Scottish Parliament Qs & As

Ken Thomson

Members of the Scottish Parliament (SP) ask Questions to elicit data and/or statements from Answers by Scottish Government (SG) Ministers. Some recent SP Q&As relevant to NEMT interests are given below (often severely edited). At the time of their answers, Ministers may have occupied positions different from their current posts.

Liz Smith S6O-02921: What recent engagement has the SG had with Scottish Mountain Rescue teams regarding mountain safety this winter?

Maree Todd (in the Chamber): The SG continues to engage regularly with the chair of Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) and the spokesman for the three independent teams at Glencoe, Lochaber and Cairngorm on a range of issues affecting mountain rescue teams across Scotland.

Donald Cameron S6W-20868: What is the SG currently doing to promote safety in (a) hillwalking and (b) mountain hiking?

Maree Todd: In addition to SG´s annual grant of £312,000 to SMR, sport scotland invests around £2,308,050 of SG and National Lottery funding to help ensure the safety of mountain users. This includes £1,635,000 for Glenmore Lodge, £379,000 for SAIS and £42,000 for the MWIS. Sportscotland also provides £252,050 to Mountaineering Scotland, which helps to support work on mountain safety. Mountaineering Scotland offer training and information to mountain users to promote safety, self-reliance and the enjoyment of our mountain environment. They also chair a Mountain Safety Group.

Carol Mochan S6W-21109: What value does the SG place on winter sports?

Maree Todd: The snowsports sector is worth an estimated £30 million per year and provides over 600 jobs. sportscotland is providing Snowsports Scotland with £424,350 this year, an increase of 2.6% from the previous year. ... The SG provided a £7 million ski centre fund during the pandemic to safeguard Scotland´s commercially run snow sport centres, including four of its five mountain resorts, and four artificial snow sport centres. In addition, thirteen ice rinks across Scotland also received £2 million financial support.

Rachael Hamilton S6W-21169: How many deer there are in Scotland?

Lorna Slater: The independent Deer Working Group (DWG) found that deer populations in Scotland have grown significantly since 1990, when the estimate was approximately 512,000 wild deer. The DWG estimated the current deer population to be in excess of one million animals.

Rhoda Grant S6W-25648 and S6W-25649: Are the numbers of wild deer a significant inhibitor to greater biodiversity? What is the impact of deer numbers on the natural regeneration of trees and scrub? What is ... the optimal number of deer per hectare that would achieve sustained natural regeneration of tree cover?

Lorna Slater: Deer, like other herbivores, can have a devastating impact on the environment through overgrazing, trampling vulnerable habitats and preventing young trees from growing. Almost 50% of woodland area is in unfavourable condition as a result of grazing. ... A 2013 study found that 15-20% of young trees had been damaged by deer. In 2014, over 30% of 311,000 hectares had browsing impacts too high for the woodlands to survive by natural regeneration. The DWG recommended an open-hill target of 10 red deer per km². However, deer populations in some areas may be over 20 deer per km² and for natural regeneration, 10 deer per km² is still too high, and may require densities as low as 2-3 deer per km².

Rhoda Grant S6W-21691: Will the full £250 million of funding that the SG has committed for peatland restoration remain available for that purpose until 2030?

Gillian Martin: The SG remains committed to achieving its target to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030. Annual spending plans are based on delivery forecasts and budget requirements from our delivery partners. The pipeline of work changes from year to year and so, therefore, does our allocated budget.

Rhoda Grant S6W-21690: Does the SG remain committed to its policy of offering grant support for peatland restoration until 2030?

Gillian Martin: Earlier this year the First Minister´s policy prospectus `New Leadership - A Fresh Start´ reaffirmed this commitment with an interim target -promising to deliver up to 110,000 hectares of restored peatland by 2026. As well as our commitment of £250 million of funding over ten years, we are working to attract increased private investment in peatland restoration.

Sarah Boyack S6W-22335: How much peatland has been excavated, according to data within onshore wind applications consented to by the Energy Consents Unit, within the last 10 years?

Neil Gray: 95 wind applications have been consented in the last ten years. Effects on peatland (where relevant) are assessed on a case by case basis in accordance with current methodology and available tools, including the carbon calculator. The SG does not collate peatland data, and we are therefore unable to provide analysis of how much peatland has been excavated and restored and how much carbon has been emitted from those consented developments (if built).

Brian Whittle S6W-22633: What assessment has the SG made of the impact of any seeding of non-native tree species from commercial plantations on peatland restoration measures and associated carbon sequestration and peatland restoration targets?

Mairi Gougeon: NatureScot is currently undertaking an initial national GIS analysis to estimate the potential scale and distribution of regeneration onto peatland from commercial plantations. This analysis could contribute to an assessment of the potential impact on carbon sequestration and peatland restoration targets. Other assessments have been made on a site by site basis, specifically in Caithness and Sutherland.

Maurice Golden S6W-23288: How much private investment has the SG secured for nature restoration efforts in each of the past five years, broken down by restoration activity?

Gillian Martin: Our forthcoming Natural Capital Markets Framework will strengthen our existing Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital. The following table shows private investment in nature restoration efforts in each of the past five years in woodland and peatland activity:

Year	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Woodland	£3,130,056	£6,866,424	£5,748,912	£2,898,360	£9,549,648
Peatland	£19,018	£0	£238,171	£268,346	£1,659,425

For woodland, these figures are estimates (which are significantly affected by the carbon price) based on the number of carbon credits sold through the Woodland Carbon Code (48% of all credits). Projects will have retained the rest, either to sell in future years or to use themselves.

For peatland, private investment is calculated as the total project costs minus monies funded via the sale of Pending Issuance Units or Peatland Carbon Units. Not included in the data is the profit landowners expect to make, as sometimes the private investment amount exceeds the project costs when public funding in factored in.

Maurice Golden S6W-23287: Has the SG identified any barriers that could prevent it from meeting its peatland restoration targets, and, if so, will it provide further details of these?

Gillian Martin: The SG has identified multiple barriers that are preventing it from achieving its peatland restoration targets. These include a lack of skilled designers, advisers and agents to support landowners and managers; operating restrictions during bird breeding seasons and inclement weather; the absence until 2020 of a multi-year funding package; and a lack of private sector investment at sufficient scale. Significant efforts are underway to address these issues, including more skilled and experienced contractors, and developing provisions whereby operations can be carried out safely during bird breeding seasons etc. The growth of Peatland Action since 2020 has increased confidence in multi-year funding, and has allowed the industry to focus on developing the infrastructure for peatland restoration, particularly training and developing applicable skills.

Liam McArthur S6W-25379: What (a) area and (b) proportion of publicly owned land is currently allocated for rewilding?

Lorna Slater: The SG and NatureScot do not use the term rewilding, since it encompasses a wide range of activities and can be interpreted in many ways. The information requested is anyway not held centrally since individual public bodies are responsible for the management of their holdings. The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 places a statutory duty on all public bodies to further the conservation of biodiversity when exercising their functions.

Ariane Burgess S6W-24713: Will the SG work with the UK Government to pause, review and improve the Shared Rural Network programme through consulting with rural communities across the Highlands to (a) establish their digital connectivity needs, (b) avoid construction of new access tracks unless no other method is possible, (c) avoid construction in the Highlands' designated and other environmentally sensitive wild areas and (d) ensure that mobile operators share mast infrastructure, rather than building adjacent masts?

Richard Lochhead: The SG has no formal role in the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, which is a joint venture between the UK Government and the UK's four main mobile network operators. Equally, telecommunications policy is currently reserved to the UK Government. SG officials continue to engage with the UK Government and the mobile network operators on SRN delivery and to encourage them to prioritise community and stakeholder engagement. The SG recently completed the Scottish 4G Infill programme, and lessons learned have been shared with the SRN team, focusing in particular on the importance of thorough local stakeholder engagement at the mast site selection and acquisition stage. We will continue to facilitate discussions between UK Government and key stakeholders and to push for as much transparency as possible on the locations of masts and the rationale for why these have been chosen.

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