Questions and answers

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-16908

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 its response is to reported comments by the chief executive of Tesco that the Deposit Return Scheme is "not fit for purpose", and what work it is doing to engage with the UK’s main supermarkets on this issue.

Following the announcement of the new launch date, the First Minister and the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy, and Biodiversity met with senior industry representatives, including the main supermarkets, to discuss the scheme. While Tesco was invited they were unable to send a representative, however the First Minister was able to meet with the Tesco’s CEO and their Head of Communications & Devolved Government Relations in London of 25 April. The Scottish Government is continuing to work with industry, both producers and retailers, to ensure that when Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme launches on 1 March 2024 it works for all.

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-16906

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 much has been spent on circularity education (a) in schools, (b) in colleges, (c) in workplaces and (d) for the general public, in each of the last five years.

Information on what has been spent on circularity education in schools, colleges and workplaces is not held centrally but we have been able to establish that the support set out below has been provided.

Over the last five years, Zero Waste Scotland has employed an education and skills team (between 1 and 3 FTEs), to work with education and skills delivery bodies in Scotland to encourage uptake and incorporation of circular economy content into educational materials.

Zero Waste Scotland has spent £185,000 on education and skills projects, following the publication of Scottish Government’s Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) in 2020, to support the delivery of CESAP projects.

In addition, Zero Waste Scotland has, over the last five years, supported the Construction Supply Chain Sustainability School with £69,250.

The Scottish Government provided the Scottish Waste Industry Training, Competency, Health & Safety (SWITCH) forum with a grant of £50,000 in 2022-23. As part of this grant funding, SWITCH established two training courses in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland, targeted at supervisors in the waste industry, to develop skills and knowledge in waste legislation, licensing, compliance and planning.

The Scottish Government has also spent £569,501 over the last five years on relevant communications targeting the general public, principally focused on food waste.

Question reference: S6W-16899

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of each Special Adviser, also broken down by their (a) responsibility and (b) pay band, and what the total cost of employing Special Advisers is expected to be (i) in 2023-24 and (ii) over the course of the parliamentary session.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.

As at the date of your request, the following Special Advisers were in post:

Colin McAllister

Callum McCaig

Jeanette Campbell

Gavin Corbett

Ewan Crawford

Jennie Gollan

David Hutchison

Harry Huyton

Ross Ingebrigtsen

Emily Mackintosh

Jack Middleton

The Pay Bands and Pay Ranges for those Special Advisers are as follows:

Pay Band	Pay Range (£)	Number of SpAds in Band
1	£53,915 - £56,428	0
2	£58,946 - £72,441	4
3	£74,650 - £95,019	6
4	£101,088 - £107,149	1

Since the date of your request, further Special Adviser appointments have been made and a current list of Special Advisers and their responsibilities can be found on the Scottish Government website

With Special Advisers still being appointed, the total cost for 2023-24 and for the rest of the Parliamentary term is not known.

Question reference: S6W-16902

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the change of First Minister, whether it will provide an update on how many Special Advisers it now employs, broken down by (a) job title, (b) who they work for and (c) pay scale.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. All Special Advisers are appointed by, and remain under the responsibility of, the First Minister.

As at the date of your request, the following Special Advisers were in post:

Colin McAllister

Callum McCaig

Jeanette Campbell

Gavin Corbett

Ewan Crawford

Jennie Gollan

David Hutchison

Harry Huyton

Ross Ingebrigtsen

Emily Mackintosh

Jack Middleton

The Pay Bands and Pay Ranges for those Special Advisers are as follows:

Pay Band	Pay Range (£)	Number of SpAds in Band
1	£53,915 - £56,428	0
2	£58,946 - £72,441	4
3	£74,650 - £95,019	6
4	£101,088 - £107,149	1

Since the date of your request, further Special Adviser appointments have been made and a current list of Special Advisers and their responsibilities can be found on the Scottish Government website

Question reference: S6W-16862

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the latest ministerial reshuffle, for what reason it was decided that the Minister for Higher and Further Education should also have portfolio responsibilities in relation to veterans, and what its position is on whether there is any overlap between the two portfolios.

Graeme Dey MSP holds two distinct and separate Ministerial roles within the Scottish Government. These are Minister for Higher and Further Education and also Minister for Veterans.

Mr Dey is a previous holder of this post. As Minister for Veterans from 2018 to 2021, he was widely recognised as a highly effective Minister for Veterans. At that time he also held the role of Minister for Parliamentary Business.

Keith Brown MSP, a veteran himself, was also Minister for Veterans from 2021 to 2023 whilst also being the Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

As with all previous posts there is no overlap between the two positions. As with all Ministerial appointments, the final decision on responsibilities rests with the First Minister.

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-16926

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 whether scheme articles under the proposed Deposit Return Scheme are deemed to create a new category of waste for the purposes of waste collection services and monitoring.

Question reference: S6W-16748

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider bringing forward an amendment to the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill to include provisions on snaring.

Chamber and committees