Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-05638

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether a running total of the number of air filter devices that are being used in school classrooms will be published.

It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

Question reference: S6W-05583

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual staffing numbers for CalMac have been in each year since 2011, broken down by (a) full-time equivalent positions, (b) head count and (c) seasonal workers.

Question reference: S6W-05570

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to appropriately preserve information across government for the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 in Scotland.

Our approach to information governance underpins all government business, including our ongoing response to the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government Information Management Strategy and Records Management Plan clearly set out the Scottish Governments approach to the preservation of information, in line with the requirements set out in the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011.

For further information refer to the Scottish Government Information Management Strategy
For further information refer to the Scottish Government Corporate Records Management Plan
For further information refer to the NRS Public Records [Scotland] Act 2011

Question reference: S6W-05516

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in each year for which records are available, what emissions have been reported for the incineration of (a) household waste, (b) commercial and industrial waste and (c) all waste included in its Climate Change Plan.

The data specified in the question is held in a range of different data sources as summarised below. As each element of the answer is taken from a different data source there will be variations in methodology which mean that they are not directly comparable.

The Carbon Footprint of Scotland’s Household Waste publication published by Zero Waste Scotland ( 2019 Carbon Metric HH Brief - V01.00.pdf (zerowastescotland.org.uk) ) provides estimates of emissions from household waste. The relevant information is provided in the following table.

Year	Household waste incineration (MtCO2e)
2007	-
2008	-
2009	-
2010	-
2011	0.02
2012	0.01
2013	0.01
2014	0.03
2015	0.03
2016	0.03
2017	0.03
2018	0.05
2019	0.13

The Green House Gas Inventory includes information on emissions from the disposal of commercial and industrial waste via incineration without energy recovery. This mainly comprises sewage sludges and clinical wastes. However, separate information on the disposal of commercial and industry waste with energy recovery is not held, as only total emissions data that includes municipal wastes is available from these facilities

Information on emissions from the incineration of all waste can be calculated from the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) published by SEPA. The relevant information is summarised in the following table. This includes emissions from incineration of all waste types with and without energy recovery.

Year	All incineration facilities (MtCO2e)
2007	0.24
2008	0.25
2009	0.26
2010	0.52
2011	0.27
2012	0.28
2013	0.31
2014	0.67
2015	0.65
2016	1.06
2017	1.14
2018	0.96
2019	1.57

Question reference: S6W-05637

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether information on the number of air filters that are being used in school classrooms has been collected for use by the Education Recovery Group.

It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders on ventilation, including in the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group.

Question reference: S6W-05518

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government under which sector emissions from waste incineration are reported in its Climate Change Plan.

Under the Climate Change Plan, emissions from the disposal of waste via incineration without energy recovery are reported in the waste sector. This mainly comprises Commercial and Industrial Wastes, principally sewage sludges and clinical wastes.

Emissions from incineration with energy recovery are reported in the Energy Supply Sector, consistent with domestic and international reporting requirements determined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Question reference: S6W-05517

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what changes in emissions are modelled in its Climate Change Plan that are based on the introduction of the biodegradable municipal landfill ban, and whether these changes are attributed to the waste sector.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to the waste sector in the Climate Change Plan (CCP) include emissions arising from landfill sites, waste water treatment, composting and other waste treatments, including incineration of sewage sludges and clinical wastes (without energy recovery). This is consistent with the international reporting requirements determined by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

The biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) landfill ban, which comes into effect in December 2025, will direct BMW to alternative treatment options, including anaerobic digestion (AD), mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) and Energy from Waste (EfW) plants or future Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facilities.

The resulting reduction in biodegradable waste sent to landfill will lead to a decline in GHG emissions, principally methane, from landfill sites; these changes are currently accounted for in the CCP waste sector emissions estimates.

Diversion of BMW from landfill will lead to a rise in GHG emissions from other treatment options, including AD, MBT and EfW plants. Changes in emissions arising from waste treatments without energy recovery (e.g. AD, MBT) are attributed to the waste sector, whilst waste treatment options with energy recovery are attributed to the energy supply sector (e.g. EfW). Overall, there is a net decline in GHG emissions when diverting waste from landfill to other treatment options, principally as a result of the conversion of potential methane release (a highly potent greenhouse gas) to carbon dioxide, which has a lower global warming potential. For example, Zero Waste Scotland estimates that on a per tonne of waste basis the carbon impacts of EfW are on average 27% lower than landfilling waste ( The climate change impacts of burning municipal waste in Scotland ) .

Question reference: S6W-05716

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of (a) poaching and (b) coursing were recorded in (i) the Forth Valley, (ii) Fife and (iii) Perth and Kinross, in each of the last five years.

Information on the number of offences recorded by Police Scotland of coursing (a. hunting with dogs) and poaching (b. poaching and game laws, including deer-related offences), from 2016-17 to 2020-21, is provided in the table below.

Table 1. Offences of poaching and coursing, by requested local authority, 2016-17 to 2020-21

Offence	Local Authority	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
a) Coursing 1	i) Forth Valley 2	0	0	0	0	0
	ii) Fife	1	9	3	3	4
	iii) Perth & Kinross	1	0	4	0	4
b) Poaching 3	i) Forth Valley 2	0	0	0	4	2
	ii) Fife	0	0	3	1	0
	iii) Perth & Kinross	2	1	1	2	0

Note:

1. Coursing data is from the crime Hunting with Dogs.

2. Forth Valley data is composed of the constituent Local Authorities: Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, and Stirling.

3. Poaching data combines crimes recorded under Poaching and Game Laws and Deer (Scotland) Offences.

Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics, annual statistics, Scottish Government

Question reference: S6W-05705

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to self-catering businesses that have seen their business disrupted by COVID-19.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis has been targeted at those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of restrictions on some businesses. For this tranche of funding this has meant support for the hostel sector, and hotels with bars and restaurants.

We recognise that the self-catering sector, alongside many other businesses across Scotland has also been adversely affected by COVID-19 and we strongly sympathise with them in light of the challenges this has presented. Limited funding available has necessitated our focus on targeting those most impacted by restrictions. We will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID on businesses and to engage in dialogue with the UK Government on the case for support.

Question reference: S6W-05632

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) for what reason and (b) on what date it made the decision to reduce NatureScot's budget from £2.5 million to £1.8 million; what aspects of NatureScot's operations it anticipates may not proceed as a result of this reduction; what its position is on whether NatureScot will still be able to deliver all operations and services that it is required to following this budget reduction, and what the evidential basis is for its position.

NatureScot’s budget allocation for 2022-23 is £49.561 million. This year’s budget settlement represents the best possible outcome against the backdrop of significant pressures on public finances and the level of resources required to deliver statutory functions and agreed Ministerial environmental priorities across 2022-23. The Scottish Government are in dialogue with NatureScot on the specific priorities to be reflected in their forthcoming 2022-23 Operational Plan and next 5 year Corporate Plan. Both these documents are expected to be published in the first quarter of 2022.

Chamber and committees