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 1620 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-18003

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what increase in waste reprocessing capacity has been funded through the Recycling Improvement Fund, broken down by (a) project, (b) capacity increase and (c) funding provided.

RIF funding awards are predominantly still at planning or early implementation stages and there has therefore not yet been an evaluation of the impact of the projects in terms of waste reprocessing capacity (or increased collection for recycling). Information is currently available relating to two projects.

Project	Capacity increase (tonnes, estimated)	Funding provided
Fife Council TOMRA plastic film sorting equipment, allowing collection of film from all households in Fife.	2,733	£0.4M
North Ayrshire Council. Mattress cleaning equipment to allow for mattress reuse/recycling.	220	£0.07M

The most current official waste data from SEPA is 2021, before RIF funding awards began and provides a baseline for future impact evaluation.

Question reference: S6W-18002

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish details of its consideration of how to include biogenic carbon in future research publications.

In 2021, Scottish Government published the Strategy for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research, which has formed the basis for the Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 and includes consideration of biogenic carbon. Scottish Government has not undertaken specific consideration of how to include biogenic carbon in future research publications and has no plans to publish on the matter, given its consideration within the Strategic Research Programme.

Question reference: S6W-17992

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of targeting support to encourage people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to access university programmes related to careers in roles vital to the critical minerals sector.

The Scottish Government has no role in directing individuals to a particular university programme. Universities are responsible for their own admissions processes and it is for them to decide how they wish to allocate places to each course.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, and will continue to work with SFC and the sector to maintain our commitment to the widening access agenda.

SFC are committed to investing in education that is accessible to learners from all backgrounds and monitors each institutions progress on widening access as part of their role.

Scotland's universities are amongst the best in the world. We want every child, no matter their background, to have an equal chance of entering and succeeding in higher education. By 2030, we want 20% of students entering university to be from Scotland's 20% most deprived backgrounds. With 16.5% of full-time first degree entrants coming from the 20% most deprived areas in 2021-22, we achieved the interim Commission on Widening Access target to have 16% by 2021.

Question reference: S6W-18000

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16903 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, for which of the schemes listed the minister has (a) visited the location and (b) met with the relevant chief executive.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme has been based on successful schemes across Europe. The Minister has been thoroughly briefed by Zero Waste Scotland on relevant research findings throughout the policy’s development.

Research was undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland, who designed the scheme, and met with a range of international scheme administrators and operators, including those from Norway, Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Iceland, Denmark and Finland.

This research and briefing has meant that the minister has been fully appraised of the main characteristics of schemes across Europe and has not therefore personally travelled to the countries listed or personally met the chief executives from these schemes.

Question reference: S6W-17991

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement ministers have had with the higher education sector regarding the role that geoscience can play in tackling climate change.

As an example of recent Ministerial engagement with the higher education sector on climate change, on 8 February the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport met the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre at Heriot-Watt University to discuss how research can support a just industrial decarbonisation which realises socioeconomic opportunities and wider environmental benefits.

Question reference: S6W-18005

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17388 by Lorna Slater on 10 May 2023, how many producers are liable for advance payments, and what the sum total is of advance payments liable from producers until the 1 March 2024 launch date.

Question reference: S6W-17917

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16926 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, whether waste packaging collected and recycled through the Deposit Return Scheme will be able to be identified in Scotland's waste statistics.

Question reference: S6W-17919

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16932 by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023, what measurable impact those efforts have had in increasing textiles reuse.

Question reference: S6W-17918

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17316 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, whether it will provide a list of the sites referred to along with the stage of construction and/or operational progress achieved for each.

Question reference: S6O-02309

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the third sector.