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-30403

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation within the Scottish Land Commission's report, Land Reform and Taxation: Advice to Scottish Ministers, to (a) establish "a programme to bring all land onto the valuation roll" and (b) commit to "the development and use of a consistent and comprehensive cadastral approach which would enable the integration of information on land ownership, use and value, building on the current work of Registers of Scotland".

Question reference: S6W-30300

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether a local authority that introduces a workplace parking levy under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 could set different levels of licence charge for workers (a) with incomes below a certain level, (b) who work particular hours, for example early or late shifts, and (c) with an electric vehicle.

Question reference: S6W-30299

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether a local authority that introduces a workplace parking levy under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 could set local exemptions for workers (a) with incomes below a certain level, (b) who work particular hours, for example early or late shifts, and (c) with an electric vehicle.

Question reference: S6W-30058

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the announced £1 million of savings from its Nature Restoration budget will have on any projects in the Mid Scotland and Fife region funded by the Edinburgh Process strand of the Nature Restoration Fund.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29617 on 17 September 2024. 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.

In the period 2021-22 to 2023-24, individual Local Authorities across the Mid Scotland and Fife region have received around £2.89 million from the Nature Restoration Fund Edinburgh Process strand, to support a range of nature restoration projects. The competitive strand of the NRF, which is unaffected by this funding announcement, continues to support projects across Scotland, including in the Mid Scotland and Fife Region. Further details can be found at https://www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/nature-restoration-fund/nature-restoration-fund-supported-projects.

Question reference: S6W-30061

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a list of any Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 (CAFS2) actions that may be impacted by the announced £0.1 million reduction in its Air quality public engagement strategy budget line.

Work is underway to deliver the 84 actions in the Scottish Government’s Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 Strategy which runs until 2026, with 65 actions delivered to date. Updates on delivery will be reported in the next annual progress report due to be published in 2025.

Consideration is underway on the impact of the £0.1 million reduction in the Air Quality budget which formed part of a recent savings exercise.

Question reference: S6W-29893

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging NHS boards to provide plant-based meal options for patients.

Question reference: S6W-28026

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has over mineral mining activity in Scotland, in light of written answer HL3093 in the House of Lords on 20 March 2024, in which the Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade states that “mineral planning policy is also a devolved matter”.

The Scottish Government is responsible for overseeing Scotland’s statutory planning system which manages the development and use of land in the long-term public interest. Applications for planning permission for the extraction of minerals in Scotland must be made to the relevant local planning authority and Scottish Ministers only rarely intervene. Our Fourth National Planning Framework, published and adopted by Scottish Ministers in 2023 guides spatial development, sets out national planning policies, designates national developments and highlights regional spatial priorities. It is part of the development plan, and so influences planning decisions across Scotland.

Where any mineral extraction takes place, relevant environmental authorisation requirements will apply ensuring continuing environmental protection.

Question reference: S6W-28027

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact on communities in Scotland of the (a) UK Critical Mineral Strategy and (b) findings of the report, Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK by the British Geographical Survey (BGS) for the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).

Access to Critical Raw Materials and Technologies is a vitally important issue for our economy, energy security and Net Zero ambitions.

Where areas of potential prospectivity are identified, this does not mean that critical minerals are guaranteed to be found and there are a range of factors which will influence whether or not extraction will take place. This includes the requirement that where new development proposals come forward, applications for planning permission must be made to the relevant local planning authority. Policy 33 of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out that development proposals for the sustainable extraction of minerals will only be supported by that policy where certain criteria are met, this includes demonstrating that there are no significant adverse impacts (including cumulative impact) on any nearby homes and local communities. NPF4 should be read as a whole, alongside local development plans, in applying balanced planning judgement in planning decisions.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any assessment of impacts on communities from these reports at this stage.

Question reference: S6O-03811

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the recent Oxfam Scotland report, Cleared for Take-off: A Private Jet Tax for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-29293

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent deer culling figures broken down by (a) public bodies and (b) private landowners.