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-02700

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the creation of new national parks.

The Scottish Government believe that our National Parks bring many positive benefits to our environment and our economy, which is why our Programme for Government 2021-22 commits to the creation of at least one new National Park by the end of this Parliament, provided relevant legal conditions can be met.

The process for selecting and establishing new National Park is set out in the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000. That legislation rightly includes a thorough consultation process and Ministers will provide an update on the timings for that in due course.

Question reference: S6O-00196

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position regarding short-term lets licensing.

Question reference: S6W-02645

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some local authorities do not have the capacity to consider planning applications for windfarms within the legal timescales.

In 2021-22 the Scottish Government allocated £11.7 billion to authorities and it is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Some planning applications will have longer decision times due to their scale and complexity. Planning decision timescales have also inevitably been affected by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020-21, despite these impacts, authorities determined 149 planning applications for electricity generation developments.

The performance of the system is not the sole responsibility of planning authorities and everyone involved in planning must play their part in ensuring that the system functions effectively and efficiently.

The resourcing and performance of the planning system remain key priorities. That is why in 2019 we published a consultation which proposed making changes to the planning fee regime to increase the financial resources available to authorities. That work was paused during the pandemic but has recently been recommenced and we will work with the High Level Group on Planning Performance to take it forward.

Question reference: S6W-02643

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind turbines, and of what generating capacity, will be required to meet its net zero targets.

We expect the journey to net zero to require major contributions from a range of renewable sources, which will include onshore and offshore wind turbines, but also other generation technologies such as solar, hydro and marine renewables. Our work to refresh the Energy Strategy over the coming year will consider the various pathways to net zero, and what that might mean in terms of renewable energy generation as a whole. In the meantime, we have announced an ambition to deliver up to 11GW of installed offshore wind by 2030, and will consult later this year on an ambition to see between 8-12GW of onshore wind developed in the same time frame

Question reference: S6W-02642

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a moratorium on windfarm development, pending the changes to the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a moratorium on windfarm development.

As set out in our position statement last year, we need to rebalance our planning system so that climate change is a guiding principle for all plans and decisions. We expect National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will strengthen support for renewable energy developments, including the re-powering and extension of existing wind farms, as part of a spatial strategy to support a transition to net zero and economic recovery.

We will lay a draft NPF4 in Parliament this autumn and will carry out extensive public consultation at the same time.

Question reference: S6W-02641

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned on the effects of windfarm development on tourism.

In line with our economic strategy, our aim for the Scottish tourism sector is to enable sustainable and inclusive growth. Whilst there has been no recent research into the effects of windfarm development on tourism in Scotland, VisitScotland research does however indicate that visitors are seeking to be more responsible, both in terms of their personal and environmental impact. VisitScotland's Trends 2020 Paper identified that travellers are now seeking to consciously off-set the carbon impact of their travel. The use of sustainable energy by local businesses may therefore appeal to this type of traveller and promote Scotland as an environmentally friendly and climate conscious country to visit.

Question reference: S6O-00105

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support rural health services following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-00759

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farm applications it has approved through the applicant appeal process in the last 24 months, broken down by local authority area.

The number of wind farm applications approved through the appeal process in the last 24 months, by local authority area, are set out in the following table:

Planning Authority	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Dismissed
Aberdeenshire Council	1	0
Argyll and Bute Council	1	1
Dumfries and Galloway Council	2	2
Highland Council	1	1
Scottish Borders Council	0	3
South Ayrshire Council	1	1
South Lanarkshire Council	0	1
Total	6	9

Decisions are made in line with the development plan for the area and national policies. Each case is considered on its own merits.

Question reference: S6W-00761

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farm applications it has (a) approved, or (b) refused in the last 24 months, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Planning Authority	Applications Allowed	Applications Refused
Argyll and Bute council	3	2
Dumfries and Galloway Council	5	2
East Ayrshire Council	3	0
Highland Council	7	2
Moray Council	2	0
Scottish Borders Council	3	2
South Lanarkshire Council	4	2
South Ayrshire Council	1	0
Scottish Borders Council/East Lothian Council*	2	0
Total	30	10

* Application sites covered both council areas

Question reference: S6W-00760

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farm applications it has determined in the last 24 months due to a local authority's non-determination, broken down by local authority area.

The number of wind farm applications determined in the last 24 months due to a local authority's non-determination, broken down by local authority area, are set out in the following table:

Planning Authority	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Dismissed
Dumfries and Galloway Council	2	1
South Ayrshire Council	1	0
Total	3	1

Decisions are made in line with the development plan for the area and national policies. Each case is considered on its own merits.