- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to each local authority to support the implementation of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24.
Answer
The Scottish Government has made available record funding of £15.1 billion for Local Government in 2025-26. The vast majority of funding allocated to councils is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including meeting the requirements set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (CoPLAR). No additional direct funding has been provided to local councils for the implementation of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. However, we have funded Keep Scotland Beautiful to deliver targeted interventions with councils and communities, and SEPA is working in partnership with councils on flytipping prevention and enforcement.
This approach aims to trial scalable solutions and share good practice across local authorities as the Strategy progresses.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with rural and agricultural stakeholders in the (a) development and (b) delivery of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24 Action Plan, and whether it maintains any ongoing engagement with any such stakeholders.
Answer
The Scottish Government engaged with rural and agricultural stakeholders during both the development of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and the 2023-24 Action Plan. During the 2022 public consultation on the draft Strategy, responses were received from organisations including NFU Scotland and Scottish Land & Estates, highlighting the specific challenges faced by landowners and farmers in addressing flytipping.
The Scottish Government and the Strategy delivery partners (SEPA, ZWS and KSB) continue to engage with relevant stakeholders and networks, including Scottish Land & Estates and the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, who are represented on the Strategy’s Delivery Group.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many fixed penalty notices for (a) littering and (b) fly-tipping have been issued in each year since 2019, and what percentage of these were paid in full.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold centralised annual data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for littering and flytipping, or on payment rates. Responsibility for issuing and managing fixed penalties rests with local authorities and other designated bodies, such as Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.
However, the National Litter & Flytipping Strategy’s Flytipping Baseline Report, published in October 2024, includes data submitted by some local authorities on the number of fixed penalty notices issued in recent years. This forms part of wider efforts under the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy to build a more consistent and accessible national picture.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop and deliver a national anti-littering media campaign, and, if it has any such plans, how it will assess its effectiveness in changing behaviour.
Answer
The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, published in 2023, recognises the importance of supporting behaviour change so that individuals, communities, and organisations are more aware of the problems caused by litter, understand their responsibilities and are motivated to act responsibly.
Behaviour change is being promoted through a range of ongoing actions, including the Community Litter Hub, community-led interventions, and localised communication activities delivered by Keep Scotland Beautiful, SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many community-led litter prevention initiatives it has provided financial support to since the publication of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24, and how much funding it has provided in total.
Answer
Keep Scotland Beautiful has been provided with grants of £620,000 from Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Government in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 to deliver aspects of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy focused on litter prevention, data improvement and supporting community engagement, In relation to community engagement, this supports the Community Litter Hub, provides training and engagement opportunities, and delivers community-led interventions to tackle litter arising from food and drink ‘on-the-go' and roadside litter.
In addition, the Private Landowners Grant Fund, administered by Zero Waste Scotland, provided targeted support to prevent flytipping on private land in 2023–24 and 2024-25. In 2023-24 has supported some community-based interventions. For example, Govanhill Housing Association received £19,960 to undertake improvements to 5 local flytipping hotspots by repurposing the areas affected and promoting this to residents, installing motion sensitive lighting and signage as well as working with residents to encourage appropriate behaviour.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that there is consistent enforcement of fly-tipping offences across local authorities, as set out in the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24 Action Plan.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening consistent enforcement of flytipping across Scotland. We continue to engage with local authorities and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to understand barriers and share good practice. In 2023, we published an independent review of enforcement powers for litter and flytipping, which made a series of recommendations to improve coordination and effectiveness.
SEPA is piloting partnership models with councils and Police Scotland to address serious incidents. Since 2016, SEPA has issued 132 monetary penalties, totalling over £109,900, including recent Variable Monetary Penalties of more than £2,600 for repeat offenders.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what specific support it is providing to rural local authorities and communities to address fly-tipping in remote and sparsely populated areas, in light of the commitments in the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy 2023-24.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the particular impact of flytipping on rural and remote areas and is taking steps to address this through National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) is represented on the Strategy’s Delivery Group to ensure rural issues are considered and reflected in implementation plans.
Relevant actions include the Private Landowners Grant Fund, administered by Zero Waste Scotland, which ran for two years and supported a number of applicants with measures such as fencing, surveillance cameras and signage to help prevent repeat flytipping incidents. Support is also provided to rural local authorities and communities through enforcement collaboration, data-sharing and best practice exchange coordinated by the Strategy delivery partners.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32826 by Jim Fairlie on 16 January 2025, whether it will provide an update on Transport Scotland's consideration of new vessels for the Dunoon to Gourock ferry route, and when a decision will be taken.
Answer
A range of new vessel options for the Gourock to Dunoon and Kilcreggan ferry services are being considered within the wider Outline Business Case for investment in the routes, which also includes port infrastructure upgrades. When complete, the Outline Business Case will be reviewed by Transport Scotland Investment Decision Making Board in the first instance, currently expected to be around the end of 2025, and then presented to Ministers for decisions.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that several local authorities are delaying the introduction of a visitor levy.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30469 by Fiona Hyslop on 1 November 2024, whether it will provide an update on the number of commercial (a) vehicles carried and (b) vehicle lane metres used in (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025, broken down by individual routes.
Answer
Transport Scotland does not hold this information. However, CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) has provided the information as they do capture the number of Commercial Vehicles carried, and the number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used.
A table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib Number 65902) that provides a breakdown, by individual routes and calendar year from 10 October 2024 up until June 2025, detailing the total number of Commercial Vehicles carried and the total number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used only.
This information will now be available via the CalMac website by following the link
https://corporate.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/about-us/performance-reports/island-performance/.
