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-14295

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13230 by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022, according to the modelling done by Zero Waste Scotland, how long on average after the initial investments would local authorities expect to experience a net financial benefit.

Question reference: S6W-14291

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability of available skills training pathways to enable reverse vending machine maintenance and repair services to employ suitably qualified (a) engineers and (b) technicians, including (i) formal education and (ii) apprenticeships routes.

The Deposit Return Scheme is an industry-led scheme, delivered by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd. The Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations were laid in 2020 and businesses have now had three years to prepare for the launch of the scheme. It is not the role of Government to carry out such assessments.

There are many companies providing these services in Scotland, and an assessment is not considered to be necessary or appropriate for Government to carry out.

Question reference: S6O-01883

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with the Scottish National Investment Bank and the Bank of Scotland regarding any impact of the repayment terms of the investment in Circularity Scotland in May 2022 on the timetable for the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6T-01128

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by the Auditor General for Scotland suggesting that Prestwick Airport will continue to require millions of pounds in continued public funding while it remains in public ownership.

Question reference: S6O-01805

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to how its Blue Economy Vision for Scotland can support developing industries within the blue economy in the drive to net zero.

Question reference: S6O-01797

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of local government services in improving public health and wellbeing.

Question reference: S6W-13127

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards its target of ensuring that all homes achieve at least an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2033, where technically feasible and cost effective.

The most recent data from the 2019 Scottish Housing Condition Survey showed 45% of Scotland’s homes to be EPC C or better. To ensure all homes reach at least equivalent to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C, we are committed to introducing regulations from 2025. They will require Scotland’s homes to reach at least equivalent to EPC C at respective trigger points, where technically feasible and cost-effective to do so - with backstops of 2028 for the private rented sector and by 2033 for owner occupiers.

To enable this and a just transition, the Scottish Government have committed to investing at least £1.8 billion this parliamentary term to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures. We intend to publish a consultation on the proposals for the Heat in Buildings Bill in the coming year.

Question reference: S6W-13267

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to care homes and similar facilities to address rising energy prices, in light of their reported inability to reduce usage given requirements for them to maintain heating levels at a specified temperature.

The Scottish Government are aware of the severe pressures which rising energy and other inflation-related costs are putting on the sector. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has established a Ministerial Advisory Group to ensure we collaborate effectively to meet these challenges.

Many of the policy and economic levers that would help reduce the pressures on care homes are reserved to Westminster and the Cabinet Secretary recently wrote to the UK Government (and the other UK nations) to again raise these matters.

Within its existing remit, in August the Scottish Government increased its support for SMEs by investing £300,000 to expand the capacity of the Business Energy Scotland advice service, and doubled the energy efficiency cashback element of the SME Loan Cashback scheme to £20,000.

Question reference: S6W-13268

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies to purchase reverse vending machines as part of the Deposit Return Scheme and, if so, how many.

Question reference: S6W-13164

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any set criteria for a maximum travel time or distance that people should have to travel to access a reverse vending machine.

There is no set criteria on maximum travel time or distance. All retailers will be required to be a return point operator unless they are granted an exemption. The choice of whether to operate a reverse vending machine, or alternatively to operate a manual takeback service, is a commercial decision for individual retailers.

Scottish Ministers may grant an exemption from acting as a return point if they consider that there is an alternative return point located within reasonable proximity to the premises, and the operator of that return point has agreed to accept the return by consumers of items of scheme packaging on behalf of the retailer, and they consider that, if the exemption is granted, this will still provide consumers with reasonable access to a return point. The Scottish Government’s exemption application guidance states that a reasonably accessible distance is generally considered to be approximately 400 metres from an alternative return point.