Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-43510

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it currently expects to commence section 10 of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-43507

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated in 2025-26 to support local authorities to develop Good Food Nation plans, and when local authorities will be formally notified of their individual allocations.

Question reference: S6W-43509

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what expectations it has of relevant authorities in relation to the development of Good Food Nation plans prior to the commencement of section 10 of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-43508

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that relevant authorities have the capacity to make progress on the development of Good Food Nation plans prior to the commencement of section 10 of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-43511

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated in 2025-26 to NHS boards to support the development of Good Food Nation plans.

Question reference: S6W-43236

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, what assessment it has undertaken regarding any impact on rural communities, where a higher proportion of patients typically travel by car to appointments, prior to introducing changes to the General Ophthalmic Services fee structure, effective from 1 August 2025, linking higher fees for eye examinations, for adults aged 60 and over, to pupil dilation, and whether it will publish any such assessment.

The Scottish Government negotiated the new General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) fees with Optometry Scotland with the data available at the time. A joint review of the impact of these changes will be undertaken with Optometry Scotland in due course. These discussions are confidential in nature and for Optometry Scotland to consider how it, as the representative body, informs its membership.

Dilating the pupils of patients aged 60 and older has been a requirement of a GOS primary eye examination since 1 April 2010. It is clinically important because it enables the optometrist to inspect the retina, optic nerve and macula for early signs of age-related sight-threatening diseases that are often symptomless.

Question reference: S6W-43169

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what independent audit processes exist to ensure that losses recorded as culls or stock adjustments are not excluded from external reporting at salmon farms.

The Scottish Government does not collect and publish complete information on the number of fish culled fish on salmon farms.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43168 on 2 February 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government’s Scottish Finfish Production Survey is a long running Scottish Government statistical publication produced to appropriate professional standards. Data may be checked against case information held by the Fish Health Inspectorate, including any movement records, to ensure information is consistent.

Question reference: S6W-43168

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects complete data on the number of fish culled on salmon farms and, if so, (a) where and (b) how such figures are published in relation to mortality data.

The Scottish Government does not collect complete data on the number of fish culled at salmon farms as this information is primarily a result of commercial decisions and is not required for the Fish Health Inspectorate’s surveillance programme for aquatic animal disease. Some information relating to culled fish is provided through the voluntary mortality reporting mechanism and it may be collected during Fish Health Inspectorate visits. Culling stock may be required under the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009, such as in response to the confirmation of a listed disease

The Scottish Government’s Scottish Finfish Production Survey collects and publishes information on farmed salmon production losses as part of official statistics. It reports data on survival to harvest, representing the proportion of fish harvested for human consumption from the original input population. The proportion not harvested for human consumption are recorded as aggregate losses, which includes fish culled.

Question reference: S6W-43170

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce mandatory publication of site-level cull numbers, alongside mortality figures, within a fixed reporting timeframe at salmon farms.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce further mandatory reporting and publication of losses of farmed salmon as the data already available are sufficient for regulatory purposes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43168 on 2 February 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6O-05470

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether voluntary reporting of mortality data in the salmon farming industry provides sufficient transparency and animal welfare protection.

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