Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-14789

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it will undertake with Grieg Seafood, in light of reports that 21,700 farmed salmon escaped from its Loch Snizort site.

Question reference: S5W-14787

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of salmon that have escaped from Scottish farms in each year since 1999, and what action it is taking to help reduce these numbers.

Details on the number of salmon that have been reported to have escaped from Scottish fish farms are published on Scotland’s aquaculture website - http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_escapes.aspx . The Fish Health Inspectorate undertake a programme of statutory inspections conducted in association with fish health surveillance to ascertain whether satisfactory measures are in place for the containment of fish, prevention of escape of fish and recovery of escaped fish, in accordance with the requirements of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Act) 2007.

In addition, the Scottish Government published ‘A Technical Standard for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture’ in 2015 which determines technical requirements for fish farm equipment in Scotland and applies to all species of finfish. The Standard is designed to be used alongside operational procedures and training of staff to ensure equipment is used and maintained appropriately and procedures followed correctly.

Question reference: S5W-14792

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake any engagement with salmon farm operators regarding netting materials in order to minimise breaches and escape of stock.

Question reference: S5W-14790

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what environmental assessment it has undertaken regarding reports of 21,700 farmed salmon escaping at Loch Snizort.

Question reference: S5W-13892

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 25 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it will undertake with the supermarket chain, Iceland, following its pledge to eliminate plastic packaging from its own-brand products, and whether it will encourage more retailers to adopt this approach.

Through our delivery partner, Zero Waste Scotland, we are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including Iceland on plastics, particularly with regard to deposit return. Scottish Government policy is to help reduce the use of single-use items overall, regardless of material, and to encourage greater use of reusable or recycled packaging. We will continue to work with retail and industry to improve the sustainability of the products and packaging on sale in Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-01693

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact is on teacher numbers of immigration policy.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to ensure that we have the right number of teachers, with the right skills, in the right places. This has halted a period of steady decline in teacher recruitment, resulting in almost 800 more teachers than there were two years ago.

Scotland benefits significantly from the contribution made by people from across the world who choose to visit, live, work and study here. Individuals from outwith Scotland make up an important part of our teaching workforce.

The UK Government’s restrictive approach to immigration does not address the distinctive demographic, economic and social needs of Scotland. We need a migration system which meets the needs of Scotland and the evidence is clear that the current system is not fit for purpose.

Question reference: S5F-01912

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2018

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to reduce the use of single-use disposable plastics such as plastic straws.

Question reference: S5W-13060

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of (a) homes, (b) businesses and (c) SMEs (i) nationally and (ii) in rural areas has been offered access to superfast broadband in each year since 2014, and what information it has regarding how this compares with (A) England, (B) Wales and (C) Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on superfast broadband access in Scotland, broken down by the categories requested. The majority of broadband access is delivered commercially. Suppliers are not obliged to share this with the Scottish Government. Ofcom, in their capacity as UK telecoms regulator, is responsible for maintaining and publishing coverage information across the UK.

Over 800,000 premises have been connected to fibre broadband through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, with the vast majority of those having access to superfast broadband. We remain on track to reach our target of 95% fibre broadband coverage by the end of 2017 through a combination of the DSSB programme and commercial coverage.

Question reference: S5W-13064

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of (a) homes, (b) businesses and (c) SMEs (i) nationally and (ii) in rural areas has been offered access to fibre broadband as a result of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, and what estimate it has made of what this would have been had the programme not been implemented.

Over 800,000 premises have now been connected to fibre broadband through the DSSB programme, with the vast majority of those having access to superfast broadband. We remain on track to reach our target of 95% fibre broadband coverage by the end of 2017 through a combination of the DSSB programme and commercial coverage.

Without this investment, commercial coverage would likely have reached only 66% across Scotland - 21% in the Highlands and Islands and no coverage at all on Orkney, Shetland or the Western Isles.

Question reference: S5W-13059

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has sought its advice in light of the recent announcement that UK ministers plan to offer access to superfast broadband to 100% of premises in England.

The UK Government has not indicated that it plans to extend access to 100% of premises in England. Instead, the UK Government is pursuing a 10Mbps option, either through a Universal Service Obligation or a voluntary deal with BT. That will see those without superfast access consigned to the slow lane in terms of speeds.

Our commitment to extend superfast broadband access, of speeds greater than 30 Mbps, to every premise in Scotland is unique in the UK. We will launch a procurement process to deliver new public investment in the coming weeks.

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