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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-41632

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will define and measure “embedding circularity” in public sector procurement processes, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41638

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what specific data the Circular Jobs Tracker, which is discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, will collect; whether this will be made publicly available, and how frequently it will be updated.

Question reference: S6W-41637

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland will ensure that lifelong learning and reskilling opportunities will be made accessible to workers in industries transitioning to circular models.

Question reference: S6W-41634

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what international best practice it examined in drawing up the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05096

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the change of use of agricultural land classified as grade 3 or above, including for infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S6W-41154

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the economic costs of dealing with the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have advised there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastics in the environment. Consequently, there is currently no defined economic cost.

As outlined in response to the answer to question S6W-41153 on 27 October 2025, we continue to closely monitor the developments and advice from WHO on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution.

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.

Question reference: S6W-41153

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

We recognise there could be public concerns relating to the potential health impacts of plastic pollution. We continue to closely monitor the developments and advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution. However, we have currently not commissioned any research on this topic.

We are committed to reducing plastic pollution in general and have introduced the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, which bans certain problematic single-use plastic items.

Question reference: S6W-41152

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the impact of microplastics in disposable cups.

There has been no specific research on microplastics in single use cups, but wider research on the subject of microplastics was considered as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. This concluded that reducing the numbers of disposable cups being used and littered the environmental impacts of microplastic pollution would be reduced. This and other impact assessments supported the development of our single use cups policy.

Question reference: S6W-41155

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Whilst there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastic in the environment, we are committed to reducing plastic pollution and tackling its contribution to litter through measures as outlined in response to PQ S6W-41153 on 27 October 2025.

Littering of any kind, including plastic items, is a criminal offence in Scotland. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the legislation which is designed to deter littering and support cleaner, greener communities across Scotland.

We continue to monitor developments and advice from the World Health Organisation on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution and the potential health impacts.

Question reference: S6W-40741

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of whether there is a link between the prevalence of illicit trade, recent restrictions on products such as single use vapes and the level resources available to Trading Standards in Scotland and, if so, what the outcomes were.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the complex relationship between illicit trade and the introduction of regulatory measures such as the ban on single use vapes. While comprehensive data on the scale of illicit activity remains limited, this issue was considered during the development of the Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and the public consultation process.

In recognition of the challenges that may arise from such restrictions, the Scottish Government has worked closely with the UK Government and devolved administrations to ensure alignment on regulatory approaches across the UK.

Trading Standards play a critical role in tackling illicit trade and ensuring compliance with new regulations. The Scottish Government has provided an additional £300k to local authorities to support implementation of the ban on single use vapes, including costs associated with storage and appropriate disposal of seized vapes. We have also provided powers to enable Trading Standards officers to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £800 to those in breach of the regulations.

The Scottish Government work closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), who manage the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme (ETSEP), which is a key component in the Scottish Government’s Tobacco and Vaping Framework. The SG have provided £46k in 2025-26 to support a national coordinator post and specific enforcement projects, which vary year on year.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Trading Standards are adequately resourced and supported to respond effectively to the challenges posed by illicit markets. Ongoing engagement with enforcement bodies and local authorities will inform future assessments and policy development in this area.