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-21496

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 12 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what technical measures have been put in place to prevent incorrect letters from being issued again to participants in the Beef Efficiency Scheme.

Question reference: S5W-21495

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the reason was for incorrect warning letters being issued to farmers taking part in the Beef Efficiency Scheme.

The incorrect letters were generated due to an administrative error. This resulted in a misinterpretation of the report that had been provided by ScotEID.

Once officials determined the error, a further letter was posted to all recipients of the original letter, explaining the error and apologising for the inconvenience caused. To ensure complete and early coverage, an identical email response was also issued to all customers that had contacted the mailbox.

Officials will work closely with ScotEID to ensure that the content of the reports is being interpreted correctly. We are also in constructive talks with ScotEID to review and simplify the weights reports so that they only show data relevant to the current scheme year. This combined with robust management checks should prevent a repeat of this unfortunate incident.

Question reference: S5W-21497

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the decline in total farm income from £729 million in 2017 to £672 million in 2018.

There is no doubt that the adverse weather conditions in 2018 had a significant effect on the industry which impacted on the Total Income from Farming (TIFF) figures. This is in part why increased feed costs (up £72 million) were a key factor on TIFF. The Scottish Government acted by establishing the Agricultural Weather Advisory Panel to address short term issues and build longer term resilience in the industry, along with a range of actions including support for fallen stock, funding for the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution, provision of additional advice and support for the industry campaign to encourage farmers and crofters to plan ahead and explore opportunities for co-operation and collaboration.

Some sectors did see growth with income from barley crops up £58 million, due to price increases and the milk sector saw a rise of £29 million, due to increased production.

However, subsidies accounted for 82 per cent of TIFF in 2018, illustrating the industry’s continued dependence on support payments. That is why the Scottish Government has already published its intentions, in the ‘Stability and Simplicity’ document, to continue support with minimal change in a five year transition period once the UK leaves the EU. This also demonstrates that it is crucial for the UK Government to guarantee future funding for the agriculture sector, including a fair allocation following the intra-UK review, and the repatriation of the outstanding £160m convergence monies.

Question reference: S5W-21498

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it can take to support the sectors in the recently released Total Farm Income (TFI) figures where the decline in income is greatest.

The Scottish Government has laid out a five year strategy that will provide certainty and security for businesses, land managers and producers in our rural communities. In the short term measures to help cash flow through Basic Payment Scheme loans starting last October and loans for the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme due to start in April. Additionally, in the last twelve months, we have provided over £100 million of support for food production in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has already put a range of measures in place for those sectors experiencing income challenges. This includes a new strategy for the Scottish pig industry which was launched at the Royal Highland Show in June 2018; funding under the Food Processing Marketing and Co-operation Grant Scheme for which the latest awards were announced earlier this month; and, ongoing work with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to promote efficiencies in potato production, which will be particularly important for seed potatoes should we face an EU exit without a deal.

At this time the biggest threat that faces the Scottish farming and to our successful food and drink sector is Brexit and especially the prospect of a no deal scenario. The Scottish Government is calling on the UK Government to rule out the prospect of a no deal Brexit and extend the Article 50 process. However, should a no deal Brexit happen it is vital that the UK Government guarantees that farmers and crofters will be compensated in the event of a no deal. Failure to do so, would increase the risk of businesses going under, significantly reduce net profitability across livestock and crops sectors, and lead to widespread land abandonment across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-21725

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 February 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 February 2019

Please see the following summary of Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) payment amounts for each year requested.

Year	LFASS Payments total (£)
(a)2014	65,196,182.98
(b)2015	64,459,059.97
(c)2016	49,580,401.38
(d)2017	76,122,791.28

LFASS claims are normally paid the year following the claim, e.g. any 2014 claims will be paid from April 2015 onwards, therefore most of the 2014 claims would have actually been paid in the 2015 calendar year.

The fact that the LFASS payment total for the 2016 calendar year is slightly lower than other years relates to the slower processing of 2015 claims following the introduction of the new Rural Payments & Services IT system.

These delays resulted in a significant proportion of 2015 LFASS claims actually being paid in the 2017 calendar year instead of the intended 2016 calendar year.

Any negative impact as a result of this delay was minimised with the introduction of the National LFASS loans initiative, which began in March 2016.

Question reference: S5O-02914

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether its target to build 50,000 new affordable homes will be met.

Question reference: S5W-21333

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help farmers work collaboratively to establish recycling collection points for the pick-up of plastic waste.

In 2016, following the announcement of full enforcement of the ban on the burning of plastic farm waste, a working group was established to plan the transition towards a position where the ban could be enforced. The group had representatives from the National Farmers Union Scotland, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Zero Waste Scotland, Scottish Government and the waste plastics collectors/processors sector. The transition to full enforcement has therefore been carefully considered.

In most areas of the country there are recycling collection services available, and the network has expanded since the ban was announced.

SEPA has provided clear guidance to farmers to help them decide how best to dispose of their plastic waste (see https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/agricultural-waste/burning-on-farm-waste/ ) and there are also local SEPA offices that can provide more direct assistance.

Advice and a list of plastic waste service providers is also available on the Zero Waste Scotland website. (see https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resource-management/farm-plastic-recycling).

Question reference: S5W-21332

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it is giving to farmers regarding how best to store plastic waste.

SEPA has provided clear guidance to farmers to help them decide how best to store and dispose of their plastic waste (see https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/agricultural-waste/burning-on-farm-waste/#rural ) and there are also local SEPA offices that can provide more direct assistance.

Advice and a list of plastic waste service providers is also available on the Zero Waste Scotland website. (see https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resource-management/farm-plastic-recycling).

Question reference: S5W-21334

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to inform farmers regarding separating different types of plastic waste to help maximise reusing and recycling opportunities.

Question reference: S5O-02835

Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support tourism, including business tourism, between Ireland and Scotland.