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-18537

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17872 by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023, in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme, whether there is any cross over between the roles of the Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group and Deposit Return Scheme Implementation Advisory Group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18425 on 14 June 2023. I confirm there was no crossover with the Implementation Assurance Group and Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group. The Implementation Assurance Group was disbanded in 2020 with the Ministerial Strategy Assurance Group forming in May 2023.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-18528

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making freight rates on Serco NorthLink Ferries available in advance on a rolling basis.

Question reference: S6W-18497

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has consulted people with visual impairments in relation to any concerns regarding the accessibility of the Deposit Return Scheme.

The Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland consulted several organisations including Disability Equality Scotland and Inclusion Scotland in the process of assessing the potential impacts of the Deposit Return Scheme. This was accounted for in the Final Equality Impact Assessment, published in March 2020 and available at A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland : Final Equality Impact Assessment (www.gov.scot).

Question reference: S6W-18491

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will intervene and prevent any further privatisation of the national electric vehicle (EV) charging network.

ChargePlace Scotland’s assets are owned by 400 separate organisations across the public, private and third sectors. These organisations are responsible for commercial decisions relating to their own charge point assets.

Transport Scotland are currently supporting Local Authorities to develop plans that will enable them to work with the private sector to invest in public charging across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18493

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Transport Scotland has had with (a) COSLA and (b) any other public body regarding the electric vehicle (EV) charging network in relation to it remaining in public ownership, rather than being privatised.

In January 2022 the Scottish Government published its draft vision for Scotland’s future public electric vehicle charging network that meets the needs of the people of Scotland and which supports a just transition and the delivery of our climate commitments. It recognises the need to attract private sector capital, skills and resources to enable investment and operation of a public charging network that meets the future needs of all of Scotland. A range of public bodies and other organisations, including COSLA, have been engaged over the past year as part of our work to finalise the Vision.

COSLA have also been engaged throughout the development of the EV Infrastructure Fund through which Transport Scotland is supporting Local Authorities to develop public electric vehicle charging strategies and expansion plans. These plans will help to identify future public charging needs, investment requirements and operating models for existing and new local authority owned public charging points.

Question reference: S6W-18398

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with Circularity Scotland prior to the recently reported statements by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, suggesting that the Deposit Return Scheme may be "unviable" if an exemption to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 is not in place by the end of May 2023.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Circularity Scotland at each stage of implementing DRS, including following the UK Government’s last minute intervention which has caused a delay to the scheme. Throughout the process, CSL has been a trusted partner with a demonstrated expertise and knowledge in its field and we believe the business sector sees the merits in working to maintain the progress they have made and to be able to use this as a springboard for the future form of DRS.

Question reference: S6W-18500

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff Transport Scotland currently has, broken down by directorate.

Question reference: S6W-18511

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what discussions Circularity Scotland has had with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-18492

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require Transport Scotland to undertake a public consultation on any privatisation of the electric vehicle (EV) charging network.

There has been no decision to privatise charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network.

Our draft Vision is clear that the public charging network will need to grow at scale and pace and that it will be impractical for the public sector to deliver this alone. As part of the transition to a public charging network that is largely financed and operated by the private sector, we will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholder including owners of charge points on the ChargePlace Scotland network.

The majority of ChargePlace Scotland charging assets are owned by Local Authorities. Transport Scotland is supporting Local Authorities to develop public electric vehicle charging strategies and expansion plans. These plans will help to identify future public charging needs, investment requirements and operating models for existing and new local authority owned public charging points.

Question reference: S6W-18441

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a full breakdown of ScotRail’s fleet of trains, including details of until when ScotRail is contracted to keep the current fleet, and how much it currently costs ScotRail to lease the trains on the fleet.