Chamber and committees

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

In the last three years the Scottish Government has provided more than £45 M of funding to support the planting of more than 13,200 hectares of native woodland. How much funding was committed, and how many hectares were planted in 2019, 2020 and 2021 is shown in the following table.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to introduce such legislation. However our new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' sets out a series of actions intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026. Amongst these actions are several which focus on reducing emissions from domestic fuel combustion.

An expert working group, which met for the first time in January 2022, has been established to advise the Government on taking forward these actions. Further information will be made publicly available as this work proceeds.

The Scottish Government recognises, and will continue to champion, onshore wind as a key part of Scotland’s energy mix. Continued growth in onshore wind will be a vital component in meeting our net zero ambitions.

The Onshore Wind Policy Statement consultation was launched on 28 October 2021, which includes our ambition that an additional 8-12 GW of onshore wind be installed by 2030.

The consultation considered key themes such as barriers to deployment, community benefits and shared ownership, circular economy and supply chain opportunities.

The consultation closed on 31 January 2022, and a full policy statement is expected to be published later this year with consultation analysis also to be published in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14655 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

As of March 2022, 7 adverse events relating to the device have been submitted to NHS Scotland's Incident Reporting and Investigation Centre.

I am in the process of making arrangements to meet with members of the Life After Essure UK and Ireland support group.

Once this meeting has taken place the Government will, of course, consider whether any further action is required on our part or by the NHS in Scotland.

Local authorities have the lead role in tackling nuisance caused by urban gulls. Where property is council-owned, local authorities are expected to respond to statutory nuisance complaints, such as where the deposit of bird droppings may have an effect on public health. The responsibility for dealing with nuisance gulls on private property lies with the owner. Local authorities can provide advice and assistance to property owners, and have powers under environmental protection legislation to tackle nuisances.

NatureScot provides advice regarding gull management and licenses gull management actions such as nest removal or lethal control, where necessary, and in accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

A UK seabird census is currently being carried out, organised by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The aims of the census include producing estimates of the populations of the different gull species that breed in urban environments. The findings of this research will help inform future actions in dealing with urban gull populations

Transport Scotland officials engage regularly with CalMac and cover a range of operational topics including staff and crew not only for the Arran Ferry services but the whole of the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services network. I recently met with representatives of CalMac’s senior management team and discussed a range of issues including the Arran service.

Brain and Central Nervous System cancer waiting times were part of the extending tumour site audit and were introduced into Cancer Waiting Times reporting for 2013 only. Since then, boards have not been required to submit these data. NHS boards may hold this data locally, PHS does not hold the data centrally.

There are no plans to review the Access Code. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is clear that conduct excluded from access rights includes being on or crossing land while responsible for a dog which is not under proper control. The Access Code sets a balance between the rights of those taking access and those of land managers. It states that when in a field of farm animals, people should keep their dog on a short lead or under close control and keep as far as possible from the animals. Dogs should not be taken into fields where there are lambs, calves or other young animals.

The Scottish Government considers that this advice accords with the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021 which strengthened the law around livestock worrying by increasing the maximum penalties for offences. The small minority who do not treat livestock with respect and care must be held accountable and consequences must appropriately reflect the severity of their crime.

The Scottish Government, in November 2021, issued a joint protocol for the examination of dogs suspected of livestock worrying and seized by Police Scotland under the 2021 Act. That offers guidance to veterinarians who may be asked to examine such dogs.