Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-16969

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) monitor and (b) address the incidence of in-work poverty and financial hardship among public sector workers.

Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical and interdependent missions for the government along with our focus on the economy and strengthening public services. Our Public Sector Pay Strategy for 2023-24 continues to have explicit measures to protect the lowest paid. Employers are required to pay at least the real Living Wage rate of £10.90 per hour for all staff including internships and Modern Apprentices. The strategy also includes a suggested cash underpin of £1,500 for public sector workers who earn £25,000 or less. Link: Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24

While we do not monitor the incidence of in-work poverty and financial hardship among public sector workers this Government also continues to use all the powers and resources available to us to provide support to people on low incomes and to tackle the underlying causes of poverty.

We allocated almost £3 billion last year, and again this year, to tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis. We are also committing £5.2 billion for social security benefits in 2023-24, providing support to more than one million people in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16404

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment it has carried out of not providing free breakfasts to all primary school children.

Question reference: S6W-16903

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the main differences are between its Deposit Return Scheme and the equivalent scheme in (a) Finland, (b) Canada, (c) Germany, (d) Sweden, (e) Denmark and (f) Australia, and, in each case, what the reasons were for taking a different approach to implementation in Scotland.

The following table shows the main differences between Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and the schemes operating in Finland, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Australia.

Comparison of the Scottish Scheme to selected schemes internationally
Region/ Country	Country/ Jurisdiction	Material scope
Europe	Scotland	Plastic (PET), metal (aluminium, steel), glass
Europe	Finland	Plastic (predominantly PET), metal (aluminium), glass
Europe	Germany	Plastic (predominantly PET), metal (aluminium), glass
Europe	Sweden	Plastic (PET), metal (aluminium, steel)
Europe	Denmark	Plastic (predominantly PET), metal (predominantly aluminium), glass
N. America/ Canada	Alberta	Plastic (PET, HDPE, other), metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, bag-in-box, pouches
N. America/ Canada	British Columbia	Plastic (including polystyrene cups), metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, pouches, bag-in-box
N. America/ Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, pouches, bag-in-box
N. America/ Canada	New Brunswick	Plastic, metal (aluminium, other), glass, gable top, aseptic, bag-in-box, plastic cups with foil lids, pouches
N. America/ Canada	Northwest Territories	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, aseptic, pouches, gable top, bag-in-box
N. America/ Canada	Nova Scotia	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, pouches
N. America/ Canada	Ontario	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, bag-in-box
N. America/ Canada	Prince Edward Island	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic, bag-in-box, pouches
N. America/ Canada	Quebec	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass
N. America/ Canada	Saskatchewan	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal, tin), glass, gable top, aseptic
N. America/ Canada	Yukon	Plastic, metal (aluminium, bimetal), glass, gable top, aseptic
Oceania/ Australia	Australian Capital Territory	Plastic (HDPE, PET), metal (aluminium, steel), glass, liquid
Oceania/ Australia	Australian Capital Territory	paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	New South Wales	Plastic (HDPE, PET), metal (aluminium, steel), glass, liquid
Oceania/ Australia	New South Wales	paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	Northern Territory	Plastic (HDPE, PET), aluminium, glass, liquid paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	South Australia	Plastic (HDPE, PET), aluminium, glass, liquid paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	Queensland	Plastic (PET, HDPE, other), metal (aluminium, steel), glass, liquid paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	Western Australia	Plastic, metal (steel, aluminium), glass, liquid paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	Tasmania	Plastic, glass, aluminium, liquid paperboard
Oceania/ Australia	Victoria	Plastic, metal (steel, aluminium), glass, liquid paperboard

In addition to examining other schemes, the Scottish Government consulted extensively with representatives of affected businesses and other stakeholders who would be involved in any Scottish scheme. It was designed to maximise the positive environmental impact while ensuring the scheme was achievable and affordable in order to fully realise the Scottish Government’s environmental ambitions along the journey to net zero.

Question reference: S6W-16910

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff are currently working on the Deposit Return Scheme, broken down by pay scale, and how many staff it anticipates will be working on the scheme after it launches on 16 August 2023, broken down by pay scale, and what policy issues it anticipates these staff will be addressing.

Question reference: S6W-16880

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) e-bike and (b) e-cargo bike hire schemes are currently operational in Scotland, and what action it is taking to promote any such schemes.

Such bike hire schemes are generally run at a local level, and as such the Scottish Government does not record data on their number and we do not directly promote them. We provide grant funding to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to run the e-bike loan fund which provides interest free loans to help people with the cost of purchasing e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. EST also run on our behalf the e-bike grant fund, which provides small grants to businesses and community organisations to purchase e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. Data on these schemes is held by EST and they are promoted by EST via the Home Energy Scotland advice network, via third party referral and on digital media.

Question reference: S6W-17009

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in revising its getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) policy and practice guidance, and when it anticipates that the revised GIRFEC policy and guidelines will be complete.

The Scottish Government published a series of refreshed GIRFEC policy and practice guidance to provide practitioners and professionals working with children, young people and their families with the confidence, clarity and practical support to continue to embed the GIRFEC approach.

We are now considering a single planning process for children and young people. A collaborative and pragmatic approach will be taken in the development of any new planning guidance and subsequent impact on statutory and non-statutory plans.

This work is currently on track and progress is set out in our second progress report for the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan published in November 2022.

A further progress update is due to be published in May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-16821

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of hedgerow have been (a) reinstated and (b) planted through schemes such as the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, in each year for which data is available.

The Scottish Government supports and funds the creation and restoration of hedgerows in Scotland through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and the Agri Environment Climate Scheme (AECS).

A breakdown of the total miles of hedgerows reinstated and planted through NRF is not routinely collected and any information about hedgerows is gathered under a more general ‘habitat’ metric, therefore this data cannot be provided.

The total miles of hedgerow that have been reinstated and planted through AECS, in each year, is set out in the following table. There was no hedgerow creation in 2022 as the restricted round in 2021 did not include the hedgerow options.

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020		2021		2023
Planted - Creation of hedgerows (miles)	41	43	57	64	99	3		79
Reinstated - Restoration of existing hedgerows (miles)	3	5	6	9	7	1		4

Please note, the figures above are what was committed to through AECS contracts. This capital item’s unit of measurement is linear metres, and the conversion rate used was 1 metre = 0.00062137 miles.

Question reference: S6W-17238

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan – Update November 2022, whether the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Project Board's development of "a national measurement framework to capture the range of successes and achievements of children and young people with additional support needs" is on track to be completed by Spring 2023, and how this information will be presented in an accessible and meaningful way to ensure that any impact can be measured.

The Scottish Government are committed to working with COSLA, ADES and our partners on the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver improvements in additional support for learning implementation and to ensure meaningful change for children and young people through our Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

The Project Board considered progress on the National Measurement Framework at its meeting on 30 th January 2023. The Project Board agreed that further work was needed to ensure that the correct outcome measures are gathered and measured so that the Framework can be properly utilised and deliver clear evidence of change or improvement in the implementation of additional support for learning. Once this work has been completed it will be further tested with stakeholders prior to being adopted into practice. It is anticipated that this work will be completed during the course of the coming year.

The Scottish Government will continue to report on the progress of implementation of the ASL Action Plan, including development of the National Measurement Framework, through formal progress reports. The next progress report is due to be published in May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-16749

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is now on the legal advice that it received in 2017, on which the decision of the then Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform not to extend powers to the Scottish SPCA for investigating wildlife crimes was based.

The Scottish Government does not routinely publish or discuss legal advice received.

During the Parliamentary passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020, the Scottish Government committed to establishing a taskforce to look again at the arguments for and against extending wildlife crime investigation powers to the Scottish SPCA. This commitment was re-affirmed in both the 2021-22 Programme for Government and in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme.

Question reference: S6W-16909

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement with local authorities it (a) has had and (b) plans to have in the next six months, in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme.

We are supporting local authorities to prepare for the introduction of the scheme. Our scheme will mean that local authorities will have less waste to handle, as well as reduce litter and associated clean-up costs, which is good for residents and council budgets. The Scottish Government is supporting Scottish councils to modernise recycling services, and align with our forthcoming deposit return scheme.

The Scottish Government has met regularly with representatives of local authority waste management via the DRS System-Wide Assurance Group that met 13 times since February 2022. Local authorities remain a key partner and will continue to be part of the programme management structures.

Grade	FTE
SCS	2
C2	3
C1	7.8
B3	4.5
B2	2.2
B1	7.5

Chamber and committees