- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there are sufficiently detailed soil maps in use to prevent peatlands being ploughed during its forestation programme.
Answer
For all woodland creation proposals, applicants are required to undertake land surveys as part of their due diligence. This due diligence includes surveying for peat soils, including deep peat. Where peat soils are found, further more intensive surveys are required, to produce a detailed soil survey map which is submitted to Scottish Forestry for approval. Depending upon the distribution of peat and peat depths across the proposal area, further peat surveys may be required before a contract for woodland creation is approved and a final detailed peat and soil survey map is accepted. At this time, a species and constraints map is also agreed and areas of deep peat are excluded from the agreed contract. We have released new cultivation guidance on 26 July and this will prevent the use of high impact cultivation techniques on peat and organo-mineral soils over 10cm.
Applicants and agents use existing soil survey maps for Scotland as a baseline ahead of beginning on site land surveys. Subsequently areas of deep peat are demarcated on site and cultivation contractors are provided with soil and species maps to ensure cultivation is undertaken in line with the agreed contract.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on native woodland (a) management and (b) expansion through the Forestry Grant Scheme in each year since 2015.
Answer
Details of the grants awarded by Scottish Government through the Forestry Grant Scheme is shown in the following table:
Year | Management of native woodlands | Expansion of native woodlands |
2015 | N/A | £1.2 M |
2016 | £1.3 M | 3.45 M |
2017 | £2.35 M | £5.9 M |
2018 | £1.08 M | £12.4 M |
2019 | £1.15 M | £11.1 M |
2020 | £1.63 M | £14.07 M |
In 2015, no grants were awarded for the management of native woodlands as this grant option was launched in 2015.
The figures in the table relate to the budget of the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), which is the principal funding mechanism in Scotland for supporting native woodland creation and sustainable forest management. In addition to the FGS there are a number of partnership schemes, involving public and private organisations which support small scale woodland creation in specific locations.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the likely cost of providing support for people with long COVID.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01283 on
16 August 2021. 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
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Home Energy Scotland loan offers have expired during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this compares to the three financial years prior to the pandemic beginning.
Answer
The proportion of Home Energy Scotland loan offers that have expired during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to the previous three years is:
Year | Total Offers | Expired loan offers (not accepted) | Expired Committed Loan Offers (not accepted) |
2021-22 (to end June – pandemic period) | 937 | 192 (20%) | 0 (0%) |
2020-21 (pandemic period) | 2011 | 157 (8%) | 40 (2%) |
2019-20 | 1757 | 71 (4%) | 210 (12%) |
2018-19 | 1903 | 149 (8%) | 76 (4%) |
2017-18 | 1404 | 37 (3%) | 37 (3%) |
Please note the following with regard to the data:
- a higher incidence of offers has expired during the pandemic, probably due to the increase in application with the launch of the cashback scheme. The comparison is also higher as we are only half way through 2022, and applicants still have time to return their loan documents
- the timescale to claim was increased during the pandemic, therefore pre-pandemic, with the short claim time gave a greater incentive to claim the funding
- the increase in expired offers at the end of 2019/20 could be due to loan offers made shortly before, and being impacted by the pandemic.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much carbon will be released by the setting up and operation of its forestry expansion programme and how this compares with the amount of carbon it expects the programme to capture.
Answer
The most recent data published by the Scottish Government show that the forestry estate in Scotland currently removes over 6MtCO 2 annually. These removals are net of any CO 2 emissions from forestry operations and forest soils.
Scottish Forestry has commissioned further research to provide the latest quantitative evidence on these impacts for different types of woodland. This research will be released later in 2021. Preliminary results show that emissions from forest operations are very low compared to removals as trees grow.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the future costs of COVID-19-related health problems.
Answer
It is not possible to accurately quantify the future associated with COVID-19 related health problems at this time, as we are still in the midst of the pandemic. Some of these impacts may not be tangible immediately but are likely to become more evident over time.
We need a better understanding of the frequency, nature and impact of health complications caused by COVID before an assessment can be made of future costs. This includes the cost of providing support for people with long COVID.
The Scottish Government has invested £2.5 million funding for nine Scottish-led research projects relating to the long-term effects of COVID-19. We continue to engage with NHS Boards to identify their support needs in relation to delivering care and support to people with long COVID.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the scale of health complications likely to be experienced by people in the next five years as a result of them having had COVID-19.
Answer
I refer the member to the question S6W-01283 which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of all (a) calls, (b) emails and (c) other correspondence between its (i) special advisers, (ii) officials and (iii) ministers and the OECD since 28 June 2021.
Answer
My officials will conduct a trawl for the information requested and I will write to Mr Mundell when their findings are complete.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many school inspections are planned for the next 12 months.
Answer
HM Inspectors of Education will restart scrutiny activity of schools soon and an announcement will follow shortly. The annual scrutiny programme outlining the range of scrutiny activity, including school inspections which will be carried out by HM Inspectors of education this academic year will also be published on Education Scotland's website.
The programme school and early learning and childcare inspections was paused on 16 March 2020 in response to Covid-19. A pause in the programme inspections was to allow education establishments to concentrate on providing support for learning throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to create a children and young people's education council.
Answer
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills announced that the government will create a children and young people’s education council as part of her Parliamentary statement on Scotland’s curriculum on 22 June.
Following that announcement, a meeting was held on 21 July between Scottish Government officials and representatives from the national children and young person organisations, including those who have recently been involved in supporting the Education Recovery Youth Panel and contributing to the Covid Education Recovery Group as young people. This allowed officials to gain the benefit of their insights into the principles, working methods and detailed arrangements for the new council.
The Scottish Government is developing plans for the Council utilising this feedback, with a view to holding the first meeting of the new council as soon as possible in the autumn.
