Chamber and committees

A recent study “Environmental correlates of breeding abundance and population change of Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata in Britain”, published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in 2017, looked in detail at the factors affecting the decline in curlew populations. This report identifies that degradation of habitat is a key driver of population decline, alongside impacts from afforestation of upland areas and intensive agriculture. The report also identified that generalist predators have an effect, with curlew numbers lower in areas with greater crow abundance and with a higher likelihood of fox occurrence. A decline in curlew populations is also greater in warmer, drier areas, potentially through impacts on curlew’s invertebrate food. These trends in curlew populations are summarised in “Official Statistic for Terrestrial Breeding Birds”, published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in November 2016.

The Scottish Government’s Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) under the Scottish Rural Development Programme is the principal mechanism for delivering beneficial environmental management for a wide range of species including curlew.

There is a suite of management options that land managers can select as part of their whole farm application, including:

• Wader and Wildlife Mown Grassland: to benefit waders such as lapwing and curlew by extensively managing hay and silage fields which will reduce the risk of damage to birds, their eggs and fledglings from field operations. Leaving an area uncut will also provide cover for the birds.

• Wader Grazed Grassland: to benefit ground nesting birds, particularly waders such as lapwing, redshank, snipe and curlew, by excluding or reducing the number of livestock in fields where birds are nesting to reduce the risk of damage to their eggs and fledglings from trampling or field operations.

• Creation of Wader Scrapes: to benefit wading birds, such as lapwing, snipe, curlew and redshank, by providing suitable wet areas within grassland to provide insect-rich feeding areas. Scrapes are shallow depressions with gently sloping edges, which will hold water during spring and early summer when waders are nesting and rearing chicks.

Many other AECS options should also benefit curlews, as they relate to grazing management and habitat creation and restoration and can include fencing to benefit particular areas of the holding requiring particular management.

Site protection, alongside habitat restoration and reducing the negative impacts of predators, are potential ways to reverse the decline in the curlew population. SNH is a partner in the Working for Waders project which is collating details on current work to help waders, including curlews, towards the development of national action. This will be achieved through practical actions, as well as research, data gathering and promotion of best practice management. An interactive map is currently being developed to show the geographical coverage of these local actions. The Working for Waders project will coordinate existing actions and stimulate new projects and activities by a number of stakeholders across Scotland.

The Third Special Protection Area Network Review listed curlew as having insufficient network coverage in relation to numbers, range and ecological requirements (breeding) and numbers and ecological requirements (non-breeding).

SNH has commissioned BTO to analyse data from the latest Bird Atlas to identify any areas that have a particularly high concentration of breeding curlew. Once this and other information has been assessed, SNH will provide advice to the Scottish Government on potential actions.

On a wider scale, the UK is party to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), under which a Single Species Action Plan has been developed to help conserve the curlew across its range. SNH is working with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to identify regional actions that may contribute to this Plan.

The Scottish Government have been clear in their support of the tourism sector throughout Scotland, and recognise that the tourism and hospitality sectors are key to the Scottish economy.

We have been consistent in our stance that given the potential impact on tourism enterprises already subject to - for example, high rates of VAT -we have no plans to introduce a tourism levy at this time.

The Scottish Government carried out a range of analysis and engagement ahead of the introduction of the UK Government's Apprenticeship Levy. A consultation on the response to that introduction took place in the summer of 2016. In addition Ministers and Scottish Government officials were involved in around 100 specific stakeholder engagement events. Some of the organisations included are listed in the following table. Skills Development Scotland is engaging with over 230 large employers on an on-going basis through their dedicated relationship managers.

Skills Development Scotland routinely collects and publishes data on the number of Modern Apprentices in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is mindful of the increased demands on ferry services given the affordability of travel following the full roll out of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) in the Western Isles.

The reduction of fares to RET levels has had a positive impact on island communities, boosting local tourist trade and local economies. We want to see this continue, however we are aware that there have been some challenges for those wishing to travel to and from remote and island communities.

Along with operators, we will continue to monitor Scotland’s ferry services and frequently review service provision to and from the islands, including all options in regard to demand management measures.

Dr Allan’s comments were made in his capacity as constituency MSP.

Dr Allan has written to me asking what consideration the Scottish Government might give to a scheme for an additional levy on ferry fares to enable a fund that would allow communities to direct investment for the provision of facilities for motorhomes and other parts of the tourist industry.

The Scottish Government has made a substantial investment in the Stornoway-Ullapool route, including the £42 million MV Loch Seaforth and the majority of the funding for the recent harbour upgrades at Ullapool and Stornoway. This is in addition to continuing to fund significantly reduced fares through the RET scheme since 2008.

The Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan keeps forecasted demand under review on an annual basis and helps develop long-term investment plans to meet this demand. The most recent Plan, published in December 2016, identified the Stornoway-Ullapool and Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy routes as ones where demand pressures were growing and committed to a comprehensive appraisal of future options, which will commence later this year.

As autonomous institutions, the salary levels of Principals and Vice-Chancellors are a matter for each university's governing body and remuneration committee. However, the Scottish Government is clear that we expect universities to exercise restraint in setting senior pay. The Scottish Government's position is that senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university staff. Institutions must ensure the highest standards of transparency in setting pay awards. We welcome further work that the higher education sector is progressing to increase transparency and accountability in remuneration committee decision-making.

All higher education institutions in Scotland publish the details of senior remuneration on an annual basis. Every institution reports on the number of staff paid in the higher salary brackets.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government will consider whether to respond to UK Government and EU position papers on an individual basis following consideration of their content.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.