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 MSPs 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-29739

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what area, in hectares, is currently covered by a year-round prohibition on the use of mobile or active gear to (a) dredge for scallops and (b) trawl for nephrops norvegicus under any measure other than the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2004.

As of April 2024: 309,761 hectares were closed to both scallop dredging and bottom trawling within the 6 nautical miles limit adjacent to Scotland.

15,660,261 hectares were closed to both scallop dredging and bottom trawling within the UK Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to Scotland.

28,962,015 hectares were closed to both scallop dredging and bottom trawling within the UK Continental Shelf adjacent to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-29705

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support those who are unable to meet the March 2026 spend deadline for the Rural Housing Fund.

Question reference: S6W-29704

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support as many people as possible to apply for the Rural Housing Fund.

A three year package of financial support of almost £1 million has been co-funded by the Scottish Government and Nationwide Foundation, to Communities Housing Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing, to enable them to support organisations with applications to the fund.

Officials in More Homes Division are also working closely with applicants to assist as many fully developed, consented projects to gain a formal approval for delivery of affordable rural and island homes through the fund.

Scottish Government guidance makes clear the expectation that projects supported by the local authority brought forward under the fund should be included in future Strategic Housing Investment Plans.

The Scottish Government’s Rural Delivery Plan, which is set to be published by the end of this parliamentary term, will set out how all parts of the Scottish Government will deliver for Scotland’s rural and island communities. It will cover a range of priority areas, including housing, transport and economic development.

Question reference: S6O-03678

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support communities to bring derelict buildings back into use as houses.

Question reference: S6O-03633

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to make the process of reporting sexual crimes easier on survivors of these crimes.

Question reference: S6W-27991

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any modernisation of the energy consenting regime, as it relates to the UK Electricity Act 1989, to make pre-application community engagement mandatory.

The Scottish Government agreed with the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner that changes are required to modernise Scotland’s consenting regime under the UK Electricity Act 1989 to accelerate determinations and put pre-application community engagement on a statutory footing. This would improve public engagement and confidence in the consenting process, drive better applications and reduce delays to applications caused by insufficient information.

Prior to the General Election announcement, Scottish Government and UK Government officials had been discussing the scope of a potential review of Scotland’s consenting regime, in line with the commitment made in the UK Government’s Transmission Acceleration Action Plan. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy recently wrote to the UK Government to urge that this wider work continues at pace and we will re-engage with an incoming UK Government as a matter of priority.

Question reference: S6O-03593

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of how the Small Producers Pilot Fund has supported micro businesses in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03570

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it envisages that the recommendations of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review will benefit the people of the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-27687

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the Scottish National Investment Bank's £50 million investment in the Ardersier Port will benefit (a) the local area, (b) industry and (c) its climate ambitions.The Scottish National Investment Bank has invested £50 million in Ardersier Port alongside a similar £50 million investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank. This investment follows a £300 million capital commitment from Quantum Capital - the largest private sector port investment for offshore wind to date. The project aligns with the Bank’s net zero mission.

As a result, Ardersier Port is expected to become of strategic importance in supporting the growing offshore wind industry over the coming years. Once operational, the facility will significantly increase the offshore wind port capacity, to support the transition to net zero in Scotland and the UK. As one of the largest industrial regeneration projects in the Highlands in decades, it will re-establish the port as a major local employer, supporting and creating hundreds of jobs. At full capacity it is estimated that the site has potential to enable around 3,000 jobs and reskilling opportunities for the local area.

The global transition to net zero offers enormous economic opportunities for Scotland. Offshore wind is at the heart of both our energy and economic policy. We have made a commitment to invest up to £500 million over 5 years to anchor our offshore wind supply-chain in Scotland. This will support market certainty, helping to create a highly productive, competitive economy, providing thousands of new jobs, embedding innovation and boosting skills. Investments like Ardersier show the Scottish public sector can play a key role in building market confidence and anchoring core parts of the global offshore wind sector in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03519

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what engagement it has carried out with businesses regarding Scotland's constitutional future.