- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its 2024-25
Programme for Government to "consult on modernisation of the compulsory
purchase system to help deliver a wide range of projects in the public
interest", whether this consultation will include compulsory sale orders and
compulsory rental orders in its scope.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2024
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the delivery of superfast broadband in rural areas, particularly in any places where mobile phone signal, data connectivity and broadband speed are extremely limited.
Answer
Despite the reserved nature of telecommunications in the UK, the Scottish Government has chosen to step in and make substantial investments in both broadband and mobile digital connectivity across Scotland.
The over-£600 million investment in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme is building upon our strong track record of delivery, with Scottish Government led programmes delivering improved broadband to over one million properties so far.
Through a rolling Open Market Review, the Scottish Government continuously monitors broadband coverage across Scotland. This process enables the identification of premises that are eligible for future publicly subsided interventions, including those to be delivered through the UK Government’s Project Gigabit broadband investment, for which the Scottish Government will act as contracting authority for local and regional procurements.
We also recognise how vital access to mobile connectivity is, especially in rural areas. We have recently published an evaluation of our £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill Programme, which has delivered 4G connectivity to 55 ‘notspots’ across rural and island Scotland, highlighting the transformational benefits that this new coverage is delivering to businesses and communities alike.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use Tier 2 of the new agricultural support framework to support farmers and crofters to deliver on objectives around nature and climate improvement.
Answer
Tier 2 will deliver Enhanced support payment which is designed to be a universally accessible payment that supplements Base.
Funding will also be made available through Tier 2 for a replacement for Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS), where people are farming and crofting in the most marginal and challenging of circumstances. We are working with stakeholders on how best to deliver this type of support under the new Framework.
Enhanced has the clear purpose of incentivising and supporting agricultural businesses to undertake best practices and/or actions that actively improve nature and climate outcomes that are consistent with the transition towards sustainable and regenerative farming. Many of these practices and actions will improve business efficiency and productivity.
Enhanced will use levers to reward behaviours, practices and measures aligned to this aim, which are broad enough to allow all type of agricultural businesses to take part while delivering against the overarching objectives of the Vision.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many private landlords on the Scottish Landlord
Register have been found, over the past 10 years, to have not complied with
their legal responsibilities to (a) provide an Energy Performance Certificate
to the tenant and in any advertisement to rent the property, (b) issue a copy
of the latest gas safety check to tenants within 28 days of the check being
completed and (c) provide a copy of the electrical inspection condition report
to the tenant, where legally required.
Answer
The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Landlord Registration is administered and enforced by each local authority for their own geographical area. Any records of non-compliance by a landlord are kept by the relevant local authority.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 16 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Nature Restoration Fund's impact on tackling the nature and climate emergencies.
Answer
The Scottish Government has appointed an analyst to carry out an evaluation of the first three years of the Nature Restoration Fund. Work on this exercise began in August 2024, and the findings will be published in due course.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 16 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the Nature Restoration Fund's record so far, including the (a) total amount of funding awarded, (b) number of projects funded, broken down by (i) terrestrial and (ii) marine, (c) number of beneficiary organisations and (d) number of jobs created or posts funded by the Fund.
Answer
(a) To date, just over £51 Million has been awarded through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). This includes just over £32 Million awarded through the NRF competitive strand, just over £1.3 Million through NRF-funded Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) projects, and £18 Million provided directly to local authorities and National Parks, via the NRF Edinburgh Process strand, as of the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
(b) 220 projects have been offered competitive funding to date. This includes 192 projects through the NRF competitive strand and 28 NRF-funded SMEEF projects. (i) 162 were terrestrial or freshwater projects (ii) 30 were coastal and marine projects (plus the 28 NRF-funded SMEEF projects).
Additionally, local authorities and National Parks have supported further projects directly through their allocation from the NRF Edinburgh Process strand.
(c) 119 separate applicants have been offered funding from the NRF competitive strand or NRF-funded SMEEF projects. That does not include the 32 local authorities and 2 National Parks who have also benefitted from direct NRF funding, and will in turn have used their allocation to support projects led by other organisations (e.g. community groups, local charities).
(d) We do not hold information on the number of jobs created or posts funded by the NRF.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to deliver on its commitment to make half of all funding for farming and crofting targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaptation.
Answer
The Agricultural Route Map states that from 2025 the support framework will be aimed at delivering against the following five outcomes with at least half of all funding targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaption:
- High Quality Food Production - the primary food production sector is a productive sector of the economy and ensures we meet more of our own food needs more sustainably
- Thriving Agricultural Businesses - profitable and resilient agricultural businesses support local livelihoods, supply chains and the wider rural economy
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation - greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector are reduced in line with the CCP, and the ability to adapt to climate change is increased
- Nature Restoration - there will be substantial regeneration in, and maintenance of, biodiversity, ecosystem, and soil health on agricultural land
- Support for a Just Transition
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the IT system for agricultural payments, whether it remains committed to the approach set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map, including the proposed list of measures for inclusion in Tier 2.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to the approach set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map. The proposed measures was not a final list but examples were published to highlight the broad types of actions that may be required in the future to access support. Future measures will be introduced over time where they best fit within the Future Support Framework.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified any practical limitations caused by the current IT system for distributing farming and crofting payments that will impact on the approach taken to agricultural support framework Tiers 2, 3 and 4.
Answer
The current paying agency is performing well, making payments more quickly and stably than before. The existing system was built to deliver against the CAP and while we work to reform the support system we must also prioritise existing payment delivery to ensure no cliff edges. Regular maintenance of the system is required to protect the integrity and stability of existing payments and the Scottish Government must allocate sufficient budget to ensure continuation of that stability. However, these systems, whilst vital for maintain ongoing payments, are not designed to deliver the four tier support framework required for the Agricultural reform programme. Therefore, we are currently working on what capabilities and requirements will be needed in the future.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered (a) temporarily and (b) permanently redesignating mid-market rent properties as properties for social rent, in light of the declared housing emergency and reports that more than 240,000 people were on social housing waiting lists in 2023.
Answer
While we have no such plans given the important role that homes for mid-market rent play in the wider housing system, we will continue to work across the Scottish Government and with local and UK Government to respond to the housing emergency and to deliver on our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 – of which at least 70% will be for social rent.
As set out in Programme for Government 2024-25 we are making a new long-term commitment of £100 million, to grow with institutional investment to at least £500 million, supporting the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes by making public funds go further.
