Maurice Golden

11 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the new Scottish Aggregates Tax, due to be introduced in April 2026, will contribute to creating a circular economy.

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36723 by Fiona Hyslop on 6 May 2025, whether it will provide an update on Scottish Enterprise’s engagement with companies in the electric vehicle and battery processing industries.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As our national and international development agency, Scottish Enterprise continues to engage with companies regarding support and potential inward investment opportunities. Specific details of this engagement cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivity.

3 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the increase in domestic heat pump installations slowed from 27% between 2022-23 to 17% between 2023-24.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Data for the last full calendar year (2024)indicate that 7,355 heat pumps were installed in Scotland, 1061 more than for the last full calendar year. Over 2,500 heat pumps were funded by the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme in 2024.Numerous factors …

3 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no applications for funding from Scotland's Heat Network Fund were successful in 2024.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) is a demand-led capital grant scheme designed to support the deployment and expansion of zero-emission heat networks across Scotland. All applications are assessed against mandatory criteria to ensure alignment with t…

3 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is reviewing the effectiveness of firework control zones.

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its plans to align with EU textiles policy, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, includes support for adopting similar restrictions on the export of textile waste.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government supports the principle of alignment with the EU where it is meaningful to do so and contributes towards maintaining and advancing environmental standards.This includes developing a producer responsibility approach to textiles and measu…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the potential impact to charity and second-hand shops of introducing a kerbside textiles collection service, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government recently held a consultation on whether local councils should be required to collect textiles at the kerbside. This was part of a commitment in the Circular Economy & Waste Route Map.The consultation closed on 17 June 2025 and rece…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific data the Circular Jobs Tracker, which is discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, will collect; whether this will be made publicly available, and how frequently it will be updated.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The intention is that the Circular Jobs Tracker will utilise data that is publicly available, including, for example from the Scottish Supply-Use Tableshttps://www.gov.scot/publications/input-output-latest and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's Wast…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland will ensure that lifelong learning and reskilling opportunities will be made accessible to workers in industries transitioning to circular models.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland is intended to work within the wider policy context for lifelong learning. The Scottish Government recognises the critical importance of providing the current and future workforce with high-quality lifelong ski…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how apprenticeships and vocational qualifications will be updated to include circular skills, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is integrating sustainability and green skills, such as circularity, into apprenticeships in Scotland to ensure the system remains flexible and relevant as we transition to net zero.There is strong emphasis on the delivery of apprentic…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines “circular skills”, and what specific competencies will be prioritised in the education and skills reform programme, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Circular skills involve a range of skills such as repair, reuse, resource recovery and recycling as set out by Zero Waste Scotland on their website: https://cdn.zerowastescotland.org.uk/managed-downloads/mf-t4rmosgz-1729177635dThe Zero Waste Scotland report &…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what international best practice it examined in drawing up the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Several international circular economy strategies and approaches, in Europe and elsewhere, were considered during the development of the draft Circular Economy Strategy. This included, for example, international evidence such as the European Circular Economy …

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to set (a) a timeline and (b) mandatory quotas for circular economy procurement by public bodies.

Answer · Gillian Martin: In line with the Sustainable Procurement Duty in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2014/12/section/9), public bodies are already required to demonstrate in their annual procurement strategies how they will prioriti…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will define and measure “embedding circularity” in public sector procurement processes, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022: Public Procurement – Taking Account of Climate and Circular Economy Considerations clarifies expectations for public bodies with respect to addressing climate and circular economy considerations in procurement ac…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be new and dedicated funding provided to support the (a) actions of the proposed Zero Waste Scotland Business Information Hub and (b) activity of enterprise agencies, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Funding for these activities is included within this year’s budgets; future year budgets are to be confirmed. The Zero Waste Scotland Business Information Hub is designed to be an online self-service tool, building business knowledge of circular economy…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Zero Waste Scotland will coordinate with enterprise agencies to avoid duplicating support for circular economy practices, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Zero Waste Scotland has a long-standing relationship with all of the Enterprise Agencies, with a focus on collaboration and ensuring the collective support to businesses in Scotland is complementary.They are actively working on a range of projects, including …

27 Oct 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the change of use of agricultural land classified as grade 3 or above, including for infrastructure projects.

9 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the economic costs of dealing with the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The World Health Organisation (WHO) have advised there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastics in the environment. Consequently, there is currently no defined economic cost.As outlined in re…

9 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the impact of microplastics in disposable cups.

Answer · Gillian Martin: There has been no specific research on microplastics in single use cups, but wider research on the subject of microplastics was considered as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. This concluded that reducing the numbers of disposable cups being use…

9 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We recognise there could be public concerns relating to the potential health impacts of plastic pollution. We continue to closely monitor the developments and advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollutio…

9 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the health impacts of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Whilst there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastic in the environment, we are committed to reducing plastic pollution and tackling its contribution to litter through measures as outlined in…

24 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to people facing difficulties in meeting the cost of pet cremations, and what assessment it has made of the cost of these services.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government does not regulate or assess the cost of pet cremation services.The Scottish Government acknowledges that the loss of a pet is a difficult time. However, financial provision for the care and end of life needs form an important part of r…

23 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of whether there is a link between the prevalence of illicit trade, recent restrictions on products such as single use vapes and the level resources available to Trading Standards in Scotland and, if so, what the outcomes were.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government acknowledges the complex relationship between illicit trade and the introduction of regulatory measures such as the ban on single use vapes. While comprehensive data on the scale of illicit activity remains limited, this issue was cons…

23 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the 2025 biennial workforce survey by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), which highlights a shortage of staff and resources.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The regulation of consumer protection, including trading standards, is reserved to the UK Government and managed by local authorities and COSLA.The Scottish Government recognises the importance of trading standards and is considering this report in full. We w…

23 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of potential delays to the Scottish Budget announcement, whether it will confirm that the additional £3 million for Police Scotland to deal with retail crime will be renewed in 2026-27.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling retail crime was reaffirmed in our Programme for Government, which makes clear our strong support for Police Scotland’s robust approach in addressing this issue.The Scottish Government has commenced…

22 Sep 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current state of readiness is for the upcoming ban on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill.

16 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated from its Budget 2025-26 tosupport local authorities to improve waste management services, in line withits plan for a transition to a circular economy.

7 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its international development strategy, what its position is on discussing with the UK Government (a) legislating to compel private creditors to participate in debt restructuring on equal terms with other lenders and (b) supporting the establishment of a UN debt workout mech…

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government recognises the huge pressure that escalating debt levels are putting on countries in the Global South, particularly when compounded with the climate crisis and with the recent cuts to aid budgets. We agree that there must be a fair, ef…

7 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its international development strategy and reported evidence suggesting that over 60% of African nations spend more on external debt repayments than on healthcare or education, what steps it is taking to support international efforts to address the global debt crisis,

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government recognises the huge pressure that escalating debt levels are putting on countries in the Global South, particularly when compounded with the climate crisis and with the recent cuts to aid budgets. We agree that there must be a fair, ef…

4 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-37772 by GillianMartin on 3 June 2025, how it will track (a) how local authorities spendextended producer responsibility funds dispensed to them and (b) any subsequentimprovement to waste services arising from such spend.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in the answer to question S6W-37772, payments made under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging are not part of the Scottish Government’s budget and are made directly by PackUK (the scheme administrator) with the purpose - to pa…