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: S6W-06733

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) applicants, (b) places and (c) successful course completions there were for all gamekeeping courses in Scotland in each year between 2007 and 2021.

Scottish Government doesn’t have information on the number of applicants to game keeping courses, and we cannot provide a full picture for each year between 2007 and 2021.

Information on enrolments and qualifiers at Scottish University is collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Enrolments and Qualifiers on Game Keeper Management courses at Scottish Universities, by JACS classification:

	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
Enrolments	15	15	15	20	25	15	10	10	5
Qualifiers	10	15	10	15	10	10	10	10	5

Source: HESA Student Data

Where JACS code is D442 = Game Keeper Management

Enrolments and Qualifiers on Game Keeper Management courses at Scottish Universities, by HECOS classification

	2019-20	2020-21
Enrolments	15	15
Qualifiers	5	0

Source: HESA Student Data

Where HECOS code is 100979 = Game Keeper Management

Data relating to colleges is collected by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and enrolments to game keeping courses are as follows

Enrolments at Scottish Colleges on Game Keeping Courses, by level of study

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
Further Education	45	50	40	60	55	40	40
Higher Education	10	10	0	5	10	0	0

Source: SFC FES data

All figures above are based on the full person equivalent, and have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Question reference: S6W-06738

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what animal welfare assessment it has undertaken regarding any stalking of pregnant hinds by Forestry and Land Scotland contractors.

Forestry and Land Scotland continually carries out various assessments in regards to all of its deer culling activities. Any issues noted in regards to any deer’s health or welfare are recorded in their Wildlife Management System. Culling of pregnant hinds carried out professionally and following industry best practice, as operated by Forestry and Land Scotland, has no welfare issues associated with it.

The vast majority of deer on Scotland's national forests and land are in excellent condition and are managed sustainably in line with their land management objectives

Question reference: S6W-06732

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses public value for money of woodland and moorland schemes in terms of achieving (a) biodiversity, (b) climate change and (c) rural employment targets.

All Forestry Grant Scheme applications are assessed according to the criteria set out in the guidance available at Scoring criteria and clearing process (ruralpayments.org)

This includes value for money and compliance with the UK Forestry Standard, the governments’ approach to sustainable forestry, which recognises that forests have environmental, economic and social objectives and sets out how these can be achieved.

Question reference: S6O-00869

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service court backlog figures.

Question reference: S6W-06735

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported decline in wader populations, and how many it estimates have been lost in each year since 2007.

The Scottish Government’s Agri-Environment Climate Scheme fund includes options to help support waders and has so far committed £38.8m that will directly benefit waders since the scheme opened in 2015.

Working for Waders is a partnership project involving a wide range of land management and conservation organisations and groups across Scotland. The project provides financial support through small grants directly to farmers and other land managers for activities which support waders. NatureScot have provided £392,000 to the project in direct support of wader work in Scotland over the last four years, with contributions in kind from project partners including expertise and support to deliver outcomes.

It is not possible to provide year-on-year declines in the numbers of waders in Scotland as data on breeding birds in not gathered in a way that can provide this information. However the table below provides trend figures taken from the latest Breeding Bird Survey, published by the British Trust for Ornithology, for the main 5 species of wader that breed on Scottish farmland over five and ten years. Further details on that data, and the full Breeding Bird Survey, is available at: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/birdtrends/2020

% changes	Scotland
	Trends for five years 2013 – 2018	Trends for ten years 2008 - 2018
Oystercatcher	-10	-19
Lapwing	10	-39
Curlew	-7	-20
Snipe	6	-21
Redshank	No Scottish trend

Question reference: S6W-06720

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of (a) water abstraction in the upper courses of Scotland's rivers and (b) the effect that this has on salmon populations.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for regulating water abstractions in Scotland’s rivers under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. On behalf of the Scottish Government, SEPA monitors and assesses water abstractions and fish populations in the upper courses of Scotland's rivers against a set of environmental standards as part of River Basin Management Planning.

These environmental standards classify the status of rivers (including upper courses) to define the environmental conditions required to support healthy populations of flora and fauna, including salmon. Water flows and levels are currently classified by SEPA at good or better condition in 90% of Scotland’s water environment.

Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans 2021 - 2027 were published at the end of 2021 and include objectives for SEPA to review abstractions where the water environment is not in good condition. In particular, the flow requirements of each life stage of the salmon are considered by SEPA during any licence determination to ensure that these fish are protected. The Plans aim for an uplift in the condition of flows and levels in Scotland’s water environment to 96% by 2027.

The Scottish Government also published the Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy on 14 January, which sets out the vision, objectives and priority themes to ensure the protection and recovery of Scottish Atlantic wild salmon populations including actions to address flows and levels in rivers and water scarcity in drought conditions.

Question reference: S6W-06736

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has consulted local deer management groups on being part of Forestry and Land Scotland’s deer management plans.

Question reference: S6W-06728

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much deer fencing has been installed by Forestry and Land Scotland on new plantations in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-06756

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, under its plans for council tax rebates based on energy efficiency, whether farmers will be given separate consideration for ratings of private dwellings, such as farmhouses or cottages, which are included in the energy rating of the total farm business.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce new council tax rebates based on energy efficiency ratings for properties. Individual local authorities are required by section 80A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to establish their own energy efficiency council tax discount schemes. Advice and support on improving home energy efficiency is available through Home Energy Scotland, administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-06731

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage (a) farmers and (b) landowners to plant more mixed woodland through government-funded schemes.

Scottish Government, and its agency Scottish Forestry (SF), has established a Trees on Farms sub group in support of its Customer Representatives Group, with the aim of working collaboratively across the farming / landowner and forestry sector to develop improved understanding and awareness of the benefits of planting more woodlands on farms and to promote opportunities for more mixed woodland through enhanced grant rates.