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-09177

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how organisations can apply to the Textile Innovation Fund, and what the criteria are for receiving funding.

Question reference: S6W-09173

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the current publication status is of Zero Waste Scotland’s report on insight into consumer food waste behaviours, and how much the report cost to produce.

The publication of the Household Food Waste Behaviours Research was delayed due to reprioritisation of work during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, results have continued to inform ongoing intervention and communication development. Zero Waste Scotland has confirmed this report is currently being reviewed to ensure the information remains valid and appropriate to publish as a standalone document. The cost of this work was £20,000.

Question reference: S6W-09169

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Zero Waste Scotland’s report on reuse and repair sector stock control options was not published on its website, and how much the report cost to produce.

Question reference: S6W-09108

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of baby boxes delivered in each year since 2017.

The Programme for Government 2016 included a commitment to provide a Baby Box for every baby born and living in Scotland containing essential items designed to provide practical help for parents.

Registration opened on 15 June 2017, and delivery of boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.

Please find breakdown of Baby Boxes delivered annually since the scheme began:

2017 – 22,001 boxes

2018 – 48,524 boxes

2019 – 47,202 boxes

2020 – 42,636 boxes

2021 – 42,452 boxes

2022 – 17,973 boxes (please note that data is up to the 10th of June)

Question reference: S6W-09005

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the potential impact on small businesses of banning the destruction of durable goods.

Details of the proposal to introduce measures to ban the destruction of unsold goods and associated impact assessments, including a business and regulatory impact assessment, are included in Delivering Scotland's circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill - Scottish Government - Citizen Space .

Question reference: S6W-09088

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on small businesses of banning the destruction of durable goods.

Question reference: S6W-09174

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the decision on the scoring criteria and weighting for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leases for floating offshore wind projects will be made.

Question reference: S6W-09004

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the support requirements necessary to allow small hospitality businesses to implement mandatory reporting of food waste and surpluses.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill, published on 30 May 2022, proposes that Scottish Ministers should have powers to require mandatory public reporting of unwanted surplus stock and waste of certain materials by Scottish businesses in order to improve data capture and public transparency and help businesses measure and take action on their waste and surplus. The consultation also set our intention that the initial priority for subsequent secondary legislation, with further consultation, would be to introduce mandatory public reporting of food waste and food surplus.

Subject to the outcome of our consultation, we will work with stakeholders to develop detailed assessments and proposals for further consultation, including on the type and size of business that should be subject to any reporting requirements.

Question reference: S6W-08879

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) individuals and (b) organisations with evidence relevant to the report on the consideration of opportunities to decarbonise waste incineration can do so and, if so, (i) how and (ii) when they can do so.

Dr Church, the independent chair of the review, has advised that he intends to launch another round of stakeholder engagement for stakeholders by the end of July, running through to August or early September, during which he will be both seeking responses to specific questions and open to any further representations stakeholder may wish to make. This is in addition to the engagement already undertaken through the Call for Evidence for the review.

Question reference: S6W-08850

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW6-08412 by Lorna Slater on 19 May 2022, for what reason there is a disparity between the figure of £5,267,640 allocated in 2021-22 and the intended distribution of £16 million in 2021-22 outlined in the answer to question S6W-00911 by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2021.

To date, over £20.3 million of the Recycling Improvement Fund has been awarded to 13 local authorities. This funding has been profiled over several years, based on individual project requirements. In 2021-22 local authorities required £5,267,640 of available funding, due to the lead in time needed to establish projects and some delays due to procurement and supply chain issues. The remainder is being phased over subsequent years of the fund, based on the local projects’ spend profiles.

As outlined in the recent Outcome of the Targeted Review of the Capital Spending Review, funding that has not been allocated to date will be available to invest in remaining years of the Fund. The Scottish Government remains committed to investing £70 million through the Recycling Improvement Fund to improve the quantity and quality of recycling in Scotland.