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-22921

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of renewable energy projects on food production.

The Scottish Government has not carried out a specific assessment of the potential impacts of renewable energy projects on food production.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy 5 ‘Soils’ is clear that that development proposals on prime agricultural land, or land of lesser quality that is culturally or locally important for primary use, as identified by the local development plan, will only be supported in limited circumstances.

Those circumstances include: for essential infrastructure where there is a specific locational need and no other suitable site, and for renewable energy generation. In all circumstances the policy is clear that the layout and design of the proposal minimises the amount of protected land that is required.

All renewable energy applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a careful balance must be struck between the potential impacts of the proposed development and the associated environmental, economic, renewable energy and climate change benefits.

Question reference: S6W-22320

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are available to support demonstrator projects for sustainable fibre production, and how much funding has been granted to such projects in the last five years, broken down by project.

Question reference: S6W-22322

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress Zero Waste Scotland has made on working with the textiles industry to encourage the use of natively grown sustainable fibres.

Question reference: S6W-22282

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05058 by Lorna Slater on 21 December 2021, whether it will provide an updated list setting out the level of local authority readiness to comply with the delayed ban on waste to landfill.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on their readiness to comply with the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill in 2025.

We continue to provide procurement support to help local authorities that need it to secure contracts in preparation for the forthcoming ban. As part of this support, Zero Waste Scotland is working with local authorities to provide technical, legal and procurement advice on their contracts.

Through this support, we understand that 22 local authorities have contracts in place for 2025 that comply with the landfill ban, these are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, Dundee City, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, and South Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6W-22283

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of plastic collected in Scotland for recycling has been recycled in (a) Scotland and (b) outwith Scotland in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-22317

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the natively grown sustainable fibres that it has identified for support in any of its economic or environmental strategies or plans.

The Scottish Government does not collect data specific to the production of flax or other sustainable fibre crops. Currently, flax is not a major crop in Scotland, however we recognise there are potential benefits to flax production, and we are keen to speak with those interested in growing this and other sustainable fibre crops.

The Scottish Government does not offer support specific to the production of flax or other sustainable fibres. However, non-crop specific agricultural support is provided to farmers in a variety of ways, including through the Basic Payment Scheme, and we encourage those looking for further information to read more about these measures on our official website at https://www.mygov.scot/farm-payments-support .

We are aware of ongoing research by the Soil Association Scotland, which is running trials to compare several varieties of flax, and also work by the Rowett Institute to explore flax production.

Question reference: S6W-22319

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any recent engagement with industry representatives or stakeholders that are seeking to expand flax production in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22318

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much flax fibre is currently produced annually in Scotland, and what assessment has been made of any potential benefits of increased production.

Question reference: S6W-22321

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established a long-term strategy for sustainable fibre production in Scotland, and, if so, what the goals of the strategy are.

Question reference: S6O-02698

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how to improve access to energy efficient housing in rural communities