Tuesday 22 September 2020 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Constitution and External Affairs Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of its latest review into border health measures, and whether there will be any changes to the regulations. (S5W-31965) Humza Yousaf: We have continued to review the health measures closely over the last three weeks and have assessed that there remains a requirement for them to remain in place to reduce the risk of transmission and safeguard health. There will be no changes to the regulations at this stage, but we will continue to review both the country and sector exemptions on an ongoing basis and make any future adjustments as necessary. Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £5.3 million it has spent on COVID-19-related campaigns across all media channels has been allocated to expenditure on (a) Facebook, (b) Instagram, (c) Newsquest, (d) local newspapers, (e) national newspapers, (f) (i) online, (ii) television and (iii) radio advertising and (g) other media sources. (S5W-31700) Kate Forbes: Please note that the £5.3 million figure has subsequently been corrected to £5.8 million. ________________________________________________________ a - Facebook Note - Facebook & Instagram spend is recorded together rather than by site b - £246,543 Instagram Spend in The Herald, Herald on Sunday, Glasgow Times, The National & National on Sunday. Please note c - additional spend in Newsquest has been made through Newsquest Mediaforce packages but we do not know the breakdown of costs to individual publications, for that reason we have not included those costs. £40,174 d - Local / Regional Newspapers £780,377 e - National Newspapers £259,071 Note - this includes the spend on Facebook and f1 - Online Instagram £1,199,301 f2 - £1,963,246 Television f3 - Radio £747,703 Spend in Broadcast Media (e.g STV Player, Sky Adsmart) £662,034 g - Others £4,384 Spend in Magazines Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys using the ministerial car pool there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by minister. (S5W-31737) Kate Forbes: The following table details the total number of journeys conducted by the Government Car Service since 2007. Year Total journeys 2007-08 See note (1) 2008-09 9,417 2009-10 9,437 2010-11 8,159 2011-12 9,201 2012-13 10,389 2013-14 9,543 2014-15 10,039 2015-16 10,619 2016-17 9,527 2017-18 10,050 2018-19 10,755 2019-20 8,604 Notes 1. No records held . A full breakdown of each Ministers journeys are proactively published on the Scottish Government website. https:--www.webarchive.org.uk-wayback-archive-20160109001309-http:-- www.gov.scot-About-People-14944-travel-MinisterialCarJourneys- CarJourneys07-08 https:--www.gov.scot-collections-ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts- Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the cost has been of journeys using the ministerial car pool in each year since 2007. (S5W-31738) Kate Forbes: The following table details the total cost of the Government Car Service since 2007. Year Total cost (1) 2007-08 £962,142 2008-09 £980,985 2009-10 £995,658 2010-11 £974,678 2011-12 £1,074,714 2012-13 £1,204,864 2013-14 £1,156,208 2014-15 £1,184,851 2015-16 £1,145,521 2016-17 £1,092,375 2017-18 £1,177,398 2018-19 £1,323,131 2019-20 £1,344.978 Notes 1. Total costs include staff salaries, employer’s contributions, fuel, vehicle maintenance, private hire and travel and subsistence . Economy Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the Citizen Assembly's report that is required under the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, and whether it will do so in time for the Parliament to scrutinise this response before the end of the current session. (S5W-31592) Roseanna Cunningham: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019 requires Scotland’s Climate Assembly to lay its report before the Scottish Parliament by 28 February 2021. The Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020 amended this requirement, stating if the Assembly is unable to lay the report by this date for a reason relating to coronavirus, they must lay the report as soon as reasonably practicable after that date. We will carefully consider all recommendations made in Assembly’s final report. The Act requires the Scottish Government to publish a statement within six months of receiving a copy of the report, setting out how we intend to respond to the recommendations made in it. Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the estimated cost per carcass of killing red and roe deer calves that are too small for game dealers to collect. (S5W-31602) Roseanna Cunningham: Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) does not have an estimated cost per carcass relating specifically to the culling of juvenile deer, however the average sale weights of red and roe deer juvenile carcasses from across Scotland’s national forests and land in FY 2019-20 were 24.8 kg and 9.3 kg respectively. Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what (a) research was undertaken and (b) assessments were carried out in (i) local and (ii) national forests prior to the policy decision to kill lactating female red and roe deer, some with dependent calves, from 1 September 2020. (S5W-31603) Roseanna Cunningham: Wild deer numbers in Scotland have increased in recent years and are now thought to be nearing 1 million as noted in the Independent Deer Working Group’s report in December 2019. The Scottish Government has not changed its policy regarding the authorisation for the culling of female deer during the closed season since the introduction of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011. Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether consideration was given to targeting the culling of female deer in September 2020 in the most affected areas rather than adopting a nationwide blanket approach. (S5W-31604) Roseanna Cunningham: Deer are present across the whole of Scotland’s national forests and land, and, being mobile animals, can damage a wide range of tree crops and habitats. Deer impacts can have a significant and negative effect on Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS), core objectives including climate change mitigation measures and biodiversity targets as well as timber production and operating costs. In order to deliver proactive and effective deer management on Scotland’s national forests and land, FLS annually applies to NatureScot for authorisation to shoot deer out of season across the whole landholding. Out of season shooting is however evidence-led, prioritised and targeted at the most vulnerable areas of woodland or open habitat currently at risk of, or subject to, deer damage impacts. Evidence and relevant data to inform the targeting of culling of deer is sourced from the FLS Wildlife Management System database and formal damage assessment of crops carried out by independent surveyors. Additional localised culling may also be necessary for human safety or deer welfare reasons. Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what consideration was given to starting the red deer culls closer to the start of the legal open season for 2020 when calves are stronger and do not rely on their mothers. (S5W-31606) Roseanna Cunningham: Since 2013, land managers have been able to able to operate under a General Authorisation when controlling red deer outwith the open season to protect against damage. In order to operate under this General Authorisation land managers must meet certain criteria and conditions. This approach was reviewed in 2016. During the period of highest welfare, between 1 April and 31 August, the culling of female deer can only be carried out under specific authorisation from NatureScot and only in exceptional circumstances. In developing this approach, NatureScot commissioned research into birth and weaning dates across wild deer in Scotland to strike a balance between safeguarding deer welfare and protecting Scotland’s land and forestry against ecological damage. Elaine Smith (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting business owners whose business practice does not meet the criteria set for (a) government and (b) local authority business support. (S5W-31621) Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government understands the importance of supporting businesses at this difficult time. A range of business support products and services is in place to provide advice, guidance and other assistance to those businesses which may not have qualified for one of the Covid-19 specific schemes. Support services and programmes for businesses are available via FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on the use of lead shot over wetlands. (S5W-31622) Roseanna Cunningham: The Environmental Protection (Restrictions on Use of Lead Shot) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 prohibit the use of lead shot with a shot gun on or over wetlands in Scotland, in order to prevent the ingestion of lead shot by wildfowl and other wading birds. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30927 by Fergus Ewing on 24 August 2020, whether it will provide a breakdown of (a) how much each farmer was fined and (b) each farmer's geographical location.