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-24256

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what pre-application consultation procedures relating to marine licensing of seaweed aquaculture will be introduced.

Prospective applicants for marine licences for certain activities are required to carry out public pre-application consultation under the Marine Licensing (Pre-Application Consultation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. The pre-application consultation process allows local communities, environmental groups and other interested parties to comment on proposed marine projects before a marine licence application is submitted. The construction of a seaweed farm, where the total area in which the farm is to be located exceeds 1000 square metres, is subject to the statutory pre-application consultation process.

The Scottish Government also encourages any prospective applicants to liaise with local stakeholders early in the project planning stages to make other marine users aware of the proposal.

Question reference: S6W-24257

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether seaweed cultivation will be included under schedule 2 of the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

Construction of a seaweed farm is not considered to be a schedule 2 project under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and as such no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or EIA screening is currently required.

There are currently no plans to revise the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to include construction of seaweed farms as a schedule 2 project.

Question reference: S6W-24253

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what role local authorities will have in relation to the regulation of seaweed aquaculture in their area.

Local authorities are a non-statutory consultee to the marine licence application determination process. This allows the local authority to make representations on any marine licence application for a proposed seaweed farm.

The exception is in the case of Marine Planning Partnerships, who are statutory consultees to marine licence applications. A Local Authority may form the whole, or part of a Marine Planning Partnership as per section 12(2) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Sole delegates are possible, and Orkney Islands Council is the sole delegate for regional marine planning in the Scottish marine region for the Orkney Islands. Local authorities are not therefore statutory consultees but may be consulted in their remit as part of a marine planning partnership (where applicable).

Question reference: S6W-24252

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities will be statutory consultees in relation to the licensing of seaweed aquaculture in their areas.

Seaweed aquaculture is subject to the requirements of Scotland’s National Marine Plan and is a licensable marine activity under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. A marine licence is therefore required for construction of a seaweed farm. The Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate determines marine licence applications on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

Statutory consultees for the marine licensing process are defined in the Marine Licensing (Consultees) (Scotland) Order 2011, and include the Northern Lighthouse Board, Maritime Coastguard Agency, NatureScot, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, where applicable, the relevant Regional Marine Planning Partnership. A Local Authority may form the whole, or part of a Marine Planning Partnership as per section 12(2) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Sole delegates are possible, and Orkney Islands Council is the sole delegate for regional marine planning in the Scottish marine region for the Orkney Islands. Local authorities are not therefore statutory consultees, but it is standard process to consult the relevant local authority during the marine licence application determination process and they may be consulted in their remit as part of a marine planning partnership (where applicable).

Question reference: S6W-24251

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what public funding is currently available to support community-scale participation in the seaweed cultivation industry, and what additional funding might become available during this early development phase of the industry.

In 2022-23 the Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) provided £370,000 to support processing and innovation in the seaweed industry. The MFS for 2023-24 is focused on supporting projects that deliver outcomes relating to Scotland's Blue Economy Vision , published in 2022. The funding supports eligible individuals, businesses, organisations and communities to deliver projects contributing to an innovative and sustainable marine economy, reducing carbon emissions and supporting coastal communities. The outcome of the second round of applications to support the aquaculture industry, including the seaweed sector, will be announced shortly.

The MFS will re-open in due course to new applications for 2024/25.

Additionally, to ensure that the seaweed sector in Scotland develops sustainably, the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland are jointly funding a 3-year business development manager position at the Scottish Seaweed Industry Association to represent the industry across various fora and identify opportunities for growth.

Question reference: S6O-02984

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-02931

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23367

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the eligibility criteria are for slurry storage grants under the new Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, which is due to open in early 2024, in light of reports that if a holding or farm has been in receipt of a grant in the past then it is ineligible.

Question reference: S6O-02918

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the small business minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding an assessment of the total number of self-catering properties in Scotland since the introduction of its short-term let licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6W-23467

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to identify an alternative to using Asulox as a method of bracken control.

A number of alternative methods of control are available to aid bracken management depending on the intended outcome of a control strategy and the challenges that could be encountered.

The Scottish Government will continue to support stakeholders by working with NatureScot to progress priorities that were identified at the stakeholder roundtable in August. These include delivery of best practice guidance, to be in place for June 2024, and development of a bracken framework which will help land managers consider where bracken control is needed, how it could be undertaken and the intensity of any control.

The Scottish Government takes the use of chemicals very seriously. Pesticide products are only authorised where data demonstrates that the proposed use will not have unacceptable effects on human health or the environment.