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: S4W-20370

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 3 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the statement in the Committee on Climate Change report, Reducing emissions in Scotland: 2014 progress report, that achieving the current legislated targets will be “difficult”; what its position is on the report’s view that the Scottish Government's options are to “adjust targets” or find “additional opportunities to reduce emissions that go beyond current and proposed policies"; whether it remains its position that the Second Report on Proposals and Policies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet yearly targets, and whether it will bring forward further policies and proposals due to failures to meet legislated targets.

The Scottish Government notes the Committee's advice regarding the impact of revisions to the Scottish greenhouse gas inventory data for 2011 and subsequent years, and will closely examine both options identified to address the challenge this has created. We note, in respect of 2011, that the Committee stressed (p12) that:

“It is important to note that the difference between estimated emissions and the target is less than the impact of the inventory revision. It can therefore be argued that the target was missed mainly because of the inventory revision.”

The Second Report on Proposals and Policies sets out how Scotland can deliver its statutory annual targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The longer term trend shows that emissions in Scotland are reducing and we remain confident Scotland is on a trajectory to achieve the ambitious 2020 target of a 42 per cent emissions reduction. In accordance with section 36 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the Second Report on Proposals and Policies sets out how the Scottish Government plans to compensate for missing both the 2010 and 2011 emissions target.

Question reference: S4O-03100

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how the green deal supports the expansion of low carbon options in homes.

Question reference: S4W-19948

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 13 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure the integrity of fish processed and sold in Scotland.

In August 2013, I wrote to all the key organisations that support businesses in the supply and processing of fishery products, to re-iterate that their labelling practises must be clear and accurate, in order to maintain consumer confidence and to protect the reputation of the industry as a whole.

Since then, the recently published Scottish Seafood Partnership action plan includes an action to develop measures to ensure that product authenticity and traceability can be verified throughout the supply chain. This will be one of the issues discussed when the Food Standards Agency Scotland shortly meets, at my request, representatives of the sea fish industry to discuss what further measures should be taken to ensure that consumers can be confident of the authenticity of the fish that they purchase.

Question reference: S4W-19949

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 13 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what excludes fish processing companies from being eligible for state aid; on what criteria a business is categorised as eligible for state aid, and how such a categorisation can be changed.

The European Commission’s guidance on state aid stipulates that companies of any size can benefit from de minimis aid of up to 30,000 euros over a three year period.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from state aid under the block exemption. SMEs are categorised as independent companies that have fewer than 250 employees, and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euros, or an annual balance sheet not exceeding 43 million euros.

The Scottish Government is lobbying the European Commission to change the categorisation, through the current consultation on state aid.

Question reference: S4O-03039

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Fife and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S4W-19498

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what training it provides to Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities area office staff with regard to the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Question reference: S4W-19494

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much land is deemed (a) uncultivated and (b) semi-natural for the purposes of implementing the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006; whether Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities area office staff have access to maps of the land and, if so, whether it will publish the maps.

The Scottish Government holds a range of land based information, primarily gathered and used to administer support schemes, including the Single Farm Payment scheme.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 apply to all land managers, rather than just support scheme claimants. This, along with the fact that support schemes use general land definitions means that, for the purpose of implementing The Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006, the Scottish Government does not hold information, including maps, of how much land is deemed (a) uncultivated and (b) semi natural.

Question reference: S4W-19493

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for activities that require to be screened in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 have been (a) received and (b) approved by each Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities area office in each year since 2007.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture)(Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into force in Scotland on 1 January 2007, and constrain operations to carry out intensive agricultural operations on uncultivated or semi-natural land, or large scale restructuring projects on agricultural land, where the result would have a significant impact on the environment.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening decisions are taken by Rural Payments and Inspections Division Area Offices. Where activities are within the scope of the regulation, they proceed to a formal screening, which is recorded on the Scottish Government EIA register. The screening decision may require an Environmental Statement (full EIA) to be carried out.

The following tables show:

a) The number of Screening Applications received, and

b) The number of these Screening Applications which then required a full EIA to be carried out, i.e. the applicant is asked to submit an environmental statement before the operation is approved or rejected.

AFRC

Area Office

2007

2008

2009

2010

Screening applications:	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required
Ayr	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Benbecula	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Elgin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Galashiels	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Golspie	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Hamilton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Inverness	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Inverurie	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kirkwall	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lerwick	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Oban	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Portree	1	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
Stornaway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Thurso	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

AFRC

Area Office

2011

2012

2013

Screening applications:	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required	Screening applic. received	Full EIA required
Ayr	0	0	0	0	1	1
Benbecula	0	0	1	0	0	0
Dumfries	0	0	0	0	0	0
Elgin	0	0	0	0	0	0
Galashiels	0	0	0	0	0	0
Golspie	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hamilton	0	0	0	0	0	0
Inverness	5	0	0	0	0	0
Inverurie	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kirkwall	0	0	1	1	4	3
Lerwick	4	2	0	0	_	_
Oban	0	0	1	0	2	0
Perth	0	0	0	0	_	_
Portree	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stornaway	0	0	0	0	0	0
Thurso	0	0	0	0	0	0

Question reference: S4W-19497

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it makes (a) farmers and (b) land managers aware of their obligations in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and with what frequency.

The Scottish Government publishes up to date comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment guidance, including internal guidance on the assessment of projects, on the Farming and Rural Issues pages of its website. It has not been necessary to publish any updates, because there haven’t been any procedural changes since the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into force.

Question reference: S4W-19496

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are used to determine whether activities have a significant effect and require screening in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities area office staff use the following three criteria to assess whether an operation requires screening:

Whether the land in question is considered to be ‘uncultivated’ or ‘semi-natural’,

whether the operation is considered to be a project (e.g. cultivations, drainage works, land reclamation, etc) and whether the operation is to change the land use by bringing the land into use for intensive agricultural purposes