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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: S6W-18831

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken since 2019 to ensure that NHS staff and other health professionals and care providers are informed of Frank’s Law, and whether it will provide details of the budget that has been assigned for this purpose in each year.

In the lead up to the introduction of "Frank's Law" in 2019 there were a number of discussions between Scottish Government officials and stakeholders which covered all aspects of the legislation. At the time of its introduction the Scottish Government issued advice in the form of a Questions and Answers brief which can be found at:

Free personal and nursing care: questions and answers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In terms of funding, it was first distributed in the 2019-20 Local Government settlement and then baselined in 2019 it included £29.5 million is to support expansion of Free Personal and Nursing Care for under 65s. With effect from 1 April 2021 the £29.5 million funding was merged into the overall local government finance settlement block grant and as such individual local authority allocations are no longer separately identifiable.

Question reference: S6W-18919

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15222 by Lorna Slater on 6 March 2023, when it plans to update the guidance to local authorities, and whether it plans for Deposit Return Scheme recycling data to be attributed either to the local authority where a scheme article is returned, or where a recycling facility is located.

Question reference: S6W-18498

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17578 by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023, whether it is aware that, on 24 March 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform wrote to Circularity Scotland stating that “the detailed schedule for you to collect scheme packaging from return point operators and pay them the deposit and handling fee has still to be agreed”, and that “we would consider a failure to provide a schedule (or at least to make such agreements) by 1 October 2021 as a material change in circumstances requiring notification to the Scottish Ministers”; whether any such notification was received by the specified date, and, if so, whether it will provide a copy of that notification.

The letter and anticipated schedule to which the member refers was in the context of a scheme launch date of July 2022. Following an independent Gateway Review in June 2021, the Scottish Government confirmed that it would conduct a review of that go live date, with input from Circularity Scotland, industry and independent advice.

As a result of that review, the Scottish Parliament voted to move the launch date of DRS from July 2022 to August 2023, accounting for the impacts of EU exit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Circularity Scotland has since published information on returns collections as part of their Blueprint for Return Point Operators and Hospitality Providers . You may wish to review section 9, starting on page 9 which sets out that Return Point Operators (RPOs) will provide details to support collection schedules as part of the DRS registration process. Page 28 provides a sample collection frequency and Circularity Scotland specify that collection frequencies and/or schedules will be agreed following the registration process. Please note that said schedules would be a contractual matter between Circularity Scotland and individual RPOs to manage and that they are not obligated to provide copies of these to the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-18921

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much glass recyclate from kerbside collections has been (a) used for aggregate and (b) recycled into high-value forms, in each of the last five years.

This data is not held by the Scottish Government. Local authority kerbside collections of glass are mixed with glass from various other sources like recycling centres and commercial collections for reprocessing. This is then aggregated through transfer stations, sold to various brokers and split between reprocessing plants. At each stage there will be process losses which lead to glass going to aggregate rather than remelt. It is therefore not possible to trace the origin or eventual destination of recycled glass specifically from kerbside collections.

Question reference: S6O-02423

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether its target for a one third reduction in food waste by 2025 will be met.

Question reference: S6W-18096

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications with no capital expenditure elements were successful in the first round of funding from the Circular Textiles Fund broken down by funding awarded.

Question reference: S6W-18155

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct an analysis of how successful the ban on single-use plastics has been since it was introduced in 2022.

The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 came into force in June 2022 as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to move to a more circular economy and tackle the environmental impact of the most problematic single-use plastic products.

Over seven hundred million of these products were estimated to be used in Scotland every year before the Regulations came into force, including three hundred million single-use plastic straws and over two hundred and fifty million pieces of single-use plastic cutlery.

Now that the regulations have been in place for almost a year, we will evaluate progress and this will inform our approach to continuing to support businesses to comply with requirements.

Question reference: S6W-18094

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate air monitors are installed at schools in each local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or fine particulate air monitors are installed at schools in each local authority area.

The Scottish Government has allocated significant funding of £13.8 million to local authorities in relation to improving ventilation in schools.

In January, it was confirmed by local authorities that all circa 50,000 learning, teaching and play spaces across Scotland have been equipped with a CO2 monitor.

Question reference: S6W-18154

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce its proposed Circular Economy Bill in the Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-18153

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government (a) when and (b) how it anticipates carbon emissions from the burning of plastic in incinerators will reduce, based on the policy interventions in the second report of the independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland.