Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-27266

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether Forestry and Land Scotland plans to increase artificial nest platforms for (a) raptors in Scotland’s national forests in the two National Parks and (b) priority national conservation initiatives such as the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project.

Question reference: S6W-27244

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17939 by Kevin Stewart on 25 May 2023, whether it will provide an update on how many young people have now received a free bus pass through the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, broken down by local authority area, based on the latest information available.

As of 1 May 2024, there were 732,654 cardholders under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme. The following table shows the number of cardholders broken down to local authority level.

Aberdeen City	30,715
Aberdeenshire	36,247
Angus Council	14,305
Argyll & Bute	9,022
City of Edinburgh	85,314
Clackmannanshire	5,130
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	2,963
Dumfries and Galloway	13,637
Dundee City	23,109
East Ayrshire	17,381
East Dunbartonshire	13,712
East Lothian	16,357
East Renfrewshire	14,633
Falkirk	18,543
Fife	57,821
Glasgow City	82,026
Highland	22,727
Inverclyde	11,696
Midlothian	13,686
Moray	10,757
North Ayrshire	19,937
North Lanarkshire	48,400
Orkney Islands	2,189
Perth & Kinross	18,514
Renfrewshire	23,856
Scottish Borders	12,385
Shetland Islands	3,197
South Ayrshire	11,947
South Lanarkshire	44,416
Stirling	11,126
West Dunbartonshire	13,690
West Lothian	23,216

Total	732,654

This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data.

Question reference: S6W-27258

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030.

Question reference: S6W-27268

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many new locations Forestry and Land Scotland has identified for the translocation of beavers to Scotland’s national forests in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-27245

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17938 by Kevin Stewart on 25 May 2023, whether it will provide an update on how many journeys have been completed by young people using a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, based on the latest information available.

Question reference: S6W-27246

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what percentage of greenhouse gas emissions was produced by private jets departing from and arriving at Scotland’s airports between 2018 and 2023.

Question reference: S6W-27267

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers have been translocated to Scotland’s national forests to date, broken down by the number of locations.

Question reference: S6W-27243

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeline and process towards delivering its commitment to introducing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) schemes in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Aberdeen, and (c) Dundee.

Low Emission Zones (LEZs) were formally introduced in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow on 31st May 2022, with grace periods beginning at this point.

Enforcement in Glasgow began on 1 June 2023 (with an additional year for residents within the zone). Enforcement in Dundee will begin on 30 th May 2024 and in Aberdeen and Edinburgh on 1 June 2024.

Transport Scotland continues to work closely with local authorities and DVLA to ensure consistency in the approach to LEZ enforcement.

Transport Scotland is confident that these measures will lead to a reduction of harmful emissions in our city centres.

Question reference: S6W-27240

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20438 by Fiona Hyslop on 29 August 2023, whether it will provide a progress update on the National Speed Management Review.

The National Speed Management Review is due to be completed in the coming weeks and we will then consider the proposed outcomes.

The review process will thereafter include a stakeholder and public consultation to consider their views on whether any changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures should be introduced as part of our speed management plan. The stakeholder and public consultations will take place in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-27239

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23523 by Angela Constance on 11 December 2023, whether it will be publishing an evaluation report on Police Scotland’s pilot of the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) Programme in Dundee.

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