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-22320

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are available to support demonstrator projects for sustainable fibre production, and how much funding has been granted to such projects in the last five years, broken down by project.

Question reference: S6W-22282

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05058 by Lorna Slater on 21 December 2021, whether it will provide an updated list setting out the level of local authority readiness to comply with the delayed ban on waste to landfill.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on their readiness to comply with the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill in 2025.

We continue to provide procurement support to help local authorities that need it to secure contracts in preparation for the forthcoming ban. As part of this support, Zero Waste Scotland is working with local authorities to provide technical, legal and procurement advice on their contracts.

Through this support, we understand that 22 local authorities have contracts in place for 2025 that comply with the landfill ban, these are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, Dundee City, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, and South Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6W-22283

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of plastic collected in Scotland for recycling has been recycled in (a) Scotland and (b) outwith Scotland in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-22318

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much flax fibre is currently produced annually in Scotland, and what assessment has been made of any potential benefits of increased production.

Question reference: S6W-22319

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any recent engagement with industry representatives or stakeholders that are seeking to expand flax production in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22317

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the natively grown sustainable fibres that it has identified for support in any of its economic or environmental strategies or plans.

The Scottish Government does not collect data specific to the production of flax or other sustainable fibre crops. Currently, flax is not a major crop in Scotland, however we recognise there are potential benefits to flax production, and we are keen to speak with those interested in growing this and other sustainable fibre crops.

The Scottish Government does not offer support specific to the production of flax or other sustainable fibres. However, non-crop specific agricultural support is provided to farmers in a variety of ways, including through the Basic Payment Scheme, and we encourage those looking for further information to read more about these measures on our official website at .

We are aware of ongoing research by the Soil Association Scotland, which is running trials to compare several varieties of flax, and also work by the Rowett Institute to explore flax production.

Question reference: S6W-22321

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established a long-term strategy for sustainable fibre production in Scotland, and, if so, what the goals of the strategy are.

Question reference: S6O-02698

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how to improve access to energy efficient housing in rural communities

Question reference: S6W-22041

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of (a) its and (b) each of its agencies' vehicle fleet is comprised of zero-emission vehicles, and what information it has on how this compares with other public bodies.

a) Presently, Scottish Government's overall fleet is comprised of 69% ultra-low and zero emission vehicles. Zero emission vehicles make up 26% of the total Scottish Government fleet.

b) Data held by Transport Scotland on the % of zero emission vehicles in Scottish Government agency fleets at the end of 2022 is summarised in the following table.

Executive Agencies	Zero Emission %
Accountancy in Bankruptcy	No Fleet
Disclosure Scotland	No Fleet
Education Scotland	Data Not held
Forestry and Land Scotland	4%
Scottish Forestry	8%
Scottish Pensions Agency	No Fleet
Scottish Prison Service	2%
Social Security Scotland	50%
Student Awards Agency for Scotland	Data Not held
Transport Scotland	50%

The data available also indicates that at the end of 2022 approximately 12% of Scottish public sector fleet vehicles were zero emission.

Question reference: S6W-21948

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many air quality emissions monitors have been installed on local and trunk roads, broken down by local authority area, since the publication of the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 progress report that committed to "establish a comprehensive network of cutting-edge remote sensing air quality monitors on local and trunk roads in the early 2020s", broken down by local authority area.

Transport Scotland has contracted Hagar Environmental & Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT) to deploy remote sensing equipment on both local and trunk roads in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Remote sensing equipment uses laser spectroscopy to measure the real-world emissions of vehicle exhaust plumes as the vehicles pass underneath.

This equipment has been deployed in the Glasgow City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Aberdeen City Council and Dundee City Council areas.

HEAT have partnered with the ICCT (International Council for Clean Transportation) and Element Energy to deliver this project.