Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-05168

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with local communities when implementing the Scottish Safety Camera Programme.

Local governance and scrutiny of Scottish Safety Camera Programme activity and operations is realised through existing Community Planning structures, associated Community Safety Partnerships, or other relevant bodies (e.g. Local Authority-led Road Safety Forums) as agreed at a local level with partners in the Local Authority area. Police Scotland is responsible for the operational delivery of the Programme, through Units in three enforcement Areas.

Local policing plans ensure that policing activity across Scotland is directed at local issues and reflects the needs of the community. In their meetings to discuss these plans with Local Authority Chief Executives, Police Scotland Commanders may address any concerns regarding local safety camera activity. Area Safety Camera Managers must liaise with their Police Scotland colleagues and address emerging concerns as they arise.

Area Safety Camera Managers must also be available to address any specific concerns raised by partners with a road safety interest regarding the activity and operation of the Programme in their area.

Information is provided proactively about safety cameras, including their deployment and performance, as part of the wider approach to road safety-related communications. Information about sites is updated on relevant web pages and through social media and press releases.

Question reference: S5W-05192

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the EU derogation being sought, whether the opening of a razor clam fishery would only take place following a full stock assessment.

The Scottish Government has not to date sought a derogation from the EU prohibition on fishing with electricity. A public consultation about whether such a derogation should be sought closed on 30 September 2016, and Ministers are considering views offered through the consultation.

In the event that a regulated razor clam fishery, by means of electrofishing, were permitted, it would be subject to the provisions of domestic and EU legislation. The Government would also consider necessary preparatory steps, including the possibility of an area based stock assessment of razor clam biomass.

Question reference: S5W-05193

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been supported (a) directly and (b) indirectly by fishing for (i) shellfish and (ii) whitefish in Scottish inshore waters in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-05171

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) briefing, SB 16-94 The Living Wage: Facts and Figures, which shows that Dumfries and Galloway as the highest proportion of employees earning below the living wage.

The SPICe publication showed that Scotland remained the best performing of all four UK countries with the highest proportion of employees paid the Living Wage or more (79.9%). Whilst this is welcome news, there remains more to do and the figure for Dumfries and Galloway reflects that. The Scottish Government is willing to work with other local MSPs and the Poverty Alliance to help promote the Living Wage locally and to encourage more employers to pay it.

We continue to fully support the Poverty Alliance to run the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative, having this year increased funding to £300,000, and continue to work closely with them to meet the target of 1,000 Living Wage Accredited employers across Scotland by Autumn 2017.

Question reference: S5W-04920

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage tourism from Northern Ireland.

VisitScotland is actively engaged in promoting Scotland to visitors from Northern Ireland and undertakes a range of marketing activities.

In April and May 2016, VisitScotland ran a destination campaign encouraging Northern Irish visitors to come to Scotland by ferry, promoting the Larne to Cairnryan route and the ease of access that this gives to Ayrshire and Arran as a short break destination.

In May and June, VisitScotland engaged directly with commuters in Belfast to promote weekend breaks in Scotland.

More recently, VisitScotland, along with Stena Line and Stranraer Development attended a familiarisation trip in November to see the tourism product on offer on the Cairnryan to Belfast ferry route, and to explore opportunities to engage with visitors arriving at Cairnryan from Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-04828

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which organisation is responsible for the health and safety of walkers on core paths.

Health and safety is a complex area of law and is not the responsibility of any one organisation alone. Land managers owe a duty of care to people entering onto their land whether or not this is a core path and may, for example, restrict access when machinery is being used. Members of the public also have a duty of care to land managers and to other people, for example by not riding or cycling too fast.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/) sets out the access rights and responsibilities of the public and land managers. Scottish Natural Heritage has also published "A Brief Guide to Occupiers' Legal Liabilities in Scotland in Relation to Public Outdoor Access" (http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/heritagemanagement/occupiers.pdf) and "A Brief Guide to Laws Relevant to Outdoor Access In Scotland" (http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/heritagemanagement/lawsrelevanttosoac.pdf).

Question reference: S5W-04827

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility local authorities have for the upkeep of core paths.

Question reference: S5W-04923

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many planning appeals in respect of wind turbine applications in Dumfries and Galloway have been received in the last three years, and how many were successful.

The number of planning appeals received in respect of wind turbine applications in Dumfries and Galloway in the last three years* are set out in the following table:

Appeals Received

Appeals Allowed (planning permission granted)

Appeals Dismissed (Planning Permission refused)

Appeals still under consideration

Appeals Withdrawn

Dumfries and Galloway

13

6

5

2

0

*Figures shown relate to the period 23-11-13 to 23-11-2016.

Question reference: S5W-04924

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic impact of agriculture in Dumfries and Galloway.

The economic impact of agriculture in Dumfries and Galloway is assessed annually in the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture. This publication includes information for Dumfries and Galloway on agricultural labour, agricultural holdings, standard labour requirements, standard outputs and the sectoral composition of agricultural production. The latest issue was published June 14, 2016 and can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/5559/0.

Question reference: S5O-00436

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the money raised by local authorities should be kept in their areas.

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