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: S4T-01304

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of single farm payment applications in the Highlands and Islands and in the rest of Scotland has been paid as of the end of January.

Question reference: S4O-05285

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action that it is taking to take forward the proposals of the Commission on Local Tax Reform.

Question reference: S4O-04791

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what criteria it uses when selecting or accepting artwork for display.

Question reference: S4W-27847

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) farmers and (b) crofters will be required to provide regular soil samples in order to receive common agricultural policy payments under the new area-based support regime.

There will be no requirement for farmers or crofters to provide soil samples in order to receive common agricultural policy (CAP) payments. We are awaiting commission approval to implement CAP ‘greening’ requirements though a national certification scheme from 2016. We have proposed to the commission that this will include a requirement for farmers to indicate how much fertiliser and lime they intend to apply on permanent grassland fields (excluding those fields which also contain arable land and also excluding Nitrate Vulnerable Zones areas). Through guidance, we will encourage farmers to use a soil pH test to inform these decisions, but there will be no requirement to do so in order to receive CAP payments.

Question reference: S4W-27849

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether aerial photography is used to determine the payment region to which agricultural land is allocated and, if so, what information it holds regarding the age of the aerial photographs used, if not, what methodology is used.

The payment region to which land is allocated was determined by its current vegetative cover and its Less Favoured Area Support Scheme grazing category. The principal sources of evidence used for vegetative cover were the crop code used to claim Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS) on the Single Application Form 2014 and Land Cover of Scotland 1988 (LCS88) data. Land parcels with either 40% or more SFPS eligible arable crops and rotational grass (excluding permanent grass) or 50% or more permanent grass and LCS88 smooth grassland were provisionally assessed as Payment Region 1. In cases where farmers or crofters were not satisfied with the provisional allocation of their land to payment regions, they were given an opportunity to provide additional evidence as to its current vegetative cover. This could, but need not necessarily, include aerial photography data, the age of which could vary from case to case. This methodology was discussed and agreed with industry stakeholders. In total Rural Payments and Inspections Division assessed over 400,000 land parcels covering some 26,000 holdings.

Question reference: S4W-27850

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether maps produced by the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute have been used to allocate land in Shetland to payment regions and, if so, when they were produced.

The Scottish Government used objective criteria which took account of a land parcel’s Land Cover of Scotland 1988 (LCS88) data, Less Favoured Area Support Scheme grazing category, and the crop code used to claim Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS) on the Single Application Form (SAF) 2014. The 1988 LCS88 data came from the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. Land parcels with either 40% or more SFPS eligible arable crops and rotational grass (excluding permanent grass) or 50% or more permanent grass and LCS88 smooth grassland were provisionally assessed as Payment Region 1. This methodology was discussed and agreed with industry stakeholders. In total Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) assessed over 400,000 land parcels covering some 26,000 holdings.

Question reference: S4W-27852

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence that crofting land that has been apportioned and improved has not since reverted is required for the purpose of allocating it to a payment region.

If crofters were not satisfied with the payment region provisionally allocated to their land they could submit a request for a review. In seeking a review, they need to provide evidence of the status of the land in relation to the objective criteria (see replies to questions S4W-27849 and S4W-27850 on 20 October 2015) to justify any alternative allocation. This would include a detailed map with measurements of the relative areas of rough grazing and better quality permanent grazing, along with photographs to correlate with map measurements, and any additional evidence that may be available to them such as their own aerial photography. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-27854

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the name of the claimant and the area of land for which an environmental assessment was submitted for each basic payment claimant who is a legal rather than a natural person and who submitted such an assessment by 31 August 2015.

I refer the member to the answer to S4W-27853 on 20 October 2015, the Scottish Government cannot provide any information of this sort until the validation and processing of all claims has been completed. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-27853

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many basic payment claimants submitted an environmental assessment for all or part of their land by 31 August 2015, and what the total area of land was for which such assessments were submitted, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S4W-27851

Asked by: Jean Urquhart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers soil samples an effective means of demonstrating whether land has been maintained in good agricultural condition.

The framework provided by the European Commission under which Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) has to be defined does not include the nutrient status of soils. Accordingly there is no requirement to carry out soil samples as a test of GAEC. However the Scottish Government still encourages crofters and farmers to use soil testing to inform their own decisions on the application of lime and fertilisers.