Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-36037

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the composition is of the single-use coffee cups and lunch boxes used in the Parliament, and where the location is of the facility for composting such single-use packaging.

Takeaway meal containers (lunch boxes) and single use coffee cups in the Garden Level Restaurant are fully compostable, made from a fibrous by product of sugar cane. Single use coffee cups at the coffee bar are made from paper, paperboard and recyclable materials and are designed for industrial composting.

Compostable items are placed in the food waste bins located throughout the building and are taken by a commercial food waste recycling company to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill just outside Edinburgh.

19 tonnes of food and compostable packaging were taken to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill in 2024/25. This represents 26% of our operational waste stream.

For the period of April 2024-March 2025, 36% of hot beverages sold were served in single use cups. And for the same period, 31% of sales made in the Garden Level Restaurant were in single use lunch boxes.

In partnership with our catering supplier we are implementing many measures to reduce the consumption of single use disposable items such as;

continuation of the disposable hot drink cup charge to encourage colleagues to use their reuseable cups.
Removal of disposable cutlery and placing collection caddies at each tea point to return metal cutlery back to the kitchen for cleaning
Introduction of reusable take away food containers and various campaigns to encourage uptake.
Actively exploring further options to support reusables and educating users on environmental benefits
Holding a stock of reuseable hot drink cups for customers on a return basis

More information about our Sustainability Plan including waste minimisation is available on our website Sustainability | Scottish Parliament Website.

Question reference: S6W-36761

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the Single Building Assessment (SBA) to facilitate the delivery of the Cladding Remediation Programme defines the term (a) development, (b) building and (c) stairs, and whether this definition is applied consistently across all cladding-related policies and reporting.

The Single Building Assessment (SBA) is a comprehensive evaluation designed to assess fire safety risks associated with external wall systems in Scottish buildings. However, specific definitions for the terms (a) development, (b) building, and (c) stairs within the context of the SBA are not explicitly detailed in the definitions of the Housing Cladding Remediation (Scotland) Act 2025.

Development: The term development is not specifically defined within the SBA. Generally, in Scottish planning context, development refers to the carrying out of building, engineering, mining, or other operations in, on, over, or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land.

Building: While the SBA specification does not provide a specific definition of building, it refers to in-scope buildings as those eligible for assessment under the programme.

The Cladding Remediation Programme aims to address risks in domestic multi-residential buildings that meet the following criteria:

have at least one flat
Have cladding
are 11 meters or more in height
were either
- constructed between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022
- developed between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022

Stairs: The term stairs is not explicitly defined in the SBA-related documents. In general construction terminology, stairs refer to a set of steps leading from one floor of a building to another.

Question reference: S6W-36297

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason a licence application to translocate beavers to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin in Glen Affric has yet to be determined.

We fully recognise the significant efforts that have been made by Forestry Land Scotland, Trees for Life, and partners to consult with local communities and stakeholders as part of the process to apply to NatureScot for a licence to translocate beavers to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin in Glen Affric.

It is clear, however, that there remains considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives. In light of this and given we are now in the beaver kit dependency period when young beavers are reliant on their parents and trapping and translocation is not appropriate, NatureScot plan to undertake further engagement over the summer with those most likely to be affected before any licensing decision is made.

Question reference: S6W-36945

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what reasons have been given for the need to kill mountain hares in licence applications since 2012, and how many of these licensed activities took place on (a) public and (b) private land in each year.

Question reference: S6W-36036

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, other than the Single-use Plastic Products (Scotland) Regulations 2021, what action it (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to reduce the use of plastic packaging and single-use plastics, and what specific policies or initiatives are or will be aimed at (i) reducing waste and (ii) promoting sustainable alternatives.

The Scottish Government is undertaking a wide range of actions to tackle single use plastics and plastic packaging beyond the Environmental Protection (Single Use Plastics Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging is being implemented this year on a four nations basis. It will move the full cost of dealing with packaging waste from households away from local taxpayers and councils to the producers, applying the ‘polluter-pays principle. Packaging EPR will also incentivise businesses to reduce excess packaging, to design and use packaging that is easily recyclable, and encourage use of reusable and refillable packaging.

We are also working closely with industry and the other UK governments to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for single use PET plastic and metal drinks containers in October 2027. The introduction of the scheme will help to reduce litter, increase recycling, and will make a contribution to a more circular economy.

Scotland was the first part of the UK to introduce legislation to prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes. From litter on our streets, to the risk of fires in waste facilities, single-use vapes are an increasing issue, with up to 26 million disposable vapes consumed and thrown away in Scotland in 2023. The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations will ban these environmentally harmful products in Scotland from 1st June 2025.

The Scottish Government has also consulted on a proposal to introduce a minimum charge on single-use drinks cups to tackle the significant environmental impact of these items. Proposals were developed with input from a diverse advisory group, including business, retail, equalities groups, consumer groups, and local authorities.

Finally, we are working across the four nations to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with legislation forthcoming.

Question reference: S6W-36039

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what tools, including enforcement mechanisms, it has to ensure that the ban on single-use plastics, which commenced on 1 June 2022 under the Single-use Plastic Products (Scotland) Regulations 2021, is fully implemented; whether it has carried out a review of the effectiveness of the ban and if, (a) so, whether it will publish the findings and (b) not, what plans it has to do so.

Enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics is undertaken by local authority enforcement officers. Enforcement officers are authorised by local authorities to exercise powers in the Regulations in order to determine whether an offence is being committed. This includes the power to enter premises to investigate. The full powers are contained in Regulation 15.

Enforcement officers report cases to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, who are responsible for prosecuting the offences in the Regulations.

The Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 also make provision for a fixed penalty notice procedure in relation to offences under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Research into the implementation of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 is nearing completion and will be published in the near future.

Question reference: S6W-36308

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly decided to protect Priority Marine Features through the use of Marine Conservation Orders, as opposed to including such conditions within fishing licences.

Question reference: S6W-36303

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it appears to have dropped commitments from its Future Fisheries Management strategy 12-point action plan to (a) apply a cap on fishing activity in inshore waters (up to three nautical miles) and (b) review and revise the management of unused "latent" scallop fishing entitlements, in light of these actions not being included in the recent delivery plan update, which was published on 20 March 2025.

Question reference: S6W-36302

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many scallop dredgers have been indicated by vessel monitoring system (VMS) or remote electronic monitoring (REM) data to have fished inside nature conservation marine protected areas in Scotland in each year since 2014.

It is not possible to provide all incidences where either REM or VMS indicated that a scallop vessel fished inside a nature conservation area since 2014. Our retention policy for camera data is one year and for position data as long as we feel necessary as per our privacy notice REM privacy statement found at: Remote Electronic Monitoring ("REM") systems on fishing vessels (2024): Privacy Notice - Fishing - remote electronic monitoring: privacy notice - gov.scot. We also do not have access to VMS data going back to 2014.

We can provide the number of detected cases submitted for enforcement action where VMS and/or REM was the initial method of detection since 2020.

2020 – 1

2021 – 2

2022 – 2

2023 – 2 (note these were for incursion into the Mull Crab box, designated to protect crab stocks)

2024 – 1

Question reference: S6W-36304

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its fisheries management strategy delivery plan update 2025, how it anticipates that creating separate fisheries management and conservation (FMAC) groups for the fishing industry and other stakeholders will deliver on the principle of co-management.

Following the FMAC review last year it is apparent that the structure and membership of the group was making co-management ineffective and the FMAC group has therefore been split. The new structure will still allow industry, environmental and other groups to contribute to policy development and delivery, and the different groups can engage together on an ad-hoc basis as needed to exchange views. This will still enable co-management to take place and will help different groups to engage productively, even though not all voices will be in the same room.

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