Chamber and committees

Deer management is currently carried out across land holdings of varying size from 10Ha to over 10,000Ha. The extent of the deer management and any required collaboration is more dependent on the species and land type rather than any minimum size. For ‘territorial’ species such as roe deer the scale of management will often be at the individual farm unit; whereas for open hill red deer, that range across multiple large properties, the management scale expands to Deer Management Groups that cover many thousands of hectares.

The Code of Practice on Deer Management prescribes to everybody who owns or manages wild deer on someone else’s land (irrespective of the size of that land holding), how they should deliver sustainable deer management. A review of compliance with the Deer Code published 2019 concluded that where it was relevant to them, a majority of owner-occupiers, across varying land holdings, had undertaken actions to meet each of the themes outlined in the Deer Code. NatureScot, in their role as Scotland’s deer authority, work with a range of partners, including the Association of Deer Management Groups, local deer management groups and individual land managers to develop effective planning and deliver deer management across Scotland.

Safety and security on our railways is reserved to UK Government and as such it would be inappropriate for Scottish Ministers comment on enforcement measures. Your office may wish to contact British Transport Police BTP (D-Division Scotland) directly, who can advise on the information you are requesting.

The Scottish Government recognises the huge pressures the cost of living crisis is placing on households, particularly on those who rent their home. That is why we have committed to protecting tenants by freezing rents and imposing a moratorium on evictions – at least until 31 March. Our intention is also to take action to prevent immediate rent increases.

We are working at pace to agree expedited processes to deliver any legislation necessary to achieve this with the Scottish Parliament and the UK Government, to ensure these crucial changes are brought about as soon as possible. We will engage with stakeholders and others, as we develop the emergency Bill.

We are taking urgent action to protect tenants in Scotland, well ahead of rest of UK. Our PfG announcements for emergency legislation, is part of our ambitious reform programme for the New Deal for Tenants.

The amendment put forward by Labour back in June was not workable and would have been at much higher risk of legal challenge. We have taken the time needed to ensure that the legislation we bring forward to freeze rents and introduce a moratorium on eviction is legally robust and will ensure tenants are protected.

Our emergency legislation must, by definition, be temporary. But given the huge uncertainty as to what the next 6 months holds, we intend to review very carefully whether and how any measures might be extended; and how what we do now paves the way for longer term reform – which we have already committed to.

A Housing Bill in the year ahead will give new and strengthened rights to tenants, improve affordability, and deliver key policies relating to short term lets and the prevention of homelessness.

Meanwhile, in Wales, the one part of the UK where Labour could actually act as the Scottish Government is acting, we see very little sign of the ambition we have outlined this week or indeed of the ambition to reform renting as we have in Scotland over the last 10 years.

In our 2021-22 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government pledged to take forward work to develop and consult on a ban on the sale of peat-related gardening products as part of our wider commitment to phase out the use of peat in horticulture. We are working with industry to understand exactly where transitional issues lie so that we can remove peat from horticulture. We will soon launch our consultation, which will inform ambitious timescales for phasing out the use of peat in horticulture.

The administration of the non-domestic rates system, including the award of reliefs, is a matter for local authorities. In the Non-domestic rates income - provisional contributable amount returns, provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government at the start of 2022-23, no local authority indicated that they expect to award rates reliefs under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 in 2022-23.

The Scottish wildcat and its breeding places are fully protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 .

All management activity on Scotland’s National Forests and Land is independently certified to international standards of best practice and all Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) forest operations adhere to the principles of sustainable forest management outlined in the United Kingdom Forestry Standard. All FLS work is planned and delivered according to these policies with significant consideration given to all protected species including Scottish wildcats.

At a site level, all operations are carried out in accordance with existing legislation and best practice. FLS directs particular care and attention to avoid deliberate and reckless actions that could impact negatively on wildcats. All work sites are subject to pre-operational surveys by FLS Environment staff and camera traps are routinely deployed for periods of two weeks or more. Where evidence of cats is found, mitigation is enacted. This includes rescheduling of works, such as harvesting, to avoid the wildcat breeding season as specified in FCS Guidance Note 35d: Forest operations and wildcats in Scotland.

Furthermore, FLS frequently seeks advice on mitigation from wildcat experts in NatureScot and Saving Wildcats, and has recently funded research on wildcat biology to inform forest management.

Decisions on non-domestic rates, including the poundage and any reliefs, are generally considered in the context of the Scottish Budget in line with other government priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10619 on‎ 26 September 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10619 on‎ 26 September 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09901 on‎ 15 August 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

There is an existing Ferries Plan in place until December 2022.