Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-24999

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Programme for Government commitment to pilot a new aquaculture consenting process to help deliver a more streamlined regime across Scotland.

In the 2023-24 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to pilot a new aquaculture consenting process in two local authority areas to help deliver a more streamlined regime across Scotland.

I am pleased to inform Parliament that pilots for a new pre-application consenting process for fish farm developments are underway in the Shetland and Highland local authority areas.

The commencement of these pilots is a result of the work undertaken by the Consenting Task Group, which I established in November 2022 to consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Aquaculture Consenting and to identify and pilot improvements to the consenting system.

The Consenting Task Group, which includes representatives from the fish farming sector, SEPA, local authorities and other regulators, have worked together to co-design a new management process which maintains robust assessment of development proposals, but which coordinates and enables appropriately informed regulatory decisions to be made as quickly as possible.

During the pilot phase, the Consenting Task Group will continue to meet on a quarterly basis to share key learnings and make improvements as part of an iterative review process.

I would like to thank the Consenting Task Group’s Chair, Professor Dickon Howell, and all the task group members for their contributions to the pilots and I look forward to further progress. Information on the work of the Consenting Task Group is available on the Scottish Government webpages.

Question reference: S6W-24472

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22531 by Paul McLennan on 13 November 2023, by what date in early 2024 it will provide an implementation update on short-term let licensing.

Question reference: S6O-02799

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle the increasing risk of wildfires in rural areas.

Question reference: S6O-02747

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on its work to ensure that the crèche facility can offer more than four hours per week per child.

Question reference: S6W-22531

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its post-implementation review into short-term let licensing, whether it plans to undertake any stakeholder engagement and consultation ahead of the review, and what the nature of any stakeholder involvement in the review will be.

I wrote to the Local Government Housing and Planning Committee on 27 October 2023 to set out the scope of the implementation update on short-term let licensing. In this letter I have committed to provide an update to Parliament in early 2024. A copy of this letter is available on the Scottish Parliament website at:

https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/local-gov/correspondence/2023/shorttermlets27oct.pdf

Question reference: S6W-22532

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will commence its post-implementation review into short-term let licensing; what the scope, remit and nature of this work is; what the timeline is for the completion of the review, and when it plans to report to (a) ministers and (b) the Parliament on its findings.

Question reference: S6O-02727

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to develop a model for Scotland to challenge men’s demand for prostitution.

Question reference: S6W-22393

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the First Minister’s Investor Panel will report, and whether it has made any comments or recommendations regarding the Scottish Government’s proposal to issue a bond.

We expect the Panel to report its full findings and recommendations by the end of November. The Panel provided its first stage work to the Scottish Government in September. This covers a wide range of findings and recommendations relating to how Scotland can attract mobile capital to support the just transition to net zero. It includes a recommendation that: “Although it will involve additional costs, Scotland’s profile could be significantly raised in the international capital markets by using existing devolved powers to issue debt. This will provide a motivation for regular engagement by investors and an opportunity to market Scotland’s investment story. It would also allow the development of relationships with providers of debt, a track record and credit rating.”

Question reference: S6O-02570

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is progressing its integrated transport plan for Fort William to reduce congestion and increase resilience and reliability on the trunk road network.

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