Chamber and committees

The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) places a statutory duty on responders to cooperate and share information.

There are several technical layers of fallback capabilities in place for communication during circumstances that challenge the usual methods of communication. However, work continues to review current arrangements and ensure they are resilient to a wide range of risks. The existing resilient telecommunications plan for Scotland is currently under review, led by Police Scotland.

The unprecedented changes by the UK Government reneging on their net zero commitments, including the rolling back of policies already announced and accounted for, have repercussions on our ability to produce a draft Climate Change Plan that is just and fair by the end of November. I am meeting with the UK Government again on 15 November to urge them to reconsider their position, and to stop putting party politics ahead of planetary health.

This, tied with the uncertain economic outlook for the UK as a whole and the constraints of devolution placed upon us, make this challenging task ever more difficult.

The Scottish Government are continuing to develop climate policies and are fully committed to bringing forward a draft of the next Climate Change Plan, covering the period 2025 to 2040, which is fair and just for everyone. It is regrettably not possible to do this by our own November deadline, but will progress in line with statutory deadlines.

The prohibition on pavement parking was brought in with the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. To support this, a suite of secondary legislation is required to bring this legislation into force. Final enforcement and accounts Regulations were laid in Parliament on 2 October and are due to come into force on 11 December 2023, subject to Parliamentary approval. These Regulations give local authorities the power to enforce the restrictions on pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs by issuing Penalty Charge Notices of £100 (reducing to £50 if paid within 14 days).

The Scottish Government has no locus to intervene in this matter. The Scottish Information Commissioner is entirely independent of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency is also a distinct Scottish public authority from the Scottish Government, in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

We have not commissioned any reviews into the effects of second-hand cannabis smoke, so we have no outcomes to report. We are aware of studies which have been conducted in North America including What are the effects of secondhand exposure to marijuana smoke? | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (nih.gov)

The Scottish Government is supportive of the view, set out in the Broadcast 2040+ Campaign, that audiences should continue to have access to the high-quality broadcast TV and radio services they rely on. In response to a letter from members of the Campaign, I wrote to arrange a meeting to hear more about the valuable work of the Campaign and will meet with them on 6 December. When that meeting takes place, I will ensure that the positive health and wellbeing impacts of access to broadcast television and radio are discussed.

The Scottish Government is aware of the health and wellbeing impacts of access to broadcast services on particular demographics from our assessment of research conducted by Ofcom, such as their annual Media Nations reports, and through our engagement with stakeholders, including audiences in Scotland.

Their Media Nations 2023 report showed that almost a third of Scottish households only used television services delivered via aerial. [1] Research conducted by Ipsos Mori for Arqiva shows that these services are of particular importance to older people, people living in rural areas, and households from lower socio-economic backgrounds. [2] Due to Scotland’s demographics in terms of an ageing population, and numbers living in rural or island locations, this issue is therefore especially important in Scotland.

Ofcom’s report also shows the continued importance of broadcast services to Scottish audiences, who watch the most broadcast TV of all the UK nations. The report also notes that nearly nine in ten people in Scotland listen to the radio weekly, for an average of almost 19 hours.

[1] Media Nations: Scotland 2023 (ofcom.org.uk)

[2] The Future of Broadcast TV & Radio (arqiva.com)

The Scottish Government has not had any conversations to date with the UK Government in relation to the future of broadcasting beyond 2034. Although decisions on broadcasting are reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government retains a strong interest, and we believe that broadcasting policy should be devolved to Scotland to ensure that proportionate decisions can be taken which recognise the requirements of viewers and listeners in Scotland. We continue to make clear, in our engagement with the UK Government and Ofcom, the importance of audiences across Scotland having continued access to the high-quality broadcast TV and radio services they rely on, and we would welcome any conversations with the UK Government to support this aim. We will also continue to engage with stakeholders, such as Arqiva who I am meeting on 6 December, who are driving work on this issue.

There are no obligations on District Salmon Fishery Boards to report or publish wild salmon catch statistics.

The Scottish Government requires proprietors or occupiers of salmon fisheries to provide it with information each year relating to the fishery. Refusal to comply with the request for information or providing false information is an offence.

Official Statistics on the Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery are published annually. Statistics for the 2022 season are available at - Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Member may wish to contact British Transport Police, who might be able to provide this information.