Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-02555

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the next set of export statistics will be published.

Question reference: S6W-20882

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the Tayside Elective Care Centre at Perth Royal Infirmary will be officially opened.

Question reference: S6T-01495

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of short-term let operators have applied to be licensed in advance of the deadline for applications under the licensing scheme of 1 October.

Question reference: S6W-19864

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many deer it estimates are currently covered by deer management work by its agencies, and what the estimated cost to the public purse is in the current financial year.

Deer management covers a range of work, including culling deer and other damage mitigation actions such as deer fencing which can have an effect on deer movement and impacts.

The estimated cost to public agencies for all deer management actions in 2022-23, including culling, provision of fencing, deer larders and other equipment was £8,838,400. The total number of deer culled by public agencies in 2022-23 was recorded as 38,242.

Question reference: S6W-19863

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much deer management is currently done (a) by its agencies and (b) privately.

Deer management covers a range of work, including culling deer and other damage mitigation actions such as deer fencing which can have an effect on deer movement and impacts.

We do not hold figures for the overall breakdown of deer management actions undertaken in Scotland. However, the annual cull data collected by NatureScot, plus estimates of unreported private sector deer culls, suggests that culling estimates that in 2020-21 approximately 20% of deer culled in 2021 were culled by Scottish Government agencies and 80% by private land managers and non-governmental organisations.

Question reference: S6W-19330

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the estimated last date will be that rural residents in Perth and Kinross can expect to have superfast broadband installed.

The Reaching 100% (R100) programme is ensuring that all homes and businesses can access superfast broadband. This is being delivered through three strands of activity – the £600 million R100 contracts (North, Central and South), our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and commercial coverage.

Both the R100 North and Central contracts will deliver connections across Perth and Kinross - with final connections due to be delivered through the contracts by March 2028. The R100 contracts are now solely delivering full fibre, gigabit capable connectivity, over 30 times faster than our superfast commitment.

For those properties beyond the reach of the R100 contracts or commercial coverage plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – offering vouchers worth up to £5,000 – remains available to help secure a superfast broadband connection.

However, as the R100 SBVS is a demand-led scheme, it is not possible to provide dates by which people might be connected.

Likewise, for properties within the plans of commercial broadband suppliers, we do not hold data on when those connections will be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-19331

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the estimated last date will be that rural residents in Fife can expect to have superfast broadband installed.

The Reaching 100% (R100) programme is ensuring that all homes and businesses can access superfast broadband. This commitment is being delivered through three strands of activity – the £600 million R100 contracts (North, Central and South), our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) and commercial coverage.

The R100 Central contract, which includes Fife, is currently expected to complete build by the end of March 2024. The contract has so far delivered 407 Fibre To The Cabinet connections in Fife, with all remaining connections expected to be full fibre, capable of delivering gigabit download speeds.

For those properties beyond the reach of the R100 contracts or commercial coverage plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – offering vouchers worth up to £5,000 – remains available to help secure a superfast broadband connection.

However, as the R100 SBVS is a demand-led scheme, it is not possible to provide dates by which people might be connected.

Likewise, for properties within the plans of commercial broadband suppliers, we do not hold data on when those connections will be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-19328

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects that the R100 superfast broadband programme will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-19329

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has been a delay in the R100 programme from the original target date of 2021.

The R100 superfast broadband commitment was delivered by ensuring that everyone could access a superfast broadband connection, if they chose to, by the end of 2021 either through the R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme or commercial coverage.

The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is a demand-led scheme, meaning it is ultimately up to tenants and owners as to whether or not they seek to secure a connection through this route.

In August 2022, a £36 million contract extension to the R100 North and South contracts was announced, which will extend the reach of those contracts to a further 2,637 rural and island premises. Whilst this extends the contract completion dates for these contracts it means that more premises in rural and island communities will be able to access full fibre, gigabit capable, broadband services.

Question reference: S6W-18611

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on the Flexible Workforce Development Fund in the last academic year, including in relation to any projects designed to support apprenticeships.

The most up-to-date data on Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) spend for Academic Year 22-23, as provided by the Scottish Funding Council to the end of March 2023 and Skills Development Scotland to early June 2023, (rounded to nearest thousand):

In discussion / Agreement in Principle

Contractually Agreed

(Committed)

Training in Progress / Completed

(Spend)

£1,323,000

£6,993,000

£2,301,000

The avove figures are provisional. Accurate data on spend can only be provided when delivery has been completed at the end of December 2023.

The Flexible Workforce Development Fund does not support the delivery of apprenticeships but provides employers with flexible training opportunities for their existing workforce. Apprentices can, however, undertake training through the FWDF in addition to their apprenticeship.

Chamber and committees