Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 80 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-35340

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) start and (b) end date is for the target in the Zero Waste Scotland’s Corporate Plan to reduce the extraction of raw materials by one third; what data was used to arrive at this target, and for what reason the figure of one third was set.

Zero Waste Scotland's (ZWS) Corporate Plan for 2025-2030 includes present and future targets beyond the life of this Corporate Plan.

The reference to seeking reduction of Scotland's extraction of raw materials by one third is based on a , which stresses the importance of high-income countries reducing their material footprint by bending the resource use curve to achieve economic growth, reduced inequality, improved quality of life and dramatically reduced environmental impacts.

During the lifetime of the current Corporate Plan, Scottish Government will continue to work with ZWS in developing data and policies required to establish a baseline and trajectory for future target setting to measure progress towards a circular economy.

Question reference: S6W-35101

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what conditions it sets on renewable energy supply chains to invest in Scottish content where possible.

Maximising the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from our renewable potential is a key focus for our Green Industrial Strategy, published in September 2024.

We are investing up to £500 million over five years in the offshore wind supply chain, which is expected to leverage additional private investment of £1.5 billion in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the sector. This investment will support thousands of new jobs and maximise economic value to Scotland.

Through the Supply Chain Development Statements process, offshore wind developers have made commitments to invest an average of £1.5bn per project across the 20 ScotWind developments in the Scottish supply chain. These commitments are an integral part of the leasing process and are intended to drive developer engagement with the supply chain from the very outset of project development.

The UK Government’s Clean Industry Bonus will provide extra revenue support to offshore wind developers who choose to invest in cleaner supply chains, and in supply chains in the UK’s most deprived areas. We expect both Scottish offshore wind projects and supply chain to benefit from this new initiative.

Through the Onshore Wind Sector Deal we are continuing to see positive engagement with industry on publishing data on the percentage of local content in the supply chain, which will help to illustrate the economic impact developments for communities and Scotland’s regional and national economies.

Question reference: S6W-35098

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether (a) enterprise and (b) infrastructure funding is currently targeted at low-carbon, green manufacturing, and how it ensures that companies in receipt of such public money are supporting jobs in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the net zero economy. Together with our enterprise agencies, we have invested £75 million in the cutting-edge National Manufacturing Institute Scotland facility, which is actively supporting low-carbon and green manufacturing.

We are also committing £2.9 billion of capital for activities that will positively impact our climate goals and support domestic manufacturing in green sectors, including over £300 million in energy efficiency and clean heat measures and £150 million to anchor our offshore wind supply chain.

Our Enterprise Agencies play a key role in supporting our low-carbon, green manufacturing sector, for example through funding streams and links to Business Energy Scotland and the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Question reference: S6W-35100

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on enabling local authorities or regions to set their own local industrial plans.

Growing the economy is one of the Scottish Government's top priorities, and Scotland's regional economies, and Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs), are key to delivering this. We are committed to building a resilient and equitable economy where all regions can thrive and contribute to national prosperity.

This includes supporting our regions to develop their own regional economic strategies. These are led by the regions themselves, allowing the aims and priorities to specifically respond to regional needs and opportunities. Many REPs now have published and well-established strategies, setting their direction cohesively, and strongly demonstrating their plans for economic growth which enables clearer prioritisation and decision-making when seeking targeted support.

Question reference: S6W-35099

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 27 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide an update to the paper, Decarbonising Scotland’s Industrial Sectors and Sites, published in April 2019.

Question reference: S6F-03803

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03777

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03724

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03696

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6O-04143

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, what progress it has made towards implementing mandatory food waste reporting by larger businesses.