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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 MSPs 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: S4W-03044

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult on the detail of the (a) 2013 and (b) 2016 changes to energy standards in building regulations.

Question reference: S4W-03042

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it gives to the construction industry to predict the cost implications of changes to energy standards in building regulations.

Question reference: S4W-03040

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact that a failure to comply with the recommendation in A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland (The Sullivan Report) regarding the publication of energy standards in building regulations may have on the ability of building firms and others in the construction industry to accurately predict costs for the post-2013 construction of new buildings.

We have considered the recommendation that “future standards be set in advance”. We believe there is greater benefit in the approach currently taken, which signals the high level emissions reduction percentage around 16 months before the standards come into effect. There are similar agendas throughout the UK and it is useful for industry if the different administrations can harmonise on certain technical areas, before detailed measures come into effect.

Question reference: S4W-02775

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 3 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the cumulative impact of proposals for (a) biomass and (b) incineration projects on wood supply.

The Scottish Government recognises the need to encourage the most efficient and effective use of Scotland’s wood resource.

Our preference to see biomass deployed in heat-only or combined heat and power schemes, particularly off gas-grid, and at a scale appropriate to make best use of both the available heat and local supply has been set out in the Draft Electricity Generation Policy Statement 2010, as well as in National Planning Framework 2, Scottish Planning Policy, Section 36 Thermal Guidance, Section 36 Biomass Scoping Opinion guidance and in statements by ministers to parliament.

We are reviewing support for biomass under Renewables Obligation Scotland to ensure that it aligns with this policy, and proposals will be consulted on shortly. The Scottish Government is actively working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to ensure they are aware of concerns over the cumulative impact of biomass proposals.

Forestry Commission Scotland’s annual Woodfuel Demand and Usage report provides industry with regular updates on market trends and analysis to help industry make informed decisions. The Wood Fuel Task Force report set out the potential resource availability and emphasises the limitation on further large-scale biomass plants using domestic material.

We are also engaged with existing timber users to address their concerns over the potential impact of biomass incentives on their businesses and we have set up joint meetings with Scottish and UK Ministers to discuss the impacts of biomass projects with industry stakeholders.

Question reference: S4W-02238

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons Marine Scotland has learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spillage in relation to the fishing industry.

Question reference: S4W-02774

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits have arisen from the selective ban on products for landfill.

Currently only certain materials such as liquid waste, clinical waste and other potentially hazardous substances are banned from landfill, largely on the basis of environmental and health impacts.

The EC Landfill Directive requires Scotland to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill to 1.8 tonnes by 2013 and 1.26 tonnes by 2020 and that Scotland has already achieved its 2013 target.

Notwithstanding this success, the proposed landfill bans within the draft Zero Waste Regulations are aimed at maximising Scotland’s approach to recycling and resource recovery of its waste.

Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan is underpinned by the Waste Framework Directive and the main driver of the directive is the Waste Hierarchy. We are committed to ensuring that these wastes are managed further up the hierarchy and away from the basic disposal method of landfill. The banning of source segregated and separately collected materials from landfill will ensure that they are recycled and as a consequence, Scotland’s dependency on landfill will be significantly reduced.

Question reference: S4W-02773

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a selective ban on products for incineration similar to that introduced for landfill.

The proposed Zero Waste Regulations will ensure that separately collected dry recyclables and food waste are banned from both landfill and incineration. These bans will be universal and apply regardless of the source of the waste.

The draft Regulations also contain a requirement that every effort is made to remove all recyclable material from an unsorted waste stream before the remaining residual element can be incinerated. This effectively means that “black bin bag” waste or waste which has not been collected separately cannot be sent direct to mass incineration without first having been subject to some form of pre-treatment. This provides a second opportunity to remove recyclable materials missed at the source segregation and separate collection stage. This will ensure that Scotland does not simply move from mass landfill to mass incineration.

The intended effect of this restriction is to ensure that only materials which cannot be recycled are available for incineration. This reduction in potential “feedstock” for incineration facilities is unlikely to reduce the number of speculative planning applications in the short-term, but it will ultimately limit the number that are built.

Question reference: S4W-02776

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will address the scale of (a) biomass and (b) incineration projects in its changes to the National Waste Strategy.

The Scottish Government recognises that we have limited biomass resource in Scotland and if we are to meet the target for renewable heat and power, it is vital that we make the most efficient, effective use of that resource. The Scottish Government would prefer to see biomass deployed in heat-only or combined heat and power schemes, off grid-gas use, at a scale appropriate to make best use of both the available heat, and of local supply. In addition, ministers have already outlined that they would review the Renewables Obligation Scotland support in order that it reflects our policy in this area.

The Zero Waste Regulations will ensure that only a limited quantity of material will be available for incineration in Scotland. All inputs will have to be treated and recyclate removed before energy can be reclaimed. These restrictions will limit the economic viability of large plants. In addition SEPA Thermal Guidelines on Energy from Waste, which are a material consideration during the planning process, detail the efficiency requirements of new projects. These stringent efficiency guidelines make the construction large scale plants impractical.

Question reference: S4O-00246

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Stevenson College and Jewel and Esk College.

Question reference: S4W-02246

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first notified of the oil spill from Shell's Gannet Alpha platform and how this notification was given.

Scottish Government officials based at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, who are the Marine Scotland on call Duty Officers, were first notified of the spill via a telephone call from Shell at 1pm on 11 August 2011. As is routinely the case in relation to the hundreds of offshore oil and chemical spills notified each year, a watching brief was maintained at that stage, as the volume and nature of the spill was not clear. Ministers were notified the following day after Shell provided information on the scale and extent of the incident.