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: S5W-15232

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the average recycling rate is in (a) (i) North and (ii) South Lanarkshire and (b) the rest of the country, and how this compares with 2016-17.

The most recent recycling figures available are for the calendar year 2016. In that year, South Lanarkshire's recycling rate was 53% (an increase of 4 percentage points from 2015) and North Lanarkshire's recycling rate was 41.1% (an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 2015). The national recycling rate for Scotland was 45.2% (an increase of 1 percentage point from 2015).

The Official Household Waste Data for 2017 will be published by SEPA towards the end of September 2018.

Question reference: S5O-01756

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5O-01661

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 10 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the possible impact on Scotland of the UK Government's decision not to pursue a hard border with Ireland following Brexit.

The Scottish Government continues to press the UK Government for further details on the precise nature of the proposals for the Irish border, and we fully support the development of a proposal which does not lead to any change to the current open border arrangements on the island of Ireland, and protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts.

Notwithstanding this, it would be unacceptable for Scotland to be placed at a competitive disadvantage and therefore if special arrangements are available for one part of the UK they should also be available to others.

Question reference: S5W-13119

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the current plastic and glass recycling rate is in Scotland; what impact it considers the proposed deposit return scheme could have on this and, in light of this, what discussions it has had with Zero Waste Scotland regarding whether the scheme will represent value for money.

Based on SEPA’s national waste data and Zero Waste Scotland’s compositional analysis, in 2015 an estimated 18% of all plastic waste and 72% of all glass waste managed was recycled. These figures include material that will be outside the scope of any deposit return system designed for drinks containers. International evidence shows that deposit return schemes can increase both the rate of recycling and the quality and, therefore, value of recycled material. Ensuring that the system delivers maximum economic benefit for Scotland is a key component of Zero Waste Scotland’s on-going work to design a system.

Question reference: S5W-13118

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with HMRC regarding whether a charge under the proposed deposit return scheme will be subject to VAT, and whether this would be refundable to consumers upon the return of items.

Question reference: S5W-13121

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the proposed deposit return scheme will be on its household recycling charter.

Question reference: S5W-13120

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what health risk assessment is being carried out of the (a) inclusion of milk products and (b) potential contamination of items returned to outlets where fresh produce is sold in the proposed deposit return scheme.

Question reference: S5W-13149

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether all local authorities will be consulted on the impact of the proposed deposit return scheme on household kerbside collections.

Question reference: S5W-13122

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to areas such as Delaware in the United States replacing deposit return schemes in favour of kerbside collections.

Question reference: S5W-12873

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) housing and (b) electrical safety standards must Airbnb and other similarly-let premises meet, and what assessment it has made of how many are meeting these.

Properties let through Airbnb or similar platforms may cover a range of different tenure types and arrangements. This could include an owner occupier letting a room in their property through an occupancy arrangement, through to Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords or Bed and Breakfast proprietors using Airbnb as an additional platform to let their property. In each case, the housing and electrical safety standards required are specific to each tenure and arrangement.

The tolerable standard is the basic minimum standard for all housing, and in 2015, 2% (or 42,000) of all dwellings fell below this standard. The tolerable standard requires a house with an electricity supply to have an electrical installation (i.e. the electrical wiring and associated components and fittings) that is adequate and safe to use. In the PRS, the repairing standard applies to homes let under private rented tenancies. This includes a mandatory electrical safety inspection and a requirement that furnishings and appliances provided by the landlord are safe.