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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-02245

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its biodiversity targets.

The Scottish Government is committed to action to protect biodiversity and to the effective monitoring of progress towards this goal. We are working to meet the commitments set out within the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, 2004 - 2020, and are aligned to the international Aichi biodiversity targets as set out in the Strategic Plan for biodiversity 2011-2020.

The final report against the Aichi targets published in 2021 showed that Scotland achieved 9 out of the 20 targets and another 11 are progressing. This compares favourably to the global picture, where the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reports that good progress as being made on only 4 of the targets, and with the UK as a whole, which met only 5 targets. The CBD reports that there is no country in the world that has fully met the Aichi Biodiversity targets.

The 2020 Statement of Intent on Biodiversity included a commitment to protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030 And assess whether we could go further given that we have already achieved 37% protection of Scotland’s marine environment. We also recently added a new single high level indicator to the National Performance Framework which measures trends in marine and terrestrial biodiversity in Scotland.

Looking forward, we will publish a new biodiversity strategy in October 2022. This will set out how we will deliver our overall ambition of preventing any further extinctions of wildlife and halting declines by 2030, and making significant progress in restoring Scotland’s natural environment by 2045. This will lay the foundation for a new A Natural Environment Bill which will include legislation for new nature recovery targets.

Question reference: S6W-02173

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the current energy from waste efficiency rating is of each incineration plant in Scotland, and how this compares with the efficiency rating stated at the planning/approval stage for each plant.

The following table shows reported efficiencies of each incineration plant for 2020. Installations are required to meet a 20% electrical efficiency from date of commissioning as set out in the Thermal Treatment of Waste Guidelines 2014 (TTWG 2014).

	Plant Information	Expected start-up efficiency at permitting	2020 Reported Performance
Millerhill Recycling & Energy Recovery Centre	Heat export potential but currently operating as electricity export only	22.6%	24.5%
Levenseat Energy from Waste Plant	Heat export potential but currently operating as electricity export only	22.9%	Commissioning late 2020 therefore data not yet due with SEPA.
Lerwick Energy Recovery Plant	Operate as heat export only	Not Available*	Latest available data is overall efficiency 64.9% 2010 (Missing data due to cyber-attack)
Baldovie Energy from Waste Centre	Heat export potential but currently operating as electricity export only	Not Available*	12.52%**
Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility	Heat export potential but currently operating as electricity export only	Not Available*	21.11%
Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre	Heat export potential but currently operating as electricity export only	22.9%	20.6% (This includes the onsite AD plant)

* Planning and permitting took place prior to first publication of the Thermal Treatment of Waste Guidance in 2009.

** This plant was designed, commissioned and built, before the Thermal Treatment of Waste Guidance was first published in 2009.

Question reference: S6W-02115

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 September 2021

As at 6 September, against a total of 1051 applications there have been 481 unsuccessful applications[1], representing 46% of total applications.

Within the unsuccessful applications there were 158 social rented sector tenants and 323 private rented sector tenants.

We do not hold a breakdown of unsuccessful applications by local authority although this information is gathered at initial application level in the following table.

Number of applications per local authority
Local authority	Total	Social	PRS
#N/A	13	2	11
Aberdeen City	52	18	34
Aberdeenshire	28	14	14
Angus	10	1	9
Argyll & Bute	6	4	2
Clackmannanshire	11	8	3
Dumfries & Galloway	19	6	13
Dundee City	57	19	38
East Ayrshire	46	22	24
East Dunbartonshire	5	2	3
East Lothian	12	3	9
East Renfrewshire	5	1	4
Edinburgh, City of	132	23	109
Falkirk	28	8	20
Fife	54	17	37
Glasgow City	179	74	105
Highland	23	4	19
Inverclyde	16	7	9
Midlothian	10	3	7
Moray	13	5	8
North Ayrshire	31	11	20
North Ayshire	1	1	0
North Lanarkshire	52	22	30
Orkney Islands	2	2	0
Perth & Kinross	43	21	22
Renfrewshire	34	5	29
Scottish Borders	10	2	8
Shetland Islands	2	0	2
South Ayrshire	30	7	23
South Lanarkshire	51	17	34
Stirling	10	5	5
West Dunbartonshire	27	12	15
West Lothian	39	22	17
Total	1051	368	683

[1] Includes 19 applications rejected because of non-eligibility for funding.

As at 3 August, against a total of 1009 applications there have been 458 unsuccessful applications, representing 45% of total applications.

Within the unsuccessful applications there were 153 social rented sector tenants and 305 private rented sector tenants.

We do not hold a breakdown of unsuccessful applications by local authority although this information is gathered at initial application level and is as follows:

Number of applications per local authority
Local authority	Total	Social	PRS
#N/A	10	2	8
Aberdeen City	52	18	34
Aberdeenshire	27	14	13
Angus	10	1	9
Argyll & Bute	5	3	2
Clackmannanshire	11	8	3
Dumfries & Galloway	18	5	13
Dundee City	53	18	35
East Ayrshire	44	21	23
East Dunbartonshire	3	1	2
East Lothian	12	3	9
East Renfrewshire	5	1	4
Edinburgh, City of	127	23	104
Falkirk	27	8	19
Fife	52	15	37
Glasgow City	171	71	100
Highland	23	4	19
Inverclyde	15	7	8
Midlothian	10	3	7
Moray	13	5	8
North Ayrshire	31	11	20
North Ayshire	1	1	0
North Lanarkshire	46	17	29
Orkney Islands	2	2	0
Perth & Kinross	42	21	21
Renfrewshire	32	4	28
Scottish Borders	10	2	8
Shetland Islands	2	0	2
South Ayrshire	30	7	23
South Lanarkshire	51	17	34
Stirling	10	5	5
West Dunbartonshire	25	12	13
West Lothian	39	22	17
Total	1009	352	657

Question reference: S6W-02126

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to Historic Environment Scotland to enable historic sites to be made safe for reopening to members of the public, and what the timescales are for the reopening of these sites.

Historic Environment Scotland has responded to address the precautionary closures within the funding already available. The Scottish Government provided Historic Environment Scotland with £72.9m in 2020-21 and are providing £55.9m to support Historic Environment Scotland in 2021-22. We are also providing this financial year a further £20m in covid consequentials, taking our total support in 2021-22 to £75.9m, an increase of £3m from 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to discuss the closures with Historic Environment Scotland, whose programme of prioritised inspections will inform a timescale for reopening.

Question reference: S6W-02114

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review unsuccessful Tenant Hardship Loan Fund applications for suitability to apply to the grant fund announced in June 2021 to support tenants struggling to pay their rent as a direct result of COVID-19.

No. The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is administered separately on behalf of the Scottish Government. Where an applicant is unsuccessful they are provided with information on where they can get further advice and on alternative support available. The loan and the grant are not interchangeable.

The tenant grant funding cannot be paid in advance of need and is based on a needs assessment by the local authority taking into account all the circumstances of an individual.

Question reference: S6W-02112

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Tenant Hardship Loan Fund debtors will have a right to convert their loan to a grant.

No, there is no right to convert a loan to a grant. The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is an interest free loan paid to remove the risk of eviction. Debtors have demonstrated their ability to make loan repayments during the application process.

The tenant grant funding cannot be paid in advance of need and is based on a needs assessment by the local authority taking into account all the circumstances of an individual.

Question reference: S6W-02188

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the planned review of the home report, due in 2021, whether the review will include a consultation and, if so, by what date that consultation will open.

Question reference: S6W-02160

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Zero Waste Scotland had an impact target of Scotland achieving a household waste recycling rate of at least 60% by 2020, which was agreed by the Scottish Government in 2016.

Zero Waste Scotland does not have an impact target for achieving the 2020 household waste recycling target.

The 60% household waste recycling target is a Scotland wide target. Making progress towards all of our ambitious waste and recycling targets requires a collaborative effort between a range of stakeholders, including Scottish Government, local government, SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland, as well as businesses and the wider public across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-02161

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on the implementation of an electronic system for recording waste data, as outlined in its publication, Making Things Last: A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, which stated that “We will move towards making the use of the electronic 'edoc' system mandatory for waste in Scotland and will consider inclusion of transfrontier shipment of waste (particularly in view of the EU Circular Economy package aspirations for electronic data exchange) and hazardous waste.”

We are taking forward this commitment as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, as set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

We are working with the UK Government, other devolved governments, and agencies such as SEPA, to develop and implement an electronic waste tracking system. This will provide a step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data to support decision-making and underpin the key building blocks required to drive delivery on existing waste and recycling targets and move towards a circular economy.

A joint consultation was originally planned for summer, but is now being planned for this autumn on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory digital waste tracking should be implemented, including the types of waste that should be included.

Question reference: S6W-02175

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many current incineration operators have indicated that they have set aside funds to offset the costs of decommissioning their sites should they go out of business.