- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government (a) when and (b) how it proposes to report to the Parliament on its expectations for actions, the performance achieved on any actions and by whom such actions should be taken to address the climate emergency declared by the First Minister.
Answer
There is a global climate emergency, and we are acting accordingly. Our current Climate Change Plan, which was published in February 2018, sets out on the ground delivery measures being taken to reduce emissions for each sector of Scotland’s economy for every year to 2032 and we have committed to updating the Plan within 6 months of the Bill receiving Royal Assent.
We are now looking across our whole range of responsibilities to make sure we continue with the policies that are working and increase action where necessary. Over the summer we will engage the public, communities, businesses, industry, and the public sector in a discussion about what more can be done.
The Climate Change Bill proposes that statutory sector by sector monitoring reports are laid before the Scottish Parliament on an annual basis. These reports will provide an assessment of progress on implementing the policies within the Climate Change Plan.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will invite the boards of (a) public sector bodies and (b) local authorities to consider what they can do to make a positive and progressively larger contribution to address the climate emergency declared by the First Minister and to report accordingly.
Answer
There is a global climate emergency and the IPCC’s Special Report made clear that everyone, including public bodies need to act now if our targets are to be met. Public bodies have a key role in delivering on the increased ambition through their climate change duties. The Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Reporting mechanism provides a basis for tracking public sector action on climate change and driving continuous improvement. A review of the reporting duty is already underway in conjunction with public sector representatives. We are now looking across our whole range of responsibilities to make sure we continue with the policies that are working and increase action where necessary. Over the summer we will engage the public, communities, businesses, industry, and the public sector in a discussion about what more can be done.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require its departments and agencies to become exemplars in taking measures to make a positive and progressively larger contribution to addressing the climate emergency declared by the First Minister and to report accordingly.
Answer
There is a global climate emergency and the IPCC’s Special Report made clear that everyone, including public bodies need to act now if our targets are to be met. Public bodies have a key role in delivering on the increased ambition through their climate change duties. The Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Reporting mechanism provides a basis for tracking public sector action on climate change and driving continuous improvement. A review of the reporting duty is already underway in conjunction with public sector representatives. We are now looking across our whole range of responsibilities to make sure we continue with the policies that are working and increase action where necessary. Over the summer we will engage the public, communities, businesses, industry, and the public sector in a discussion about what more can be done.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether new policies, strategies, objectives and targets under development by (a) agencies accountable to it and (b) civil servants will be assessed prior to approval and implementation to ensure that they will make a positive and progressively larger contribution to addressing the climate emergency declared by the First Minister.
Answer
The development of new policies are subject, where appropriate, to a range of impact assessments such as strategic environmental assessment, equalities impact assessment, business and regulatory impact assessment, children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment and socio-economic assessment. The process of developing new polices will take into consideration which impact assessments are appropriate e.g. the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 ensures that those preparing qualifying Scottish plans and programmes that are likely to have significant environmental effects, including those effects relating to climatic factors, are assessed and opportunities to avoid, reduce or mitigate adverse effects are identified and considered.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 28 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the level of recycling of household waste in each local authority area.
Answer
In April, the Scottish Government published a Food Waste Reduction Action Plan which sets out how Scotland can work towards achieving the target and reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill. The 33% reduction target includes both avoidable and unavoidable food waste, and covers all food waste generated in Scotland. This will support the introduction of the ban on biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill in 2021.
Other actions to support local authorities include Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) working with them to increase recycling and reduce customer confusion by encouraging adoption of the Scottish Household Recycling Charter and its associated code of practice, which is about moving towards more consistent services across the whole country. There are now 30 out of 32 councils signed up to the Charter and ZWS will continue to work with Councils on options appraisals and funding service changes.
Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) is working with local authorities to increase recycling and reduce customer confusion by encouraging adoption of the Scottish Household Recycling Charter and its associated code of practice, which is about moving towards more consistent services across the whole country. There are now 30 out of 32 councils signed up to the Charter and ZWS will continue to work with Councils on options appraisals and funding service changes.
We will also continue to engage with local authorities through ZWS to provide assistance and expertise in helping Scottish councils achieve our ambitious waste management and recycling targets.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 28 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support local authorities to reduce the levels of household waste being sent to landfill.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill. Scotland has already met EU targets for reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill and the recent Waste Markets Study demonstrates that significant progress has been made towards meeting the ban on biodegradable municipal waste (including food waste) by 2021. More than half of Scottish local authorities have long term or interim solutions in place.
In addition, a Food Waste Reduction Action Plan was published in April which sets out how Scotland can work towards achieving the target and reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill to support the ban. Household food waste alone accounts for 2,240,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and this represents 2.9% of Scotland’s carbon footprint. Food waste sent to landfill is particularly problematic as it releases methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide.
ZWS are also delivering the Recycle for Scotland campaign to promote recycling with councils and other partners.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Land Commission's recent call for a "fundamental rethink" on the approach to land development.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2019
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to be in a position to analyse and communicate the results of the Missing Salmon Project, which is tagging smolts in the Moray Firth.
Answer
The Missing Salmon Project is led by The Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST) and information is available at https://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/themissingsalmonproject/. A Marine Scotland Science representative is a member of the Project Steering Committee. However, it is the responsibility of the AST (and its contractors) to analyse and communicate the results. Marine Scotland awaits the outcome of this interesting project with interest.
- Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what advice Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has received regarding the legality of the 2019 general licences for birds, in the light of the acceptance by Natural England that a similar clause in its licences, which put the onus on operators of the licence to ensure that they were satisfied non-lethal methods of control, was unlawful, and how it would respond if a similar legal challenge was lodged against SNH.
Answer
Scottish Natural Heritage is carefully reviewing developments on licensing in England. If it is concluded that General Licences in Scotland require revision, SNH has made public its intention to work collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure there is an effective and proportionate approach in Scotland that complies fully with the law. In view of the legal challenge in England, SNH has decided to bring forward its consultation on General Licences planned for 2020 to this year.
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
