Question reference: S6W-16130
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 March 2023
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 April 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that local authorities are properly resourced to provide waste management services and address littering.
Answer
Local authorities remain responsible for and are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of waste and recycling services and measures to address littering on the basis of local needs and priorities.
The Scottish Government has provided an additional £793 million to local government in 2023-24, which is a real terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent, however, it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities.
£36 million of public money is spent every year removing litter from the Scottish environment. We are supporting local authorities to prepare for the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, which will mean that local authorities will have less waste to handle, as well as reducing litter and associated clean-up costs, which is good for residents and council budgets.
We are also making one of the biggest investments in a generation to modernise recycling in Scotland through the £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund. Over £53 million has now been awarded to 17 local authorities to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland.
We will be publishing a new National Litter & Flytipping Strategy this year. This will set how we plan to work with partners to develop more effective litter prevention and enforcement measures.