- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Deposit Return Scheme, when Circularity Scotland will publish designs for the return counting process for online takeback.
Answer
As DRS Scheme Administrator, it is for Circularity Scotland Ltd to determine when to publish such information.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support training in traditional textile manufacturing skills, in light of its commitment to extended producer responsibility.
Answer
In December 2020 the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland published the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) setting out the actions required to ensure Scotland’s workforce are equipped with the skills to support the transition to net zero.
The Scottish Government and its skills agencies will continue to work with the manufacturing sector, including traditional textile manufacturing, to ensure that employers and workers have the skills needed to address the challenges and benefit from the opportunities of a low carbon and circular economy.
In June 2022 we launched our £2m Circular Textiles Fund to improve the circularity of textiles in Scotland through innovation, and implementation, to help tackle the environmental impacts that textiles have.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what strategic plan it has for Scotland’s wool industry.
Answer
Scotland’s wool industry is covered by the British Wool Board which is a Public Non-Financial Corporation who have regional offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is a cross-border public authority with ministers in all 4 administrations having limited sponsorship functions. British Wool is a farmers’ co-operative who presently represent the interests of around 40,000 producer members, they collect, grade and sell wool on behalf of registered producers aiming to maximise income for producers from the sale of wool.
In addition its established shearers training programme is successfully tackling skills shortages in the UK and reducing reliance on shearers from abroad.
A review of the British Wool Board is presently being undertaken.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of consumption emissions associated with imported textiles, and what plans it has to reduce such emissions.
Answer
Scotland is one of the few countries to publish annual reports setting out consumption-based emissions, including those associated with imported textiles, in the “Scotland’s Carbon Footprint” official statistics release [available at: ]. We recognise the inherently global nature of climate change and the necessity of co-ordinated international action and our transition to a circular economy.
Embodied emissions in imported textiles peaked in 2007 at an estimated 2.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO 2 e). In the latest year (2018) these emissions were estimated to have fallen to a level of 1.0 MtCO 2 e. Textile production in the Middle-East and China were the largest contributors.
In June 2022 we launched our £2m Circular Textiles Fund, to support businesses working in this sector to address issues associated with textile waste and throwaway culture.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 13 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ban plastic use in textiles.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no current plans to ban plastic use in textiles. Microfibre shedding from textiles containing plastic is a complex problem which adds to microplastic pollution in our environment. Fibres are shed at every stage of the product’s lifespan, from manufacture, through use, laundering and end of life.
Considerable research is being undertaken by industry to better understand this problem. We are working with the academic community and others to better understand the effect of these fibres on the environment and consider feasible solutions for reducing their loss during the product’s lifespan.
We take an evidence-based approach on all forms of microplastic pollution, with a ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products already in place, and significant ongoing work with the plastics industry to reduce plastic pellet (nurdle) pollution, the second biggest contributor to global microplastic pollution.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the challenges facing wool farmers and what targeted support it plans to provide to them.
Answer
We are aware that the wool prices have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with limited sheep farmers now reliant on their wool cheque.
We have committed to support active farming and food production with direct payments - which provides certainty to the industry - and we delivered 2021 Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) payments to schedule with over £564 million issued to date. In addition, this year, to support crofters and farmers with the cost of living, the Scottish Government has brought forward the advance payment start date to as early in the year as is practicably possible. The intention is to support businesses, as far as possible, with immediate cash flow challenges.
In addition the 2022 Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS) opened for applications on 1 September. The scheme provides additional support to help maintain sheep flocks in farm businesses reliant on poorer quality rough grazing found in Scotland’s Basic Payment Region three. These payments help farmers and crofters maintain the social and environmental benefits that sheep flocks bring to these areas.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many waste water treatment works (a) there are and (b) monitoring exercises (i) were
carried out during the Chemical Investigation Programme 2 (CIP2) and (ii) are planned for CIP3, in each case broken down
by local authority.
Answer
Scottish Water operates 1,857 wastewater treatment works (WWTW) across Scotland; this figure includes septic tanks.
Scottish Water works closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to develop the Chemical Investigation Programmes (CIP). Phase 1 of the CIP2 Scotland project involved sampling at 20 low dilution WWTWs monthly over a period of 2 years. Phase 2 of the CIP2 Scotland project involved sampling at a further 24 WWTWs monthly over a 6 month period for substances identified of further concern. 4 septic tanks were sampled as part of CIP2 Scotland. CIP3 Scotland is sampling at 5 WWTWs for substances of emerging concern monthly over a year starting in June 2022. CIP3 Scotland will be sampling at 5 coastal WWTWs monthly for 6 months.
WWTWs were chosen due to their low dilution as these WWTWs pose the greatest risk of not achieving the Environmental Quality Standard where the substance is controlled by existing legislation or the Predicted Non Effect Concentration (PNEC) where there are no controls in legislation. Dilution varies according to the population served by a WWTW and the volume of water in the receiving watercourse.
The following table gives a breakdown of the WWTWs sampled in each Local Authority Area in Scotland.
Local Authority | Number of WWTWs in each Local Authority | WWTWs sampled in CIP2 Scotland phase 1 | WWTWs sampled in CIP2 Scotland phase 2 | Septic tanks sampled in CIP2 Scotland | Sampled in CIP3 Scotland for emerging substances | Sampled in CIP3 Scotland for emerging substances |
Aberdeen City | 7 | | | | | |
Aberdeenshire | 190 | | 9 | | | |
Angus | 61 | 1 | 1 | | | |
Argyll and Bute | 149 | | 1 | | | |
City of Edinburgh | 4 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
Clackmannanshire | 6 | | | | | |
Dumfries and Galloway | 182 | | | | | |
Dundee City | 2 | | | | | |
East Ayrshire | 30 | | | | | |
East Dunbartonshire | 2 | | | | | |
East Lothian | 28 | 1 | | 1 | | |
East Renfrewshire | 3 | | | | | |
Falkirk | 11 | | | | | |
Fife | 61 | 2 | 2 | | | 1 |
Glasgow City | 3 | 2 | | | 2 | 1 |
Highland | 300 | | 1 | 1 | | |
Inverclyde | 1 | | | | | |
Midlothian | 13 | 2 | | | | |
Moray | 63 | | 1 | | | |
Na H-Eileanan an Iar | 171 | | | | | |
North Ayrshire | 33 | | | | | |
North Lanarkshire | 15 | 3 | 3 | | 1 | |
Orkney Islands | 38 | | | | | |
Perth and Kinross | 91 | 1 | | | | |
Renfrewshire | 3 | | | | | |
Scottish Borders | 98 | | 1 | | | |
Shetland Islands | 81 | | | | | |
South Ayrshire | 22 | | | | | |
South Lanarkshire | 125 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | |
Stirling | 38 | 1 | | | | |
West Dunbartonshire | 4 | | | | | 2 |
West Lothian | 22 | 5 | 2 | | 1 | |
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of wool produced in Scotland is used in (a) Scottish and (b) other UK textile manufacturing.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold any statistical data regarding the proportion of wool produced in Scotland used in Scottish and other UK textile manufacturing.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to streamline funding for textiles projects to avoid any unnecessary duplication between public bodies and agencies.
Answer
Scottish textiles businesses can access a wide range of support through our enterprise agencies, including grants (e.g. Business Innovation and Growth Grants), other funding, advice, help and events.
The Find Business Support webpage, available at , directs businesses to Scotland's public sector support in a single location.
In addition, the £2m Circular Textiles Fund (CTF), administered by Zero Waste Scotland and backed by the Scottish Government was launched on 24 June 2022. This support is designed to help reduce the environmental impact of textiles and throwaway culture, and to support the development of circular supply chains in Scotland. The CTF provides opportunities for public, private and third-sector organisations of all sizes to develop and deliver solutions to reduce the waste and carbon impacts of all textiles.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09483 by Lorna Slater on the 21 July 2022, and in light
of the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport
when giving evidence to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on the Scottish Budget 2022-23 on 1
February 2022, what information it has on whether Zero Waste Scotland has plans
in place to secure private funding once European Structural and Investment Funds
come to an end.
Answer
Zero Waste Scotland strategy is to maximise the impact of investment in the circular economy and to partner across private and public sectors. This aims to leverage funding opportunities, and to increase co-investment and partnership models to support and to continue to deliver value across circular economy initiatives.
ZWS is also undertaking multi-party engagement with Scottish Government and Scottish Business Climate Collaboration (SBCC) which is 50:50 funded by public funds and SBCC and is working with several businesses to develop business cases for circular initiatives that will then be funded and delivered by companies themselves. In addition co-investment models have been developed with Social Investment Scotland to create a Net Zero Transition Fund for third sector organisations.