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-12925

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on battery recycling collection points in each local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-12876

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how projects funded through the Recycling Improvement Fund have delivered (a) increased frequency of recycling collections, (b) extended food and garden waste collections, (c) increased recycling capacity for problematic materials and (d) increased local authority compliance with the Household Recycling Charter.

Proposed impacts of individual projects are captured at both assessment stage and subsequent monitoring stages of each project.

The Recycling Improvement Fund has funded the following projects under these headings:

(a) increased frequency of recycling collections

Council	Summary of impact on (a)	Total project grant (£m)
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	Expansion of collection services to rural areas.	£0.8m
East Lothian	Charter aligned single weekly pass service for source separated kerbside recycling and food waste.	£2.7m
Perth & Kinross	Expansion of recycling service.	£2.6m

(b) extended food and garden waste collections

Council	Summary of impact on (b)	Total project grant (£m)
Aberdeenshire	Service change to align with Charter and increased food waste collection.	£3.4m
East Lothian	Charter aligned single weekly pass service for source separated kerbside recycling and food waste.	£2.7m
Highland	Introduction of an additional, chargeable garden waste service.	£0.2m
Midlothian	Expansion of food waste recycling service to a further 1,800 rural properties.	£0.1m

Council

Summary of impact on (c)

Total project grant (£m)

Fife

TOMRA plastic film sorting

equipment, allowing collection of film from all households

in Fife.

£0.4m

North Ayrshire

Mattress cleaner to allow mattress

reuse/recycling.

£0.07m

(d) increased local authority compliance with the Household Recycling Charter.

Council	Summary of impact on (d)	Total project grant (£m)
Aberdeenshire	Service change to align with Charter and increased food waste collection.	£3.4m
East Lothian	Charter aligned single weekly pass service for source separated kerbside recycling and food waste.	£2.7m
West Lothian	Introduction of a kerbside service change to move to twin stream recycling to comply with the Code of Practice.	£4.04m
South Ayrshire	On-the-go recycling in local community parks, that align with charter.	£0.09m

Question reference: S6W-12884

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many retailers are currently using Deposit Return Scheme return points on a voluntary basis.

The Scottish Government does not keep a record of the number of retailers currently operating return points on a voluntary basis.

We understand that a number of businesses are trialling or have already trialled the use of reverse vending machines in their premises in Scotland and welcome their commitment to ensuring their readiness for the launch of the UK’s first Deposit Return Scheme on 16 August 2023.

Question reference: S6F-01661

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reported warnings that the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme will be "ruinous for consumers and businesses".

Question reference: S6W-12879

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland have claimed unemployment-related benefits in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age group and (b) local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-12878

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many companies are currently accredited to carry out home insulation work in each local authority area in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-12883

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many homes in Scotland have been insulated with support from government funding in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-12767

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it can learn from the reported use of an expert working group during the introduction of the UK Aggregates Levy, and whether it will consider establishing a similar working group during the introduction of a Scottish Aggregates Levy.

The Scotland Act 2016 empowers the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a devolved tax to replace the UK Aggregates Levy. This is an environmental tax that aims to reduce extraction of primary – fresh or new – aggregate, mainly crushed rock, gravel and sand, used as bulk fill in construction.

The Scottish Government is progressing work to develop a devolved replacement for the UK levy. Consistent with the Scottish Approach to Taxation, set out in Scotland’s Framework for Tax, we will continue to consult and engage with stakeholders via a range of channels and fora to help inform this work.

Question reference: S6W-12882

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS Scotland patients in each NHS board have been referred for surgical treatment in the rest of the UK in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-12732

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Circularity Scotland Ltd meets the requirements and could be designated as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, in accordance with section 5 of the Act.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd, is a privately owned company. This arrangement is consistent with the polluter pays principle and is the same approach used by many similar schemes internationally.

The Scottish Government has not given any consideration to its designation as a Scottish public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.