- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has sufficient staff to administer the packaging waste recovery note scheme.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency determines the level of resources that it allocates to the administration of this scheme, such that it can be effectively administered.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's application of the packaging waste recovery and packaging waste export recovery note schemes is different from that of the environment agency and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.
Answer
The detailed administration of these schemes within Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which operates within the packaging regulations that are very similar in Scotland and in England and Wales.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to issue operational guidance in respect of the packaging waste recovery note scheme; whether it consults or liases with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) when issuing any such guidance, and whether the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency follows directions issued by the Executive, DEFRA or the environment agency in respect of administering the scheme.
Answer
The Executive may issue guidance on the application of The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. It is currently liasing with DEFRA on the production of a joint "User's Guide" to those regulations to replace existing guidance. However, the new guidance is unlikely to be issued until after prospective changes to the regulations, to be consulted on in summer, are introduced.The Scottish Environment Protection Agency may only be directed by the Scottish ministers. They have not issued any directions in respect of packaging matters. Were they to give a direction, SEPA would be required to comply with it in terms of section 40(8) of the Environment Act 1995.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent any double accounting in the packaging waste recovery note scheme.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether sufficient funding is in place to administer the packaging waste recovery note scheme.
Answer
The packaging recovery note scheme is administered by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Its costs of administering the packaging recovery scheme as a whole are met by cost-recovery registration fees paid to it by companies with a packaging recovery obligation under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. These fees are reviewed regularly. A consultation exercise on changes to the regulations proposed for this summer will include discussion of a new fee structure.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 11 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the 35% increase by 2010 in the operating costs for collecting, treating and disposing of municipal waste, and further 5% increase by 2020, as referred to in the executive summary of the National Waste Plan 2003, is reflected in its spending proposals to 2005-06.
Answer
The National Waste Plan 2003 provides a broad estimate of the overall operating costs of the proposed best practicable environmental option for municipal waste in 2010 and 2020 (£340 to £370 million and £360 to £420 million respectively). Following the spending review in 2002, the Executive allocated, for the next three years alone, over £230 million additional funding for local authorities via the Strategic Waste Fund. Detailed reassessment of future resources will be undertaken as part of future spending reviews.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the target of (a) recycling and (b) composting 25% of municipal waste by 2006
Answer
The expected contributions of recycling and composting to the achievement of the target are set out in table 4.1 on page 40 of the National Waste Plan 2003, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 26101).
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to encourage the procurement of new infrastructure for municipal waste processing through the private sector.
Answer
The Strategic Waste Fund has been established by the Executive to support the procurement of the new infrastructure and services by local authorities. It can provide support for capital or revenue expenditure including public private partnership projects. It is for local authorities, in bidding to the fund, to demonstrate that their proposed procurement routes provide best value.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its aim of 'ero growth in the amount of municipal waste produced by 2010, contained in the National Waste Plan 2003, is achievable without an increase in the level of public and local authority participation in waste minimisation, given the projected increases in waste produced.
Answer
The National Waste Plan 2003 makes it clear that local authority and public participation in waste minimisation will need to be developed and sustained to achieve the target of zero growth in municipal waste by 2010.
- Asked by: John Scott, MSP for Ayr, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when local authorities can begin bidding for funding under the Strategic Waste Fund, as referred to in the executive summary of the National Waste Plan 2003, and when the first round of funding will be awarded.
Answer
The fund has been in existence since 2001. For details of awards made to date, I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33419 on 3 February 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
