Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-42537

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) VisitScotland and (b) enterprise agencies regarding any potential impact of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties on farm diversification and crofting enterprises reliant on tourism income.

Question reference: S6W-42550

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many trunk road bridges have been placed into so-called managed decline in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-42535

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled any possible consequences for local (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors in the event of visitor numbers declining due to reduced accommodation capacity as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6W-42536

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential effect of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties' accommodation availability during peak and shoulder seasons in (a) rural and (b) island areas.

Question reference: S6W-42538

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will assess any potential knock-on effects on local supply chains, including (a) housekeeping, (b) tradespeople and (c) food producers, should a proportion of self-catering businesses become unviable as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6W-42279

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Transport Scotland has had with Argyll and Bute Council regarding the Craignure Ferry Terminal Project, and what the outcomes were.

Transport Scotland is a member of the Craignure Pier Development Working Group chaired by Argyll and Bute Council; as well as being a member of the Craignure Marine Infrastructure Liaison Group (CMILG). Transport Scotland provides advice and support to the delivery of improved pier facilities for the Craignure-Oban route. Each group and its members meet on a regular basis, further details such as project working group minutes can be accessed via the Argyll and Bute Council dedicated project page: .

Question reference: S6W-42400

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communication plans are in place for (a) registered and (b) unregistered bird keepers in the event of an avian influenza control zone being established.

When a notifiable animal disease is confirmed at a premises by the Scottish Government, the Declaration, which legally confirms the premises as an infected one, and applies disease control zones in the area, is posted on gov.scot. The gov.scot avian influenza webpage is also updated. Specific stakeholder communications are also issued to the relevant local authority, relevant MP and ��˿��, and to established industry and sector stakeholders, all of whom are encouraged to share established top lines and information on the outbreak.

Registered keepers within the disease controls zones are immediately provided with information on the measures implemented within the zones by text, but then registered keepers in the Protection Zone receive a letter from APHA providing detailed information on the measures in place and are also then visited by APHA to ensure that their birds are healthy. All registered keepers in the Surveillance Zone are contacted by phone by APHA to make similar flock health checks.

To supplement these communication routes, an interactive map is available via gov.scot, displaying every disease control zone in GB, and this is further supported by a range of disease control communications that are issued via the Scottish Government X account () and Facebook (), along with guidance from APHA, in the form of a zone-specific social media flyer, on their social media channels and website .

In 2024, Scottish Government made it a legal requirement for all poultry and captive birds (with limited exceptions) to register the location of their birds and provide contact keeper details. Keepers are also legally required to update their information on an annual basis, and to report significant changes to their flock within one calendar month.

Question reference: S6W-42404

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what surveillance is in place to detect avian influenza in the wild bird population, and whether it plans to increase this following the recent confirmation of the presence of avian influenza at a farm in South Lanarkshire.

At an international level, APHA monitors any major, notifiable or new and emerging animal disease outbreaks worldwide on behalf of all GB administrations. We do this as an early warning to assess the risk they may pose to the UK, in particular those diseases which impact on animal health and welfare, international trade, public health or wider society. We assess the risk that diseases might come into the UK through trade in animals or animal products (legal or illegal), through movement of wildlife, or through movement of things such as insects which may carry a disease. We use these outbreak assessments to help us decide how to manage or reduce the risks.

In Scotland (and across Great Britain) the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme, administered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Defra (England), allows members of the public to report dead wild birds (via a helpline and/or online reporting tool), and for a selection of these birds (based on a triage criteria) to be tested for avian influenza.

The purpose of the scheme is to capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that might be prevalent in GB. This data then helps administrations to build up a picture of the current risks, and shapes how they then respond in policy terms. In addition to this, NatureScot have a network of reporters across Scotland who provide early intelligence on unusual mortality levels in wild bird species.

Although the reporting of suspicion of notifiable avian disease in wild birds is not mandatory, legislative changes in Scotland in 2023 made the reporting of suspicion of the virus in mammals a legal requirement. Members of the public are therefore instructed to report such cases to APHA.

The GB Poultry Survey also carries out passive surveillance on poultry premises (including gamebird premises) across Great Britain, on a ‘testing to exclude’ basis.

Underpinning all of this, the avian virology team at APHA Weybridge hosts both the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) International reference laboratory (IRL), and the UK National reference laboratory (NRL) for Avian Influenza (AI). In doing so, APHA brings technical excellence to the global diagnostic field that is supported by active research with both applied and fundamental targets. Together, the influenza team underpin the UK capability and capacity in dealing with potential incursions of influenza with an emphasis on AI virus (AIV) and its potential threat to the UK.

Question reference: S6W-42403

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place for carcass testing for avian influenza in the wild bird population throughout winter 2025-26.

In Scotland (and across Great Britain) the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme, administered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Defra (England), allows members of the public to report dead wild birds (via a helpline and/or online reporting tool) throughout the year, and for a selection of these birds (based on a triage criteria) to be tested for avian influenza.

Throughout the winter of 2025-2026 the UK National reference laboratory (NRL) for Avian Influenza will continue to test samples for highly pathogenic avian influenza and other notifiable avian diseases from this scheme (and from poultry samples collected though the GB Poultry Survey).

The purpose of the scheme is to capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that might be prevalent in GB. This data then helps administrations to build up a picture of the current risks, and shapes how they then respond in policy terms.

The scheme, in terms of the bird species collected aligns with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its published target list of wild bird species for passive surveillance of HPAI viruses. This target list of surveillance species is published to ensure that that the surveillance in wild birds conducted by European Member Countries and other European countries is carried out correctly and that the relevant species are targeted.

In addition to this, NatureScot have a network of reporters across Scotland who provide early intelligence on unusual mortality levels in wild bird species.

Question reference: S6W-42401

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, including what funding it is making available, following the recent confirmation of the presence of avian influenza at a farm in South Lanarkshire.

On suspicion and subsequent confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at the infected premises near Lanark, South Lanarkshire, the Scottish Government, in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) activated its robust contingency plans. To meet its legal obligations under the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006, restrictions were placed immediately on the suspect premises and, on confirmation of disease, a 3 kilometre Protection Zone and 10 kilometre Surveillance Zone were also put in place around the infected premises, thereby placing controls on poultry, poultry products and other movements which have the potential to spread disease.

Surveillance and disease tracings are being carried out as part of a comprehensive epidemiological and veterinary investigation, in order to further contain the outbreak by identifying the source of the infection and any possible onward spread.

The current compensation process in place in Scotland is that, when animals are culled, as part of Scottish Government’s response to controlling HPAI outbreaks on affected premises, compensation, as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981, is payable for healthy birds. The amount of compensation is established using the relevant valuation rate card (or for specialist stock by a specialist valuer). The valuation rate cards are updated by APHA five times per year (in November, January, March, June and September) to ensure rates are in line with average market values for the types of birds covered.

��˿��

Chamber and committees