Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-00966

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any feedback from businesses that are making use of financial support to trial a four-day working week.

Question reference: S6W-07788

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Programme for Government commitment to develop a Blue Economy Strategy.

We intend to publish the first phase of this work, the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland, today. This vision sets out the Scottish Government’s long-term ambition for Scotland’s blue economy to 2045, promoting an approach that is consistent with Scotland’s National Performance Framework and our international obligations. It demonstrates how much we value our marine environment and its significance which is captured in the six outcomes that we want to achieve.

The six blue economy outcomes have been identified to respond to major challenges of our time, such as the climate and nature crises, just transition to zero, a blue recovery from Covid-19 and EU withdrawal. The outcomes also recognise our ambition for Scotland to be a global leader in providing healthy, quality and sustainably harvested food. They frame a direction of travel and provide focal points for our long term blue economy aspirations with the overall aim that by 2045, Scotland’s shared stewardship of our marine environment supports ecosystem health, improved livelihoods, economic prosperity, social inclusion and wellbeing.

A blue economy approach will also help us to realise our ambitions for a wellbeing economy in Scotland where the country’s successes are defined and measured beyond economic growth and Gross Domestic Product, and we emphasise the importance of addressing inequality. Human wellbeing is multi-dimensional and nature plays an important part in ensuring a high quality of life for our people. The vision demonstrates the importance of the marine environment and its significance in contributing to Scotland’s economy, well-being climate and biodiversity priorities.

Across the world, there are an increasing number of countries looking to introduce a blue economy approach to better balance their economic, societal and environmental challenges and opportunities in marine environments. This vision puts Scotland at the heart of this international movement to support global ocean governance.

The publication of the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland is consistent with our Programme for Government commitment to develop a Blue Economy Strategy and subsequent delivery plan to support a green recovery and just transition, with sustainable growth of the blue economy underpinned by environmental protection.

The document will be available to view on the Scottish Government website from today:

The Blue Economy Vision for Scotland: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/978-1-80435-258-8

The next step is to develop the programmes and policies to deliver these outcomes through a Blue Economy Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-07325

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on any costs associated with mitigating any impact in Scotland of decisions taken by the UK Government in each of the last five financial years.

The estimated costs of "reserved" areas of spend that are being mitigated/supplemented by the Scottish Government are shown in the following table:-

Programme	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Discretionary Housing Payments	47.0	50.1	52.2	73.8	83.1
Promoting Equality and Human Rights	20.3	22.7	24.6	30.2	32.2
Scottish Child Payment				21.0	68.0
Broadband	117.1	22.2	32.9	63.4	102.8
Employability- Fair Start Scotland		14.9	16.4	21.6	27.3
Employability and Workforce Skills			17.2	51.1	22.1
Scottish Veterans' Commissioner			0.3	0.3	0.3
Veterans			0.2	0.5	1.5

Source: Level 4 budgets published alongside the annual Budget Bill.

Question reference: S6O-00945

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its international offices are functioning and improving international relations.

Question reference: S6W-07187

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much peat has been extracted in Scotland for commercial use in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Data on UK and export sales of peat sourced from Scotland since 2011 is gathered for the UK Growing Media Monitor ( https://hta.org.uk/associations-committees-groups/growing-media-association/gma-research ) and provides insight into the volumes of peat extracted for horticulture in Scotland up to 2020, the main end use of extracted peat.

The Scottish Government is committed to banning the sale of peat related gardening products, as part of our wider commitment to phase out the use of peat in horticulture, and we are currently preparing to consult on this issue. Our draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out that development proposals for new commercial peat extraction, including extensions to existing sites, should not be supported unless the extracted peat is supporting an industry of national importance to Scotland.

We will also give consideration, through our peatland restoration programme, to whether and what further data may be required to support future monitoring of progress against targets.

Question reference: S6W-07186

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much peat has been burned in Scotland in the process of making whisky, in order to flavour malting barley, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-00899

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken with ministerial colleagues across government to ensure that Scotland’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic addresses the reported disproportionate impact of the pandemic on low-income households.

Question reference: S6O-00831

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the allocation of Discretionary Housing Payments in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-00816

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling any issues related to high numbers of second homes in some parts of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06879

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 February 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the scenario-mapping report prepared for the seaweed sector, and whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Seaweed Review.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Seaweed Review, a scenario mapping exercise exploring areas of growth for the seaweed sector and wider possible impacts of growth scenarios was undertaken. The report setting out the findings from that exercise has now been published, alongside a statement setting out the next steps for the Seaweed Review.

The publication of these documents contributes to the Programme for Government commitment to report on any changes required to marine planning and licensing processes, as well as to the continued sustainable development of the blue economy.

These documents are available at:

Understanding the potential scale for seaweed-based industries in Scotland– https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802018837
Statement on the Seaweed Review– https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804350720

The report exploring potential areas for growth has been informed by stakeholder consultation and engagement with the Seaweed Review Strategy Group (“SRSG”). The SRSG comprises of representatives from various sectors representing conservation, science, enterprise, biotechnology, fisheries and the Seaweed Industry Association. I want to thank the members of the SRSG for their invaluable contributions and continued engagement with the review process.

The review points to the need for a more comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for both seaweed harvesting and cultivation activities, as well as input from the seaweed industry and other stakeholders, to support the future development of a sustainable seaweed industry.

There is a long history of harvesting seaweed in Scotland and growing interest in the sector supports our decision to include seaweed as part of the first stage of the aquaculture review by Professor Griggs which was published earlier this month. The future of Scotland’s seaweed cultivation sector will also be considered as part of the development of the Scottish Government’s Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture.

Other pieces of work, including the new seafood strategy to be published later this year, underline our commitment to ensure that existing and emerging seaweed activities fit into our broader framework for managing multiple uses of the sea, including fishing and renewable energy.

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