Parliamentary questions

Karen Gillon

705 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for reductions in the annual mileage of ministerial cars.

Answer · John Swinney: There are no specific targets set. Travel is always made with a view to supporting the efficient conduct of Scottish Government business. Wherever practicable Cabinet Secretaries and ministers use public transport and walk to their engagements.

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with supermarkets about reducing the packaging on their individually branded products.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I have met retailers recently on a number of occasions. On packaging, the Scottish Government supports work by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) under the Courtauld Commitment. Under the Courtauld Commitment, retailers are committed to supportin…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2008-09 have been agreed with all 32 councils and should all now be publicly available. As councils were responsible for producing the SOAs and are responsible for the delivery of local services, questions regardi…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in business mileage.

Answer · John Swinney: Single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2008-09 have been agreed with all 32 councils and should all now be publically available. As councils were responsible for producing the SOAs and are responsible for the delivery of local services, questions regar…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in waste to landfill.

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for year-on-year reduction of waste by non-departmental public bodies.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There are no specific targets laid down by government on reducing the waste produced by non-departmental public bodies. We will consider this matter further in the review of the National Waste Plan and in our work on the Leading By Example programme, establis…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for year-on-year reduction of waste from local authority buildings.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The previous Scottish Executive provided resources to local authorities to carry out audits of their own waste and to draw up plans to minimise the amount of waste produced. However, there are no specific targets laid down by government for waste reduction fr…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for year-on-year reduction of waste from NHS facilities.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not set specific targets for the year-on-year reduction of waste from NHS facilities but has set overall national targets for recycling and composting of municipal waste of 40% by 2010 and 70% by 2020. NHSScotland is bound…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for year-on-year reduction of waste from its buildings.

Answer · John Swinney: In December 2007 the Scottish Government announced new targets for tackling wastes arising in its own buildings: To reduce total wastes arising by 10 percent by 2011, relative to a baseline of 2006-07. To reduce total wastes arising by 25 pe…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to local authorities to support improved recycling, reduction and reuse of waste from their facilities.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Envirowise Scotland have information for local authorities on resource efficiency and sustainability issues, in relation to their own buildings and operations on their website. <a href="http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/localauthority">http://www.envirowise.gov.uk…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to the NHS to support improved recycling, reduction and reuse of waste from NHS facilities.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health Directorates provides operational support and guidance on waste management issues to NHSScotland through Health Facilities Scotland, a Division of NHS National Services Scotland. Guidance is available on the safe management and …

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide stricter penalties for commercial properties that fail to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The main financial penalty for commercial and other business that fail to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste is the landfill tax, which is the responsibility of the UK Government. We are planning to consult shortly on possible legislation on waste manageme…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide incentives to encourage commercial properties to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the question S3W-14446, answered on 22 July 2008, which gives details on the advice and information currently available to the owners and managers of commercial properties. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on …

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging commercial properties to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Government funds the Envirowise programme, which provides advice to business on how to reduce the amount of waste they produce <a href="http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland">http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland</a>, and the Scottish Environment Protecti…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will target reductions in commercial waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The government funds the Envirowise programme, which provides advice to business on how to reduce the amount of waste they produce <a href="http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland">http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland</a>. Other measures also help to reduce th…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce site waste management plans in Scotland.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We are currently promoting site waste management plans on a voluntary basis. Paragraph 51 of Scottish Planning Policy 10 on Planning for Waste Management supports the use of Site Waste Management Plans <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/…

18 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many further education colleges are able to provide blind students with Braille support.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We do not hold information centrally regarding the provision of Braille support by individual colleges. Any additional support provided to students attending college is based on the individual needs of the student in the context of undertaking a particular co…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether allocations made under the Scottish Rural Development Programme will be broken down by region and policy measure.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Funding allocations within the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) are made according to four axes defined in the Rural Development Regulation (EC Regulation 1698/2005). These four axes cover business development, the countryside and environment, rura…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether allocations made under the Scottish Rural Development Programme will be broken down by category of applicant.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: In general, allocations made under the Scotland Rural Development Programme are not broken down by category of applicant. However, some measures and eligibility criteria are aimed at specific groups such as new entrants, crofters or those engaged in organic f…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether allocations made under the Scottish Rural Development Programme will be made available by regional area.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13968 on 13 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how allocations made under the Scottish Rural Development Programme will be monitored.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Monitoring of the Scotland Rural Development Programme will be undertaken by a Programme Monitoring Committee consisting of rural development stakeholders, and officials from the Scottish Government and its partners.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which elements of the Scottish Rural Development Programme involve competition.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) has nine delivery mechanisms, namely the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS); Rural Development Contracts (Land Managers Options); Rural Development Contracts (Rural Priorities); Crofting Counties Agricult…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it consulted NFU Scotland before using voluntary modulation as an efficiency saving to Scottish Government budgets.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Stakeholders in the Scotland Rural Development Programme were consulted over the rates of voluntary modulation, but were not consulted about the classification of voluntary modulation as an efficiency saving.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it considers that it is appropriate to move money from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2 in the Scottish Rural Development Programme in order to achieve efficiency savings and therefore remove direct support to Scottish farmers.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Voluntary modulation enables the Scottish Government to transfer money from Pillar I of the CAP to Pillar 2 in order to augment the low funding level of Rural Development funding that Scotland receives from the European Commission, as a result of the deal acc…

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how funding identified as efficiency savings as a result of voluntary modulation has been reallocated

Answer · Richard Lochhead: All funds resulting from voluntary modulation will be made available to help fund the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of voluntary modulation would have been if it had not decided to use voluntary modulation as a way of achieving efficiency savings.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The level of voluntary modulation would have been the same.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the current level of voluntary modulation it considers to be efficiency savings

Answer · Richard Lochhead: All of the funds raised through voluntary modulation are considered to be efficiency savings.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-13514 and S3W-13394 by Nicola Sturgeon and Richard Lochhead on 4 and 5 June 2008 respectively, why it is not appropriate to indicate in these instances whether legal advice was sought but it was appropriate for the First Minister to state on 7 June…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The First Minister’s statement on 7 June 2007 referred to advice sought from the Lord Advocate in her capacity as the independent head of the system of prosecution in Scotland. The two parliamentary questions referred to asked about legal advice given to the …

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy or negotiating accession to the European Union would take greater priority if Scotland became independent.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The basis of the member’s question is inaccurate. An independent Scotland would continue to be part of the EU.

6 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy would be compatible with continued membership of the European Union.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13878 on 19 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…