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-12886

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on the operation and administration of the £5 million loss and damage funding announced at COP27, and how many civil servants are involved.

The operation and administration of the £5m recently announced at COP27 to address loss and damage will be managed within the existing resourcing structure for the International Climate Change Policy Team, within the International Climate Change Division at the Scottish Government. The team has six full-time equivalent (FTE) members of staff at a range of civil service grades involved in delivering international climate policy work including the Climate Justice Fund . Four of the six FTE members of staff will primarily be involved in overseeing and supporting the disbursement of the £5 million.

The Scottish Government does not have any business need to record the proportion of time that members of staff devote to specific aspects of their duties. Consequently, the Scottish Government does not have exact administrative costs for the Climate Justice Fund, including the £5 million for loss and damage. However, the grading of the six FTE team members are as followed: one C2, three B3’s and two B2’s, and details of civil service grades and pay ranges offered from April 1st 2022 can be found online at https://work-for-scotland.org/our-reward-benefits

Question reference: S6W-12885

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on the operation and administration of the £36 million Climate Justice Fund, and how many civil servants are involved.

The operation and administration of the £36 million Climate Justice Fund, is managed by the International Climate Change Policy Team, within the International Climate Change Division at the Scottish Government. The team has six full-time equivalent (FTE) members of staff at a range of civil service grades who delivering international climate policy work including overseeing and supporting the procurement and delivery of Climate Justice Fund’s contracts and grants.

The Scottish Government does not have any business need to record the proportion of time that members of staff devote to specific aspects of their duties. Consequently, the Scottish Government does not have exact administrative costs for the Climate Justice Fund. However, the grading of the six FTE team members are as followed: one C2, three B3’s and two B2’s, and details of civil service grades and pay ranges offered from April 1st 2022 can be found online at https://work-for-scotland.org/our-reward-benefits

Question reference: S6W-12887

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working to tackle climate change and help achieve Scotland's net zero commitments.

Question reference: S6W-12912

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the potential environmental impact of restoring roll-on, roll-off (a) passenger and (b) freight ferry services between Rosyth and Zeebrugge.

Question reference: S6W-13235

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the merits of introducing mandatory CCTV in fish slaughterhouses, in line with the Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (Scotland) Regulations 2020, which, under the Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009, mandates the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses for terrestrial animals and excludes fish slaughterhouses.

Question reference: S6W-13163

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 how many reverse vending machines it anticipates will be in use across Scotland when the Deposit Return Scheme begins on 16 August 2023, and, of those, how many will be located in (a) cities, (b) towns with a population of between 40,001 and 60,000, (c) towns with a population of between 15,001 and 40,000 and (d) towns or villages with a population of up to 15,000.

All retailers have obligations to be a return point, unless they apply for and 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. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many reverse vending machines there will be across Scotland or their likely locations.

Question reference: S6W-13162

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, further to the answer to question S6W-11368 by Lorna Slater on 7 November 2022, when the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity last engaged with industry and other stakeholders about the readiness of obligated businesses for implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme, and who was present at the meeting.

Question reference: S6W-13165

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 where reverse vending machines to be used for the Deposit Return Scheme are manufactured.

Question reference: S6W-13129

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on its commitment to send no more than 5% of remaining waste to landfill and to recycle 70% of remaining waste by 2025.

The most recent official statistics published by SEPA and available at [ Waste data for Scotland | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) ] show that in 2018 the amount of total waste going to landfill in Scotland has reduced by nearly a third over the past decade, with 32% of all waste landfilled, and that Scotland recycled 61% of all waste. Please note data for 2019/2020 is not available due to a cyber attack on SEPA, but further statistics will be published in 2023.

Our proposals for a Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map, published earlier this year, set out actions that Scottish Government and others could take to accelerate progress towards Scotland’s 2025 waste and recycling targets and deliver a circular economy in Scotland in a way that maximises carbon saving potential.

Question reference: S6W-13169

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there is a need for future monitoring and evaluation of the Deposit Return Scheme and, if so, whether (a) it or (b) Circularity Scotland will fund it.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations require the Scottish Government to carry out a review of DRS before 1 October 2026.

The Scottish Government has commissioned external consumer research to provide a baseline and follow ups on recycling and awareness and uptake of DRS and any related barriers. This research is being undertaken by an experienced team from Union Advertising. The Scottish Government is also undertaking work with Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful to collate data through the Litter Management System survey on the impacts of DRS on on-the-ground litter.