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-07421

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the findings of the Waste Route Map research will be published, and whether they will be considered in the independent review on the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy, which is due to be published by Easter 2022.

The Scottish Government have committed to publishing a Waste Route Map to achieving our waste and recycling targets.

Dr Church, the independent Chair of the Review, has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

We intend to publish our consultation for a new Circular Economy Bill and a route map with new measures to achieve our waste and recycling targets to 2025 and beyond, in May. Outputs from the review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy will inform the development of the final Route Map.

Question reference: S6W-07422

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Operational Assessment of Alternative Residual Waste Treatment Technologies report will be considered in the independent review on the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy, which is due to be published by Easter 2022.

Zero Waste Scotland have shared the draft of the Operational Assessment of Alternative Residual Waste Treatment Technologies report with the Review. It is for Dr Church, as independent Chair, to determine if and how this is incorporated into the Review.

Dr Church, the independent Chair of the Review, has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

Question reference: S6W-07434

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to address deaths and serious injuries in police custody or after police contact.

There are already significant safeguards in place around deaths in police custody in Scotland. Police Scotland must refer deaths in custody to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and a fatal accident inquiry must be held, unless the Lord Advocate is satisfied that the circumstances have already been clearly established in other proceedings.

In her review of Police Complaints Handling, Dame Elish Angiolini made specific recommendations relating to deaths in custody. We continue to work with partners to implement these and will consult on those recommendations which are likely to require legislation this year.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) undertake regular inspections of police custody facilities in Scotland.

Furthermore, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has a statutory duty to maintain and manage an Independent Custody Visiting Scheme (ICVS) to monitor the welfare of people detained in police custody facilities throughout Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-07239

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timescale for revising the Clean Air Act 1993 in coordination with local authorities and SEPA, as outlined in Cleaner Air for Scotland 2.

Our new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' sets out a series of actions intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026. Amongst these actions are several which focus on reducing emissions from domestic fuel combustion including work with local government and SEPA to consider revision of the Clean Air Act 1993.

An expert working group, which met for the first time in January 2022, has been established to advise the Government on taking forward these actions. Further information will be made available as this work proceeds.

Question reference: S6W-07034

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a 70% recycling target for household waste, as set out in annex A, section 5.5, of Scotland's Zero Waste Plan.

Question reference: S6W-07032

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-05516 and S6W-05517 by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022, what emissions have been modelled for incineration with energy recovery as part of its Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports to date.

Question reference: S6W-07033

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what greenhouse gas emissions changes it estimates there would be from converting Scotland’s energy-from-waste plants to (a) combined heat and power systems and (b) carbon capture and storage systems, and when it anticipates any such changes will occur.

Zero Waste Scotland’s report on the Climate Impacts of Burning Municipal Waste in Scotland, published in 2021, considered how converting to combined heat and power systems may change the carbon intensity of electricity only energy from waste (EfW) plants that were operating in Scotland in 2018 as part of a sensitivity analysis. This indicated that the average carbon intensity of EfW plants was reduced by an estimated 30%. The report is available here .

Evidence from a report published by ClimateXChange in 2022 on behalf of Scottish Government also suggests that retro fitting carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to 6 existing energy from waste facilities and 3 facilities expected to be completed in the next year could deliver up to ~1MTCO2/year of negative emissions, although the potential for negative emissions will depend on the biogenic content in the processed waste. The report is available here.

The independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland, being led by Dr Colin Church, is considering what the potential options are to decarbonise the residual waste infrastructure that is already in place in Scotland and work is being progressed to inform the Review’s considerations.

The existing national planning framework has ensured that all EfW facilities have prepared detailed heat and power plans which seek to identify opportunities for local use of heat from the plant. It also encourages local development plans to co-locate sources of heat demand and heat generation. There are examples of such heat use - currently or in development - at Lerwick, Grangemouth, Shawfair in Midlothian and Torry near Aberdeen.

Question reference: S6W-06547

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can introduce a Direct Vision Standard for HGVs in Scotland, and, if so, what consideration it has given to this.

Vehicle safety standards, such as Direct Vision Standard to improve the sighting of vulnerable road users in the HGV and bus driving positions, is reserved to the UK Government.

In the Scottish Government’s formal response dated November 2021 to the UK Government consultation on its future of transport regulatory review, we called on the UK Government to adopt the measures outlined in the EU General Road Safety Regulation, including Direct Vision, to ensure that the UK remains a leader in vehicle safety.

Question reference: S6W-07031

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will proceed with the appointment of a new Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme trustee board.

Under Schedule 1, Part B, Rule 8(1) of the 2009 Act it is for the Parliament to appoint all trustees by resolution on nomination by the SPCB. The SPCB recently agreed to nominate Gordon MacDonald MSP, Murdo Fraser MSP and Mark Ballard (pensioner trustee) as Fund Trustees of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme. The motions for the Parliament to approve the appointment of the above named were moved on Wednesday 9 March 2022.

Question reference: S6O-00868

Current Status: Withdrawn