Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-23443

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of international land reform measures, and how any such assessment has influenced its proposed Land Reform Bill.

We established the Scottish Land Commission on 1 April 2017, after the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force. Its remit is to review the effectiveness and impact of our laws and policies relating to land, and to make recommendations to Scottish Ministers on future land reform.

As part of the development of their discussion paper, Legislative Proposals to address the impact of Scotland’s Concentration of Land Ownership, (published February 2021), and their ongoing work on land reform, the SLC has published a series of reports reviewing international experience of interventions in land ownership, to inform fresh thinking for Scotland. They may be found here: International Experience - Governance & Ownership - Our work - Scottish Land Commission .

The proposals put forward in our consultation on the Bill were based on the Commission's discussion paper, which in turn were(where relevant) informed by the findings and lessons of these reports.

Question reference: S6W-23260

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of workers currently employed by Scotland’s rural estates are paid at least the real Living Wage.

Per the latest available Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings real Living Wage data from the Office for National Statistics, Scotland remains the best performing of all four UK countries with the highest proportion of employees (18+) paid the Real Living Wage or more (91.0%). Ahead of Wales 88.2%, England 87.5%, NI 85.4%, and the UK 87.8%. The data is also recorded by Scottish Industry Sector in table 5.4, and Local Authority area in table 5.7. The full data tables can be accessed and downloaded from the following web page.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings-2022/

Question reference: S6O-02873

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to develop a wealth tax.

Question reference: S6W-23212

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been granted through Peatland ACTION to cover labour costs for peatland recovery, broken down by applicants that are categorised as (a) from the (i) public (ii) private and (iii) third sector, (b) individuals and (c) "other".

The Scottish Government funds five direct delivery partners on an annual basis, based on the government wide capital spending allocations as agreed by Cabinet. These five direct delivery partners are NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority and Scottish Water.
These delivery partners then sub-contract physical restoration works to organisations in the third sector and private sector contractor companies.
Contracts for peatland restoration are issued on a composite unit cost basis. Therefore, labour costs – for example machine operator wages – are not itemised separately.
As each individual project across delivery partner and geographic location can vary significantly, it is not possible to determine an average labour cost across or within the delivery partners.

Question reference: S6W-23211

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are directly employed in the public sector to undertake peatland restoration work, broken down by public body employer.

The total number of FTE staff (rounded to the nearest whole number) employed in the public sector, within the Peatland Action programme, to undertake peatland restoration work – as of November 2023 – is as follows:

NatureScot – 56
Forestry and Land Scotland – 23
Cairngorms National Park Authority – 8
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority – 5
Scottish Water – 3
Scottish Government – 4

Total – 9

Question reference: S6W-23213

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what ongoing monitoring of labour conditions is undertaken in relation to private sector projects that have been granted public funding, such as through Peatland ACTION, under its Fair Work First guidance.

Monitoring compliance with Fair Work First principles, including the requirements to pay workers at least the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, is the responsibility of individual grant managers across government and of relevant funders across the wider public sector, including through our Peatland ACTION programme. It takes place within existing grant assurance and monitoring processes, as with any other condition of grant, such as agreed outcomes.
Peatland Action partners comply with these principles as part of their own procurement frameworks that govern the respective grant agreements. They do this through a range of measures like mandated self-declaration when applying for grants and the regular liaison with the contractors during the course of ensuing works including site visits.

Question reference: S6W-23069

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 310,000 potential jobs in Scottish domestic hydrogen production highlighted in its 2020 report, Scottish Hydrogen Assessment, how many of these jobs it estimates would be based in the north east.

Question reference: S6W-23018

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many landholdings it expects will be split into lots or offered to community bodies each year as a result of the measures to reduce the scale and concentration of landownership in its proposed Land Reform Bill.

Our aim is to introduce a Bill that strikes an appropriate balance in applying to significant landholdings whilst not disproportionately impacting smaller businesses and farms. A suite of impact assessments is being developed for Bill introduction, which will further help to inform final policy proposals. Final decisions on the Bill’s contents will be made in due course by Ministers and the Bill will be published on the Scottish Parliament website following its introduction in line with the established legislative process for Bills.

Question reference: S6W-22894

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 27 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the National Marine Plan 2 will include spatial plans for all activities, including fisheries, for all appropriate locations in inshore waters.

The National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) will be developed with stakeholders to achieve sustainable management of our seas, support coastal communities, safeguarding of existing sectors and protection of the marine environment.

The NMP2 is in the early stages of development. It will continue to provide the overarching planning framework for coordinating sustainable development out to 200 nautical miles. Options for spatial planning policies in NMP2 will be considered with stakeholders, and will be developed in accordance with the National Spatial Strategy, set out in Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) (2023)

Question reference: S6W-22895

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) management plans for key Scottish stocks, (b) a consultation on fisheries management for offshore Marine Protected Areas, (c) fisheries management measures in Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features and (d) the other commitments set out in the future fisheries management plan will be delivered, and, if so, when.

The fisheries policy authorities intend to deliver the Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) according to the timescales set out in Annex A of the Joint Fisheries Statement .

Fisheries management proposals for offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) will be consulted on in early 2024. Fisheries management proposals for all inshore MPAs and Priority Marine Features (PMFs) are expected to go to public consultation at the end of 2024.

The Scottish Government’s Fisheries Management Strategy has a timeframe of ten years, and will be delivered over the course of December 2020 to December 2030. The actions within the Strategy are intended to be delivered across this full timeframe.

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