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.

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Question reference: S6W-41634

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what international best practice it examined in drawing up the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Several international circular economy strategies and approaches, in Europe and elsewhere, were considered during the development of the draft Circular Economy Strategy. This included, for example, international evidence such as the European Circular Economy Stakeholder platform to assist with the identification of priority sectors.

In June 2023, Zero Waste Scotland published an insights paper to support the Circular Economy Bill process which provided an overview and analysis of existing circular economy legislation internationally, including where duties had been placed on governments to publish circular economy or similar strategies. The paper is available on the Zero Waste Scotland website at

Question reference: S6W-41632

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will define and measure “embedding circularity” in public sector procurement processes, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022: Public Procurement – Taking Account of Climate and Circular Economy Considerations clarifies expectations for public bodies with respect to addressing climate and circular economy considerations in procurement activity. This can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at

In line with the Sustainable Procurement Duty in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (), public bodies should demonstrate in their annual procurement strategies how they will prioritise and take account of climate and circular economy in their procurement activity and report ongoing progress against these commitments in their annual procurement reports.

The analysis of public bodies’ annual procurement reports forms the basis of the Scottish Ministers’ Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland. 80% of those who provided an annual procurement report in financial year 2022 to 2023 provided evidence of addressing environmental wellbeing and climate change through their public procurement activities. The Report can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at

Question reference: S6W-41636

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how apprenticeships and vocational qualifications will be updated to include circular skills, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is integrating sustainability and green skills, such as circularity, into apprenticeships in Scotland to ensure the system remains flexible and relevant as we transition to net zero.

There is strong emphasis on the delivery of apprenticeships in the sectors that are most vital to Scotland’s economy and society. These include those that support the transition to net zero, and are most likely to result in high quality, long-term employment and meaningful career pathways for participants.

Our apprenticeship programme aims to contribute to supporting net zero emissions by 2045 and Skills Development Scotland has committed to influence the skills system to be responsive to the climate emergency and help embed sustainability into learning provision.

Question reference: S6W-41640

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether its plans to align with EU textiles policy, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, includes support for adopting similar restrictions on the export of textile waste.

The Scottish Government supports the principle of alignment with the EU where it is meaningful to do so and contributes towards maintaining and advancing environmental standards.

This includes developing a producer responsibility approach to textiles and measures to address the disposal of unsold consumer goods, which could include textiles. International waste export legislation is currently a reserved matter for the UK Government; however, the Scottish Government will continue to engage with the UK Government on waste export legislation to seek EU alignment where appropriate.

As set out in the draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, we are committed to improving the management of post-consumer textiles.

On 17 June 2025 a Scottish Government consultation closed on whether to make kerbside collection of textiles by local authorities a mandatory service. This consultation fulfilled a commitment in the Circular Economy & Waste Route map. Independent analysis of responses to the consultation is now being undertaken and a report will be published in due course which will also inform the co-design work on the Household Recycling Code of Practice.

Question reference: S6W-41639

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the potential impact to charity and second-hand shops of introducing a kerbside textiles collection service, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

The Scottish Government recently held a consultation on whether local councils should be required to collect textiles at the kerbside. This was part of a commitment in the Circular Economy & Waste Route Map.

The consultation closed on 17 June 2025 and received 60 responses. Independent analysts are now reviewing the feedback, and a report will be published soon. The findings will also inform the co-design work on the Household Recycling Code of Practice.

The report will include analysis of feedback provided about the potential effects of household collection on charity shops, as well as reuse and resale organisations.

Question reference: S6W-41631

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be new and dedicated funding provided to support the (a) actions of the proposed Zero Waste Scotland Business Information Hub and (b) activity of enterprise agencies, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Funding for these activities is included within this year’s budgets; future year budgets are to be confirmed. The Zero Waste Scotland Business Information Hub is designed to be an online self-service tool, building business knowledge of circular economy opportunities and benefits and arming businesses with a suite of tools so they can independently take steps to adopt more circular practices.

We have provided over £320 million to our enterprise agencies in 2025-26 to support their work with businesses and communities, which includes support for circular businesses.

Question reference: S6O-05163

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the new Scottish Aggregates Tax, due to be introduced in April 2026, will contribute to creating a circular economy.

Question reference: S6O-05131

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is reviewing the effectiveness of firework control zones.

Question reference: S6O-05096

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the change of use of agricultural land classified as grade 3 or above, including for infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S6W-41155

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Whilst there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastic in the environment, we are committed to reducing plastic pollution and tackling its contribution to litter through measures as outlined in response to PQ S6W-41153 on 27 October 2025.

Littering of any kind, including plastic items, is a criminal offence in Scotland. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the legislation which is designed to deter littering and support cleaner, greener communities across Scotland.

We continue to monitor developments and advice from the World Health Organisation on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution and the potential health impacts.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.