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-24769

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23732 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 January 2024, when the last such discussion took place between Transport Scotland and the Department for Transport, and what information it can provide on who represented the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6O-03076

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it plans to use to assess how successful the ScotRail peak fares removal pilot has been.

Question reference: S6O-03025

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on health and wellbeing of people in Scotland, what action it can take in response to reported calls for free-to-air broadcasting of Scotland's national team football matches.

Question reference: S6W-24422

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what sanctions are available to regulators to impose penalties on any companies responsible for the escape of farmed salmon.

The Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 requires Aquaculture Production Businesses to demonstrate that satisfactory measures are in place for the containment of fish, and the prevention of escape of fish. Current Scottish Government policy for demonstrating that satisfactory measures are in place are the requirements of the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture and the requirements of The Fish Farming Businesses (Record Keeping) (Scotland) Order 2008.

Adherence to the Code of Good Practice is monitored and enforced through the Scottish Government Fish Health Inspectorate’s risk-based inspection regime. Where satisfactory measures are not in place, Scottish Ministers may serve an enforcement notice. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice may result in a fine.

The Scottish Government remains committed to working with the sector to reduce the risk of escapes from fish farms, including through the revision and publication of the Technical Standard for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture, and the introduction of penalties where escape events occur with the ultimate aim of redistributing this money to support wild salmonid conservation and research.

Question reference: S6W-24419

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the system of reporting by the salmon farming industry of issues relating to fish health, including (a) sea lice numbers, (b) gill health, (c) fish mortality and (d) fish wellbeing, is compulsory or voluntary.

The Fish Farming Businesses (Reporting) (Scotland) Order 2020 places a legal requirement for aquaculture production businesses to report average sea lice numbers per fish per week to Scottish Ministers.

The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 place a legal obligation for increased mortality to be reported to Scottish Ministers or a veterinarian. This applies to unexplained mortality, and there is a voluntary agreement in place with aquaculture production businesses for any instances of mortality above specified thresholds to be reported to Scottish Ministers as part of wider aquatic animal health surveillance. This agreement is a requirement of the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture.

Gill health is a term used to describe a category of conditions which have a detrimental impact on fish gills and is not a single disease. The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 place an obligation for the presence or suspected presence of listed diseases, some of which affect gill health, to notify to Scottish Ministers.

There is no obligation to report fish wellbeing which has no specific definition. The Fish Health Inspectorate will raise any concerns regarding fish welfare with the Animal and Plant Health Agency which is responsible for investigating potential breaches in welfare law.

Question reference: S6W-24412

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps have been taken since the publication, in November 2018, of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s 9th Report, 2018 (Session 5), Salmon farming in Scotland (SP Paper 432), to address the issues raised in the Committee's report.

As reflected in the Bute House Agreement, we remain committed to a programme of work to better protect wildlife and the environment, and ensure aquaculture in Scotland is sustainable, diverse, competitive and economically viable.

We have made significant progress on the recommendations of the 2017-18 Parliamentary Inquiries into Salmon Farming in Scotland. Last year I was pleased to provide an update to the Scottish Parliament: Salmon Farming in Scotland 3 May 2023 | Scottish Parliament Website.

Subsequently, in July 2023 we published the Scottish Government’s Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture which sets out our aspirations for the development of a sector, operating within environmental limits, and which recognises the considerable social and economic benefits it delivers.

A Consenting Task Group has been working to identify, pilot and review new measures to streamline the administration of the fish farm consenting processes, progressing key recommendations of the independent review of the regulatory framework for Scottish aquaculture.

In response to the Salmon Interactions Working Group report, the Scottish Government identified that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) would become the lead regulator responsible for managing sea lice and the interactions between wild and farmed fish. SEPA has developed and consulted on a new sea lice risk assessment framework that will be implemented from 1 February 2024.

Question reference: S6W-24429

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the regulatory system for finfish aquaculture is fit for purpose.

The finfish farming sector operates under robust regulations covering environmental impact and fish health. The Scottish Government is committed to streamlining the aquaculture regulatory framework, whilst maintaining high standards, to ensure regulation is as efficient and effective as it can be. We are committed to a broad programme of work to support the sustainability of fish farming and improvements to its underpinning regulatory system, following the recommendations made in , published by Professor Russel Griggs on 10 February 2022

I provided a written update to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 3 May 2023 setting out the progress made to support the sustainability of fish farming, and its underpinning regulatory system, since the inquiry into salmon farming in Scotland. I subsequently updated the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee at their session on salmon farming on 10 May 2023.

I recognise that there is more to do. Following the independent review of the aquaculture regulatory process, I have worked with the Scottish Aquaculture Council to deliver a new Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture in Scotland, which sets out our ambitions for the sector to 2045. The Vision includes an overarching aim that aquaculture is underpinned by an effective and efficient regulatory framework informed by the best available science and evidence.

I have also established the Consenting Task Group, which has been working to identify, pilot and review new measures to streamline the administration of the fish farm consenting processes and progressing key recommendations of the review.

Question reference: S6W-24421

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many escapes of farmed salmon have occurred in each year since 2018, broken down by location, and whether it can provide the total number of individual fish that have escaped.

Question reference: S6W-24427

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Finfish Aquaculture Advisory Panel (a) last met and (b) will meet next.

Question reference: S6W-24433

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the finfish aquaculture framework will be reviewed.