- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what allowance it makes for misidentification of species when deciding the number of grey and common seals that may be shot under licence under section 110(1)(f) and (g) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39483 on 4 March 2011. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the impact of new fish farm developments on local seal populations is assessed during the screening process for new site designations and, if so, what reasons have been given by operators of new fish farms for applying for seal licences.
Answer
The possible general impact of any proposed new fish farm development on local seal populations is currently one of a range of environmental issues that should be considered by developers and public authorities when considering relevant plans and development proposals including, where required, via strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and habitats regulations appraisals.
The need for new fish farms to prevent serious damage to their site or stock and to protect the health and welfare of farmed fish against seal predation and the potential impact of this on local seal populations is considered separately by Marine Scotland as part of the process of consideration of any application for a seal licence under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences to kill common seals in the Orkney and North Coast Seal Management Area under section 110(1)(f) and (g) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 have been granted for the (a) Orkney and North Coast Seal Conservation Area and (b) the rest of the Orkney and North Coast Seal Management Area, and for how many seals in each.
Answer
In the Orkney and North Coast Seal Management Area a total of two licences for three common seals have been granted under section 110 (1)(f) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 for the area within the Orkney Seal Conservation Area and a further six licences for six common seals under section 110 (1)(g) have been granted for the rest of this seal management area, which lies outwith the seal conservation area.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences to kill common seals in the East Coast Seal Management Area under section 110(1)(f) and (g) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 have been granted for the (a) Firth of Tay Seal Conservation Area and (b) the rest of the East Coast Seal Management Area and for how many seals in each.
Answer
No licences to kill common seals have been granted in the East Coast Seal Management Area or in the Firth of Tay Seal Conservation Area.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to reduce the numbers of seals killed in Scottish waters.
Answer
The Scottish Government has already achieved the most significant advance in seal protection in 40 years through the introduction of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. This has made it an offence to kill any seal at any time unless under licence or to alleviate suffering.
The number of seals permitted to be killed under licence is significantly less than any of the estimated figures previously offered by NGO''s.
The Scottish Government will continue to consider how to reduce numbers of seals killed in Scottish waters.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences to kill common seals in the Moray Firth Seal Management Area under section 110(1)(f) and (g) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 have been granted for the (a) Moray Firth Seal Conservation Area and (b) the rest of the Moray Firth Seal Management Area and for how many seals in each.
Answer
All licences issued for common seals in the Moray Firth Seal Management Area also lie within the Moray Firth Seal Conservation Area. The number of licences and the number of seals granted can be found in Tables 1 and 2 of the frequently asked questions paper at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/marine/licensing/seallicensing.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 4 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide funding for Bookbug, the Scottish Book Trust’s Early Years Programme, in 2011-12.
Answer
The Scottish Government greatly values the Scottish Booktrust''s bookgifting programmes for children. We are currently looking at future funding and intend to notify the organisation very shortly of our decision.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 19 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from Scottish Natural Heritage regarding the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill since its introduction and whether it will publish any such written representations
Answer
There are regular and frequent exchanges between Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage, as statutory adviser on natural heritage, on all aspects of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill. We are not planning to publish these exchanges.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 13 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new affordable homes it could build with £2.3 billion.
Answer
The Scottish Government''s Affordable Housing Investment Programme funds housing for rent and low cost home ownership. Based on the grant requirements from our 2009-10 programme, it is estimated that around 35,000 new homes could be built with £2.3 billion.
- Asked by: Robin Harper, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 December 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether increased mileage incurred by the public due to the planned closure of passport offices in Scotland, including in Aberdeen and Dundee, will be counted against the climate change target of (a) Scotland or (b) England and Wales.
Answer
The Scottish Government is disappointed with the UK Government''s plans to close passport interview offices, as this will result in some people needing to travel further to use this service.
Scotland''s emissions targets will be measured against the net Scottish emissions account, which is based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory for the UK, disaggregated by devolved administration. This includes emissions from transport allocated to Scotland. The UK-level estimate for transport emissions is based on sales of fuel. Road transport emissions are disaggregated to devolved administration-level using data on vehicle-kilometres travelled in each country by different vehicle types on different types of road.
Any changes in the use of transport for any reason would be captured in the data sources used to estimate and disaggregate emissions. Hence, they would be included in the emissions estimates at UK level, and allocated to the relevant administration in the disaggregated estimates. Changes in emissions from transport in Scotland would be counted against the Scottish target, as well as the UK target. There is no climate change target for England and Wales combined, and no target for England on its own.
