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: S4W-26393

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) retailers, (b) third sector organisations, (c) bars and restaurants and (d) food and drink companies about the proposed deposit return system.

I commissioned a study from Zero Waste Scotland to explore the feasibility of introducing a national deposit return system in Scotland. Following publication of this study, a call for evidence sought further information. At this stage, no particular model or system has been proposed by the Scottish Government, and we will consider further any issues raised during the call for evidence.

We are having ongoing discussions with the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland and third sector organisations including Scottish Environment LINK, Community Resource Network Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful. A stakeholder event was held on 26 May 2015 involving a wide range of representatives from across sectors to discuss the conclusions of the feasibility study, and we will continue to engage with all relevant interests.

Question reference: S4W-26397

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government who will pay for the installation of reverse vending machines following the implementation of its proposed deposit return system.

Question reference: S4W-26396

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussion it has had with food and drink companies regarding (a) recycling and (b) tackling litter.

The Scottish Government provides ongoing support to the food and drink sector on recycling through the Resource Efficient Scotland programme, providing a ‘one stop shop’ to discuss material, energy and water efficiency. The support includes assistance for individual companies, working with trade associations on sector-wide issues and supporting UK-wide voluntary agreements such as the Courtauld Commitment and Hospitality and Food Service Agreement. The Scottish Government also has ongoing discussions with the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland on measures to improve recycling and tackle litter, including in relation to the proposed household recycling charter.

Question reference: S4W-26350

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the concerns of crofters and small producers that, due to the way payment rewards are calculated, many of them will receive very low or no payments under the farm payment rebate scheme.

The recent rebates were made as part of the common agricultural policy’s financial discipline mechanism. This works by deducting money from direct payments to farmers and crofters to create a fund to deal with, amongst other things, any unexpected crisis affecting farmers across Europe, and by repaying any unspent funds in the following year.

The calculation of an individual’s contribution is through a percentage applied to the combined total of payments above a 2,000 threshold under the single farm payment and Scottish beef schemes and any reimbursement is proportionate to the individual’s share, based on payments received, of the total amount to be refunded. Those below the 2,000 threshold do not contribute to the financial discipline mechanism so neither are they entitled to any reimbursement. Consequently, irrespective of the size of an individual’s support payments the financial discipline mechanism, if it applies to a farmer or crofter at all, operates in a manner that is proportionate to their receipt of subsidy.

Looking at the scale of the reimbursements to farm businesses located in the crofting areas, around 4,400 businesses shared some £2.1 million or an average reimbursement of £477. In the same areas, some 3,100 farm businesses received less than 2,000 in the relevant period so did not contribute to the financial discipline mechanism so neither were they entitled to any reimbursement.

Question reference: S4W-26351

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to crofters for whom severe weather has impacted on their livestock grazing.

In and following the period of winter 2014 (December, January and February) and spring 2015 (March, April and May), the Scottish Government made the following income support payments to those farming in the crofting areas:

Subsidy Scheme	Amount Paid	Average Date of Payment
Single Farm Payment Scheme	£75.5 million	1 December 2015
Scottish Beef Scheme	£6.0 million	20 April 2015
Financial Discipline Reimbursement	£2.1 million	16 June 2015
Total	£83.6 million

The Scottish Government appreciates that it has been a wet and difficult spring for many farmers and crofters and is in discussions with the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation on this topic. The funding in the table above is already available under the common agricultural policy to support the viability of farming and crofting businesses, which we hope will help increase their ability to deal with difficult external impacts such as this. As the Met Office has noted, there is variability in weather patterns and occasional extreme events at a local level and Scottish Ministers are, in conjunction with the industry, seeking to establish an evidence-based assessment of the scale of any impacts.

Question reference: S4O-04463

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports voluntary sector organisations working in developing countries.

Question reference: S4W-25817

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Expert Ferry Group will discuss the service specification for the forthcoming Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

Question reference: S4W-25819

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland will publish the draft invitation to tender for the forthcoming Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract and seek responses and comments from all stakeholder groups.

The invitation to tender will reflect the outcome of the extensive consultation which led to the publication of the ferries plan in December 2012. A first round of consultation on the future of ferry services was carried out during the spring and summer of 2009 and was supplemented with an extensive data collection exercise, including a household survey. This was followed by a full public consultation exercise in 2010, including some 40 community events across the Highlands and Islands, a series of public meetings and publication of a formal consultation document and subsequent responses. The consultation process led to the publication of the Scottish Ferries Plan 2013-2022 which sets out the level of services to be provided for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services, and which forms the basis of the tender for the next contract. Consequently, there is no requirement to seek further comments to inform the invitation to tender. Key stakeholder groups will continue to be engaged and informed on the progress of the tender process up to the point that the final invitation to tender is issued.

Question reference: S4W-25818

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what consultations Transport Scotland (a) has had and (b) will have with (i) island communities, (ii) representatives and (iii) stakeholders regarding the service specification for the forthcoming Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

Question reference: S4W-25371

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of CalMac Ferries Limited expenditure on onboard catering is spent on items sourced from the islands that the company serves.

The percentage of CalMac Ferries Ltd expenditure on onboard catering spent on items sourced from the islands served during financial year 2014-15 was 7%. This figure was for food only and did not include alcohol, or other drinks.

CalMac Ferries Ltd were recently awarded a VisitScotland ‘Taste of the Best’ accreditation for their use of local produce on their ships. In addition, their commitment to sourcing and serving Scottish produce has been recognised with a nomination at the Scottish Food and Drink Awards for 2015 in the Scottish Sourcing category.