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-24256

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what pre-application consultation procedures relating to marine licensing of seaweed aquaculture will be introduced.

Prospective applicants for marine licences for certain activities are required to carry out public pre-application consultation under the Marine Licensing (Pre-Application Consultation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. The pre-application consultation process allows local communities, environmental groups and other interested parties to comment on proposed marine projects before a marine licence application is submitted. The construction of a seaweed farm, where the total area in which the farm is to be located exceeds 1000 square metres, is subject to the statutory pre-application consultation process.

The Scottish Government also encourages any prospective applicants to liaise with local stakeholders early in the project planning stages to make other marine users aware of the proposal.

Question reference: S6W-24257

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether seaweed cultivation will be included under schedule 2 of the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

Construction of a seaweed farm is not considered to be a schedule 2 project under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and as such no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or EIA screening is currently required.

There are currently no plans to revise the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to include construction of seaweed farms as a schedule 2 project.

Question reference: S6W-24255

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will require NatureScot to publish a guidance document on seaweed cultivation.

NatureScot advise on marine environmental impacts of proposed seaweed farms in relation to protected features and have best practice advice included in their responses. These responses are written on a case-by case basis.

The Scottish Government’s , published in July 2023, sets out our long-term aspirations for the finfish, shellfish and seaweed farming sectors to ensure that development happens in the right places, underpinned by an effective and efficient regulatory framework informed by the best available evidence.

The Scottish Government published the in 2017 to help facilitate the growth of the sector by setting out policy on the suitability of seaweed cultivation in different scenarios. This provides those wanting to operate in this sector with a better understanding of the type of development that may be given approval.

Question reference: S6O-02984

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-02931

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23367

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the eligibility criteria are for slurry storage grants under the new Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, which is due to open in early 2024, in light of reports that if a holding or farm has been in receipt of a grant in the past then it is ineligible.

Question reference: S6O-02918

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the small business minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding an assessment of the total number of self-catering properties in Scotland since the introduction of its short-term let licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6W-23467

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to identify an alternative to using Asulox as a method of bracken control.

A number of alternative methods of control are available to aid bracken management depending on the intended outcome of a control strategy and the challenges that could be encountered.

The Scottish Government will continue to support stakeholders by working with NatureScot to progress priorities that were identified at the stakeholder roundtable in August. These include delivery of best practice guidance, to be in place for June 2024, and development of a bracken framework which will help land managers consider where bracken control is needed, how it could be undertaken and the intensity of any control.

The Scottish Government takes the use of chemicals very seriously. Pesticide products are only authorised where data demonstrates that the proposed use will not have unacceptable effects on human health or the environment.

Question reference: S6W-23368

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to Peatland ACTION projects, for what reason the prior information notice (PIN) process is used rather than the contract notice and contract award notice process.

The Prior Information Notice (PIN) process is used to give advance notice of projects to the sector and then this is followed by the contract notice and contract award notice process. Publishing a PIN is not a mandatory requirement, but it can alert the market that there is an opportunity coming up within the next 12 months, allowing bidders to research and start to prepare your bid. It can also make it possible for the procurement officer to reduce the timescales needed to complete the procurement exercise.

Question reference: S6W-23370

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much Peatland ACTION spent within Dumfries and Galloway in the current financial year, expressed both in monetary terms and as a percentage of overall spend.