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: S5W-11175

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether Scottish salmon exports will be subject to World Trade Organization rules and tariffs after the UK leaves the EU.

Question reference: S5O-01314

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5O-01275

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for a feasibility study into developing carbon capture and storage at St Fergus.

Question reference: S5W-10703

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 4 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of its recent discussions with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regarding carbon capture storage, and what implications this will have for establishing a carbon capture storage facility at Peterhead.

We remain extremely disappointed by the UK Government’s withdrawal of funding for the CCS Commercialisation programme in 2015 in which the Peterhead CCS project was the front runner.

However, new CCS opportunities are emerging. We are supportive of a new Scottish CCS initiative, the Acorn Project, which has secured 1.9M under an EU science funding stream to Accelerate CCS Technologies (ACT) to take forward the feasibility phase of a CCS demonstrator project at St. Fergus.

The UK Government are developing their new policy on CCS and SG officials are in regular contact with UK counterparts to press for a robust policy framework on CCS which supports a deliverable programme for this important technology. I have also written recently to the Secretary of State, Greg Clark MP, to seek a discussion of opportunities to work together to suppose the development of CCS projects, given the importance of the technology to deliver a sustainable energy supply for both Scotland and the UK.

Question reference: S5O-01219

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the provision by local authorities of parking sites that are suitable for Gypsy/Travellers.

Question reference: S5W-09929

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 June 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) to help monitor compliance with the landing obligation.

As one of Europe’s leading fishing nations, we have every reason to stop the wasteful practice of fish being dumped if it can be landed instead. Whilst we continue to work with other Member States to find the right solutions to “choke species” which may occur under the landing obligation, we have also insisted to our EU partners that there must be a level playing field which ensures effective monitoring and control of the discard ban.

For large scale, directed pelagic fisheries, control experts from Scotland and elsewhere in the EU have advised that monitoring can best be achieved with the use of cameras and sensors, more commonly referred to as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM). The Scottish Government agrees with this recommendation and we would be content to see cameras installed where appropriate on all relevant vessels fishing in EU waters.

For some sections of the demersal fleet a similar approach may apply, although this should be contingent on solutions to “choke species” being in place.

Question reference: S5W-09379

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 2 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the percentage of seafood processing employees in each Scotland region who are from (a) the UK, (b) a European Economic Area (EEA) country and (c) non-EEA countries, and how this compares to the UK as a whole.

A survey on employment in the UK seafood processing sector was undertaken in March 2017 by Seafish on behalf of the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations. Region breakdowns on nationality for Scotland showed:

Region	UK Nationals	EEA Nationals	Non-EEA Nationals
Grampian	30%	70%	0%
Highlands and Islands	60%	40%	0%
Other Scotland	57%	43%	0%

Average figures for across the UK as a whole found show: 57% UK, 42% EEA and 1% non-EEA. Grampian’s employment rate for EEA nationals in seafood processing was much higher than any other region in the UK. The nearest region with high non-UK workers was ‘South, Midlands and Wales’, which had 52% EEA workers and 5% non-EEA workers.

This survey was a snap shot only and did not measure seasonal variability. Any agency staff were also excluded from these figures as their nationality was not known.

Question reference: S5O-01045

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to protect inshore fisheries against unlicensed commercial fishing.

Question reference: S5W-07939

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has had from the UK Government regarding the exercise of powers by the Scottish Parliament over justice, agriculture and fisheries following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The UK Government has not provided any assurances over the exercise of powers by the Scottish Parliament following the UK’s exit from the EU. The UK Government has said that “no decisions currently taken by the devolved administrations will be removed from them". However, the UK Government has made no commitment that it will not seek to legislate in areas where the Scottish Parliament currently has legislative competence and implements EU law, nor that it would seek legislative consent if it proposes to do so. In his letter to Michael Russell of 29 March, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU said that "the starting point for the discussions on any new common UK frameworks should be to seek consensus". This would include the consent of the Scottish Parliament where required. The Scottish Government will be holding the UK Government to this commitment.

Question reference: S5O-01005

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what infrastructure investment it has made in the north east since 2007, and what future investment it has planned to make the area better connected.