- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce which projects are included in the pipeline for rail enhancements beginning in Control Period 6.
Answer
An announcement on which projects will form the first part of the Control Period 6 portfolio will be made by the end of March 2019. In line with our published Rail Enhancements & Capital Investment Strategy, Transport Scotland continues to work closely with Network Rail and the Scottish Rail industry to determine the portfolio.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the expected demand will be for the incineration of waste following the ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill in 2021.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2018
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response to the legal opinion that has been published by the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, which disputes some of the conclusions of the Scottish Natural Heritage-commissioned report, Analyses of the fates of satellite tracked golden eagles in Scotland, and, in light of this, whether it plans to review the report's conclusion that the disappearances of some satellite-tracked golden eagles and other birds of prey were "suspicious".
Answer
The Scottish Government is satisfied that the Scottish Natural Heritage report, “Analyses of the fates of satellite tracked golden eagles in Scotland”, was produced and peer-reviewed in line with accepted scientific standards. The Scottish Government has no plans to review any aspects of the report.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the sites of the sudden disappearances of satellite-tagged golden eagles and other birds of prey, which were identified in Scottish Natural Heritage-commissioned report, Analyses of the fates of satellite tracked golden eagles in Scotland, as being "suspicious" are not included in the raptor persecution maps and figures that have been published by Partnership Against Wildlife Crime Scotland, and what plans it has to include these in future.
Answer
The Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime Scotland (PAW Scotland) raptor crime hotspot maps and accompanying figures relate to incidents confirmed as crimes by Police Scotland. Unexplained disappearances of satellite-tagged golden eagles do not meet the Police Scotland criteria for classification as a crime unless there is sufficient additional evidence.
There are no plans to change the basis of the PAW Scotland maps or accompanying figures, which adopt a consistent approach to help inform analysis of multi-year trends.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 2 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it taking to support Playing Out initiatives for children.
Answer
The Scottish Government wants more children to be playing more often in outdoor places including green space, parks and streets. We support initiatives that encourage children and parents/carers to find clean, safe and welcoming spaces to play.
On 22 October 2018 the Scottish Government and Inspiring Scotland launched The Scottish Position Statement for Outdoor Play. The statement is from a coalition of over 50 organisations underlining our commitment to outdoor play and learning. We believe a child’s access to outdoor play-based learning gives them the best possible start in life and we believe through collaboration between the public, private, third and academic sectors, we can identify and deliver real, practical solutions and directly impact positively on this generation and generations to come.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 October 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it will contribute to the UK Government's Voluntary National Review on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answer
Scottish Government is engaging with stakeholders in Scotland and with the Department for International Development (DfID) to ensure Scotland’s approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reflected in the Voluntary National Review process. Scottish Government and DfID officials attended a workshop held by SDG Network Scotland on 16 October as part of this engagement.
The National Performance Framework (NPF) is Scotland’s key mechanism to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The NPF and the Global Goals share the same spirit of ambition to encourage the transformational change necessary to tackle the most challenging issues facing our societies and planet. The SDGs have been embedded into the NPF by mapping the goals to the outcomes and aligning the indicators where appropriate and possible. The NPF reflects the partnership principle underpinning the 2030 agenda.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 October 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with the Network of Institutions for Future Generations.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the Network of Institutions for Future Generations, and its Chair Sophie Howe – in her capacity as the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales – gave a keynote speech at the international conference launching Scotland’s revised National Performance Framework on 11 June 2018.
The Scottish Government welcomes input from the Network and other international collaborations as we continue to deliver progress toward the vision set out in Scotland’s National Performance Framework and its embedded UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 October 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the results of the annual production survey of fish farms for 2017.
Answer
The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey was published on 15 October 2018.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) process considers the social, cultural, environmental and economic impact of options.
Answer
The appraisal of transport options in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) includes the appraisal of the impacts of the options against five pre-determined Criteria: Accessibility and Social Inclusion; Economy; Environment; Integration; and Safety. There are a number of sub-criteria associated with the five Criteria. Taking each of the elements raised in turn:
- Social impacts of options are considered against the sub-criteria associated with the Accessibility and Social Inclusion and Integration which include: community and comparative accessibility; transport integration; transport and land use integration; policy integration; accidents and security.
- Cultural impacts of options are considered against a range of STAG sub-criteria, in particular: community and comparative accessibility; policy integration; and cultural heritage.
- Environmental impacts of options are considered against ten Environment sub-criteria: noise and vibration; global air quality – carbon dioxide (CO2); local air quality - particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2); water quality, drainage and flood defence; geological features; biodiversity and habitats; visual amenity; agriculture and soils; cultural heritage; and landscape.
- Economic impacts of options are considered against two Economy sub-criteria: Transport Economic Efficiency – the economic impacts on transport users captured by standard cost benefit analysis; and the Wider Economic Impacts.
Guidance should be applied proportionately. This means that the scope and level of detail in the approach to the appraisal of options will vary depending on the nature and scale of the options and the impacts of these options in a particular study area. For example, options would not be appraised against particular STAG sub-criteria where there would be no impacts. Detailed guidance on the methodology for appraising options is contained in the STAG Technical Database accessible via Transport Scotland’s website: https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/industry-guidance/scottish-transport-analysis-guide-scot-tag/#
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what revenues it has received from motor vehicle speeding fines as a consequence of the Scotland Act 1998 (Designation of Receipts) Order 2009.
Answer
The Scottish Government retained no motor vehicle speeding fines as a consequence of the Scotland Act 1998 (Designation of Receipts) Order 2009 as such fines were remitted to HM Treasury. The Scottish Government has retained motor vehicle speeding fines since 1 April 2017 as a consequence of the Scotland Act 1998 (Designation of Receipts) (Amendment) Order 2017.
Motor vehicle speeding fines are collected by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. This income is paid over to the Scottish Consolidated Fund as part of overall income from fines, forfeitures and fixed penalties. The data provided to the Scottish Government does not separately set out income from speeding fines.
The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who has operational responsibility for fines collection and you will receive a reply in writing within 20 working days.
