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-21400

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it means by “efficiencies” when it refers to Tier 3 payments, as stated in the consultation on the proposed Agriculture Bill.

Question reference: S6W-21169

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many deer there are in Scotland.

The review of deer management by the independent Deer Working Group (DWG) found that deer populations in Scotland have grown significantly since 1990, when the population estimate was approximately 512,000 wild deer. The DWG estimated the current deer population to be in excess of one million animals through analysis of data published by NatureScot in recent years. We have no reason to doubt the credibility of this estimate.

Question reference: S6O-02580

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether equivalent measures in Scotland are needed to those introduced in England and Wales by the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, in light of reports of a recent spate of thefts in the Scottish Borders.

Question reference: S6W-21250

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the payments structure under the Agriculture Bill will be clear regarding (a) the conditionality attached to each proposed tier of support and (b) how funding would be delivered to each tier.

Question reference: S6W-20921

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what grounds the Energy Consents Unit would reject an application to build a battery storage site.

Question reference: S6W-20931

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of any benefits of gene editing for the Scottish agriculture and horticultural sectors in terms of increasing the resilience of crops to diseases and pests, and improving yields and reliability.

Question reference: S6W-20935

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to award compensation to people who undertook Asulox treatments legally before the emergency authorisation was refused in June 2023.

Scottish Ministers agreed to HSE refusing the 2023 emergency authorisation application for the use of the herbicide Asulox, to control bracken, because of the risks it poses to the environment and human health.

There is no reason to suggest compensation for previous users would be necessary. Asulox has been withdrawn in the UK for over 15 years. For the last 10 years it has been approved annually as part of an emergency authorisation, for limited and controlled use each season. HSE consider each application on a case-by-case basis against the legislative requirements, and this year considered that it did not meet the regulatory requirements for authorisation. There is no obligation to grant an emergency authorisation and it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide all relevant information to justify the need for emergency use.

Support for bracken control through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) has continued for 2023. Contracts for chemical and mechanical bracken control were issued from the 2022 round of AECS which commenced in 2023. Where contract holders had intended to undertake chemical control, we have offered flexibility to allow mechanical or manual activity.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that Asulox has played in recent years in the control of bracken in Scotland. We recently held a bracken roundtable to work with stakeholders to identify priority actions to allow for the safe control of bracken, where land managers deem it necessary.

Question reference: S6W-20930

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of any benefits of gene editing for the Scottish agriculture and horticultural sectors in terms of improving the sector's efficiency and profitability.

Question reference: S6W-21032

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to hold more public workshops on its proposed Agriculture Bill in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-21033

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total level of attendance was at the online events for its proposed Agriculture Bill that were held on 29 September, 27 October and 9, 15 and 16 November 2022.