- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much money was raised from fixed penalty notices for littering and fly tipping between 2014 and 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on how much money has been raised from fixed penalties issued for the offence of littering or flytipping.
This detailed information can be obtained by contacting individual issuing authorities.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has met and (b) plans to meet with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regarding its consultation on a National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.
Answer
During the consultation process for the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, the Scottish Government engaged a wide range of organisations and has been carefully considering consultation responses, of which there were 978. The majority of proposals received a high level of support, one of which is to conduct an evidence review of barriers to enforcement of litter and flytipping offences. The Scottish Government has commenced this research and has ensured that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is engaged in this research project. The research findings will be published later this year.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding is allocated to preventing fly tipping and littering for the financial year 2022-23.
Answer
The Scottish Government is taking forward a range of measures that contribute to tackling litter and flytipping as part of our wider efforts to tackle Scotland’s throwaway culture. In 2022-23 this included ongoing investment in local authority recycling infrastructure and banning some of the most problematic single-use plastic products.
Within this wider context, the Scottish Government allocated approximately £265,000 to prevent fly tipping and littering for the financial year 2022-23. This includes:
| | £k |
National Litter and Fly tipping Strategy consultation analysis and publication | 51 |
On-going litter and flytipping prevention work, funded via Zero Waste Scotland core grant | 131 |
Staff costs | 83 |
TOTAL | 265 |
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for its Deposit Return Scheme, when it and its agencies were informed of Circularity Scotland's financial position, including the company's reported need to send staff home.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2023
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what projections it has made on recycling rates for (a) glass and (b) plastic following the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18462 on 15 June 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the growing needs for dentistry and GP services in Lothian, in light of data showing that, for example, the population of East Lothian has increased by 21.5% compared to Scotland’s average of 8.2% between 2001 and 2021.
Answer
Health and Social Care Partnerships are responsible for planning for the health and social care needs of their residents.
Funding for general medical services is based on population level data about registered patients and practice shares are continuously adjusted to reflect the movement of patients.
Scottish Government continually reviews in conjunction with all Boards, including NHS Lothian, areas for inclusion within the Scottish Dental Access Initiative. This provides funding to dentists who wish to establish a new practice, or extend an existing practice in areas where access to dental services is challenging.
Scottish Government will continue to liaise with NHS Lothian and local Health and Social Care Partnerships to understand all their service-related infrastructure plans and priorities.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there was a six-month delay between the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs agreeing a narrow exclusion to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 for single-use plastics regulations, in March 2022, and the Scottish Government engaging in cross-administration discussions to secure a separate Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) exclusion under the Resources and Waste Common Framework, as detailed in its publication, Timeline and process for securing an Internal Market Act exclusion for DRS, published on 13 February 2023.
Answer
As set out in the Scottish Government publication of 28 February 2023 on “Timeline and process for securing an Internal Market Act exclusion for DRS”, in July 2021 the Scottish Government proposed a broad exclusion from the Internal Market Act under the Resources and Waste Common Framework which would have covered future policy such as DRS. The UK Government’s decision to agree only a narrow exclusion for single-use plastics resulted in the need for Scottish Government to again follow the agreed and published process in preparing a separate proposal for an exclusion for DRS. UK Government advised that cross-administration discussion should follow official level agreement on the interim Resources and Waste Common Framework – which was agreed in September 2022 - and clarity on UK Government Ministers following the 2022 Conservative Party leadership contest. Cross-administration discussions under the Common Framework began as soon as practicable thereafter.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any reporting arrangements in place for Circularity Scotland, and, if so, what any such arrangements are.
Answer
Circularity Scotland are a private limited company established to deliver DRS on behalf of drinks producers. They do not report to the Scottish Government. However officials and I have met regularly with Circularity Scotland as part of preparations for the DRS scheme
The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 require a scheme administrator to report to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), on behalf of producers, as required, (a) the number of scheme articles first made available by that producer to be marketed, offered for sale or sold for the purposes of its retail sale in Scotland, (b) whether the scheme packaging in which those scheme articles were contained or sold was made wholly or mainly from PET plastic, glass, steel or aluminium, (c) the number of items of scheme packaging returned to the producer by wholesalers and retailers, (d) the number of items of scheme packaging collected by the producer from each return point operator, retailer providing a takeback service and hospitality retailer. A scheme administrator must also provide any information requested by the Scottish Ministers or SEPA for the purposes of monitoring compliance with the requirements in regulations 10(1) and 11(1) that relate to producer obligations.
Circularity Scotland also play a key role in the system wide governance framework and are represented in both the Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group and the Executive Oversight Group.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many countries in total the Minister for Green
Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity has travelled to in order to research
deposit return schemes, and whether it will provide a list of any such
countries.
Answer
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.
As stated in question S6W 18000 on 31 May 2023, 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.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17872 by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023, in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme, whether there is any cross over between the roles of the Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group and Deposit Return Scheme Implementation Advisory Group.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18425 on 14 June 2023. I confirm there was no crossover with the Implementation Assurance Group and Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group. The Implementation Assurance Group was disbanded in 2020 with the Ministerial Strategy Assurance Group forming in May 2023.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
