Questions and answers

Question reference: S6T-02447

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the reported £203 million it spent on external advisers to help administer agricultural support payments to be good value for money.

Question reference: S6W-35717

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will begin its process to recruit a new chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and whether it will publish details of this.

Question reference: S6W-35383

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government who is required to undertake muirburn training in relation to the (a) setting of fire to heath or muir, (b) burning of heath or muir and (c) extinguishing of fire on heath or muir.

Question reference: S6W-35382

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, in its written submission to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee as part of its stage 1 consideration of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, that every person intending to undertake muirburn should have had some form of learning on the muirburn code and training on the use of fire.

Question reference: S6W-35378

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the practical differences are between "the setting of fire to" heath or muir, and "the burning of" heath or muir, as set out in section 22 of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

Question reference: S6W-35691

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35132 by Ivan McKee on 27 February 2025, for what reason it only carried out a partial island communities impact assessment (ICIA), instead of a full ICIA, for the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill prior to the Parliament's consideration of the Bill at stage 1, in light of the assessment in the partial ICIA published in May 2023, which noted that "the geographical remoteness of islands can generate a number of particular challenges".

Question reference: S6W-35285

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on how many days the Campbeltown-Ardrossan ferry service has (a) been operational and (b) not been operational, during the summer timetable period in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-35091

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27451 by Fiona Hyslop on 23 May 2024, what repair works have been completed, broken down by date, and what works (a) are still to be completed and (b) have since been identified, also broken down by the (i) the cost and (ii) date of completion of these works.

A revised version of the maintenance programme listing, updated February 2025, can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 65666).

Table A lists the works completed in 2024-25 with the recorded construction costs indicated against the month in which the works were recorded as being finished, bearing in mind that some works could have taken several months to undertake.

Table B provides an updated listing of works that have been identified and included within the forward maintenance programme along with the current estimated construction costs. Some of works are already underway and others will be programmed over the coming months/years in line with our annual prioritisation process. The timing of these works is also subject to the availability of funding and operational constraints.

Question reference: S6W-35379

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NatureScot is reportedly planning to remove the practical element of muirburn training from the approved training course for muirburn in (a) 2025-26 and (b) future years.

Question reference: S6W-35380

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it has and (b) any of its agencies have consulted muirburn training providers about NatureScot’s reported plans to remove the requirement for the completion of practical muirburn training from the approved training course for muirburn in (i) 2025-26 and (ii) future years.

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