Chamber and committees

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-37574

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide support, similar to that available for heat pump installation, to help households meet the cost of connecting to a heat network.

Heat networks have an important role to play in meeting the objectives set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Our Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme continues to support homeowners with an interest-free loan of up to £7,500 towards connecting to a district heating scheme.

For those in or at risk of fuel poverty, support to connect to a district heating scheme is also available through our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland.

Households wanting to take action should contact HES who can help those interested to navigate the support available. HES can be contacted on 0808 808 2282 or via their online portal https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/

Question reference: S6W-37571

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 21 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will launch the consultation on the necessary secondary legislation needed for the implementation of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to enable distributed heat provision to benefit from the same statutory undertaker rights as any other licenced utility in Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the imperative to put heat network developers on a similar statutory footing as other utility providers, and our Heat Network (Scotland) Act 2021 enables this.

My officials have been developing proposals for the requisite regulations and guidance to implement this part of the Act. However, we have not yet proceeded to consultation as we consider the implications of the UK Government’s developing plans for heat network regulation, as well as ensuring that the licensing authority can perform its functions in practice.

As such, my officials have been examining potential opportunities to amend proposals – and possibly the Act – to ensure we deliver a regulatory system which is proportionate, and which interoperates with related UK Government legislation to ensure the right networks are built where they can have most benefit and are operated in the right way.

Notwithstanding this, the intention remains to implement the special rights and powers which our Act foresees for Scottish heat network developers. My officials continue to carry out stakeholder engagement on proposals to implement this part of the Act.

Question reference: S6F-04092

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-36687

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which incinerators, including those with accepted planning permission, are able to destroy persistent organic pollutants, in alignment with the SEPA guidance on the management of waste upholstered domestic seating.

As Scotland’s independent environmental regulator, SEPA determine the permitting of facilities and what waste streams they are allowed to accept. There are 8 municipal incinerators in operation in Scotland with a further 3 in construction. SEPA have advised that evidence shows the temperatures reached in municipal incinerators is sufficient to destroy the specific persistent organic pollutants (brominated flame retardants) which are found in elevated levels in waste upholstered domestic seating.

Question reference: S6W-36688

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which incinerators accept waste upholstered domestic seating for disposal.

Question reference: S6F-04026

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-36518

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider increasing portion sizes in free school meals, in light of reported comments from young carers that the portions are too small, particularly for children who may be missing other meals at home.

Local authorities must ensure that school meals, free or paid for, meet the nutrient standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The nutrient standards are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and designed to ensure that children and young people are provided with meals that contain an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients to support their healthy growth and development. Operational decisions such as what food and drink to include on menus and what portion sizes should be provided are a matter for local authorities. The statutory Healthy Eating in Schools guidance contains practical advice on portion sizes recognising that needs are likely to be different across the school age ranges and notes that local policies should be in place to address that.

Question reference: S6O-04464

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the deposit return scheme, including whether it will be appointing a deposit management organisation on schedule in April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-35342

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) mitigate any costs and (b) provide other support to local authorities in Scotland in relation to the inclusion of incineration as part of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2028.

The proposed ETS expansion is part of a whole-system approach set out in the final Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, making incineration a less attractive waste treatment method while limiting the production of plastic upstream and increasing its removal from the waste stream prior to incineration.

Supporting policies include the ban on certain Single Use Plastic Items, implementation of an Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme this year and the commitment to require kerbside collection of plastic film and flexible packaging.

The Scottish Government is aware that the best way to mitigate ETS costs is to produce less waste and we will continue to work to put policies in place that reduce fossil-based waste in the residual waste stream.

That is why the primary focus of the Scottish Government continues to be on transitioning to a circular economy and preventing waste from occurring in the first place.

Question reference: S6W-35341

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost to (a) local authorities and (b) businesses in Scotland of including incineration as part of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2028.

The UK ETS is jointly governed by the UK ETS Authority (‘the Authority'), comprising Scottish, UK and Welsh Governments and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

The Authority is currently in the process of analysing the results from a recent consultation and developing policy positions. Following this period of analysis, an Authority response will be published in due course, which will provide further details on the outcome of the consultation and policy positions for all Scottish partners.

We are aware that Scottish local authorities (LAs) are in a different position to the rest of the UK, given the introduction of the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste, due to come into force on 31 December 2025. This differing position for Scottish partners is foremost in our consideration of related policies in this area.

In order to reflect this, a provisional analysis set out in the analytical annex of the recent consultation noted that if all household waste that currently goes to landfill in Scotland was to be redirected to incineration because of the landfill ban, total costs for all Scottish LAs could increase to £40million.

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to working with COSLA on future ETS cost projections. We continue to work closely with Local Authorities, through our SG-LG group, on circular economy related issues.