environmental pollution by the salmon farming industry that have been caused by the sinking of vessels, and fuel spills, are investigated and sanctioned appropriately.

Salmon farming is regulated primarily as development by Local Authorities through planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Other consents can include a seabed lease from Crown Estate Scotland, a licence from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (“SEPA”) under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and a Marine Licence from the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team for the deposit of equipment under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Incidents of marine pollution are typically reported to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”), who then inform other relevant authorities. Where pollution is suspected to be associated with an aquaculture site, SEPA has primacy in investigating the cause and considering any potential sanctions.

In cases of pollution elsewhere than at an aquaculture site, the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate can investigate and it can take action if the evidence indicates that an offence under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 has been committed. This can include cases of unlicensed deposits of a substance or object into the marine environment or a failure to comply with the conditions of a licensed activity.

In the case of a vessel sinking, the responsible authority is the MCA and it directs any salvage operations through powers held by the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (“SOSREP”). The MCA also has responsibility for pollution emanating from vessels under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MarPol”).

Question reference: S6W-37744

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36305 by Mairi Gougeon on 29 April 2025, what progress it has made towards its aims in the Future Fisheries Management Strategy regarding fishing gear and technology, and how this progress was informed by the post-project monitoring.

Our Fisheries Management Strategy sets out actions to support the fishing fleet to modernise, and for appropriate use to be made of new and additional technology and gear innovation. As part of this the Scottish Government has delivered on our commitment to introduce remote electronic monitoring requirements for pelagic and scallop vessels, with legislation being passed in June 2024. The legislation can be found at:

Our commitment to improve the inshore fisheries evidence base through the use of appropriate and proportionate onboard electronic technology monitoring on under 12 metre vessels is currently being progressed.

Through our Future Catching Policy will take further action to improve selectivity by introducing additional technical measures to reduce unwanted catch and tackle discarding and bycatch of sensitive marine species, which will improve sustainability. Stakeholder engagement is ongoing to explore various selectivity proposals to deliver pragmatic solutions.

In regard to Marine Fund Scotland and post project monitoring, publication of individual data is not standard practice, but the analysis of post project monitoring contributes, as part of a range of information, to Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy. This published strategy, in turn, informs Marine Fund Scotland assessment and will inform future decisions.

Question reference: S6W-37745

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36305 by Mairi Gougeon on 29 April 2025, whether the post-project monitoring will be made publicly available.

Question reference: S6W-37710

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the evaluations from the pilots of a "single-case flow" approach to planning and SEPA Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) licences from the Shetland Islands Council and Highland Council areas.

Question reference: S6W-37061

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recently published Fisheries Management and Conservation Group stakeholder survey showing that 21 out of 23 participating marine stakeholders believe that FMAC is not delivering on its current aims and responsibilities, what conclusions it has drawn from the stakeholder response, and what specific changes it is planning to make to co-management arrangements to address the issues raised in the survey.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-36304 on 9 April 2025 and S6W-37060 on 30 April 2025. The Scottish Government has concluded that, as the primary issue with the functioning of FMAC appears to lie with its current structure, the decision to split the FMAC group should make the group more effective and help address the issues raised within the stakeholder survey.

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.