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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 3470 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5O-04237

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on preparations for a ministerial visit to Orkney to view the impact of resident greylag geese on farmland and crops.

Question reference: S5W-27455

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 14 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an updated National Flood Risk Assessment in partnership with SEPA.

Question reference: S5W-27429

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has approved for the rollout of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited's Air Traffic Management Strategy.

Question reference: S5W-27430

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects Highlands and Islands Airports Limited to have (a) commenced and (b) completed the rollout of the Combined Surveillance Centre.

Question reference: S5W-27428

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of recruitment forecasts for air traffic controllers in airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, and whether it has received any information and assurances about recruitment and retention under the new Air Traffic Management Strategy.

HIAL continues to find recruitment of air traffic controllers challenging with a number of airports under complement. While HIAL are managing this situation in order to avoid, where possible, any impact on services, the lack of resilience this provides is not sustainable in the longer term. By moving to a Centralised Surveillance Centre under the Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy, HIAL will be able to improve resilience through having a larger number of controllers to call upon to cover staff absences. A recruitment campaign for a minimum of nine controllers to help staff the first phase will be underway shortly.

Question reference: S5W-27431

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected (a) annual and (b) total cost is for the infrastructure upgrades required for the Combined Surveillance Centre rollout by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

Question reference: S5W-27432

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects Highlands and Islands Airports Limited to have commenced infrastructure upgrades for the planned Combined Surveillance Centre.

Question reference: S5W-27568

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to upgrade each control tower in the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) network.

As set out in the Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy Programme Business Case, the estimated cost of deploying surveillance equipment at each airport is £19.8 million. This does not, however, include the cost of refurbishment / replacement of the existing towers, all of which are reaching the end of their economic life. It also does not include the cost of the significant increase in staff that would be required if this option had been pursued. These costs were not calculated as this option was, after careful consideration, discounted due to it failing to meet the overall requirements of the ATMS. This option would not address the staff recruitment and retention issue that HIAL is facing, in fact it would exacerbate it.

Question reference: S5W-27452

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 14 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in the research programme, Dynamic Change: Scotland’s Coastal Change Assessment, in each year since 2015.

The Centre of Expertise for Waters, which is a Scottish Government-funded research partnership, has made £462,848 available for phases 1 and 2 of the Dynamic Coast project since 2014-15. This is split by financial year as follows:

Phase 1

2014-15 - £39,269

2015-16 - £101,087

2016-17 - £123,540

Total - £263,896

Phase 2

2017-18 – £25,216

2018-19 – £89,667

2019-20 – £60,069

2020-21 - £24,000

Total - £198,952

Project partners Scottish Natural Heritage and St Andrews Links Trust have provided additional funds of £41,000 and £21,000 respectively for Dynamic Coast Phase 2.

Question reference: S5W-27189

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will consult with community groups and councils in the Northern Isles on how to support efforts to extend the tourist season and increase ferry capacity for sailings on Northern Isles ferry routes.

I recognise the importance of tourism to the economies of the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands and acknowledge efforts locally to extend the tourism season.

Transport Scotland officials, on behalf of the Scottish Government, regularly attend meetings in Orkney and Shetland in connection with the Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS). Engagement also occurs with the Caithness Transport Forum on NIFS interests.

All regular NIFS meetings and their membership are detailed on Transport Scotland’s website at the attached link:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/ferries/ferry-services/#51170

Following the recent publication of the National Transport Strategy and the National Islands Plan, initial work is underway on the successor to the Ferries Plan, which will be concluded by December 2022. Discussions regarding the scope of the Plan have taken place with the Islands Transport Forum, which includes the Leaders of Orkney and Shetland Islands Councils, which I chair. Plans for further consultation and engagement will be confirmed in due course and it is intended that these will include engagement with stakeholders representing the needs of communities and businesses in the Northern Isles.

Financial Year	Cost (£m)
2019-20	2.89
2020-21	2.23
2021-22	2.35
2022-23	0.46
Total	7.93