Parliamentary questions
Maurice Golden
1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since 2016 it has met with COSLA to progress the introduction of a national minimum allowance for foster carers, and whether it expects to be able to introduce a minimum allowance before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government does no t hold information dating back to 2016, but we have met COSLA eight times in 2022 to progress the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for kinship and foster care. We will continue to work closely with them to fin…
6 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many fault reports submitted by members of the public regarding the public electric vehicle (EV) charger network were received in each of the last 12 months.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We are committed to providing a reliable network and an easy charging experience for drivers. Overall reliability across the ChargePlace Scotland network is typically very good with the entire network up and running around 95% of the time each month . Most fa…
6 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many minutes of downtime were recorded across the public electric vehicle (EV) charger network in each of the last 12 months, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The following table provides a monthly breakdown of network uptime across the entire ChargePlace Scotland network for the last year with an average uptime of 97.1%. The Scottish Government do not currently hold this information by Local Authority area for th…
6 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason fewer than 10% of faults on the public electric vehicle (EV) charger network reportedly identified in a recent BBC investigation appeared in official logs.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The recent BBC investigation was heavily reliant on data sourced from third party websites and limited anecdotal evidence from a very small proportion of the network as opposed to comprehensive, consistent, verified data directly from the CPS operator. The th…
2 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will act on the suggestion of the First Minister’s Environmental Council at its meeting in June 2022 to further investigate the “use of critical elements such as Lithium”.
Answer · Lorna Slater: We welcome the valuable input from the First Minister's Environment Council, which we will take into account as part of wider policy development, for example work to develop Scotland's battery technology supply chain.
2 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what responses the First Minister’s Environmental Council gave to the question, posed to the Council at its June 2022 meeting, “In your experience, what are the best mechanisms to reduce consumption of raw materials and how do they fit with the policy priorities that [the Scottish Govern…
Answer · Lorna Slater: The First Minister’s Environmental Council’s responses to the question regarding mechanisms to reduce consumption in raw materials can be found in the minutes of the meeting on 13 June 2022: www.gov.scot/publications/first-ministers-environmental-council-min…
2 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will act on the recommendation of the First Minister’s Environmental Council to consider targets focused on the environmental footprint of goods rather than weight-based targets.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Yes, as set out in our recent Waste and Circular Economy Route Map consultation, we intend to set new circular economy targets for the period to 2030 which go beyond weight-based criteria. We must ensure that any future targets correspond to our Environment …
30 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all specialist food and drink retailers producing hampers, parcels and gift sets that it has engaged with on its Deposit Return Scheme since 28 October 2021.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government has engaged with a wide range of drinks businesses throughout the policy development and implementation stages for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including through two stages of consultation (running from 25 June 2018 – 25 September …
30 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09253 by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022, whether it will provide a breakdown of all of the individual meetings that it has had with small brewers to discuss its Deposit Return Scheme since 28 October 2021.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) discussed the Deposit Return Scheme with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 24 March 2022 and myself on 31 October 2022. Scottish Government officials also meet regularly with small brewers’ represen…
30 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has carried out on the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on donations of drinks to charities and other good causes.
Answer · Lorna Slater: No modelling has been carried out to ascertain the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) on donations of drinks to charities and other good causes. As the scheme is cost neutral to consumers, provided they return their empty containers in order to redee…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the amount of emissions generated from the manufacture of textiles in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Unfortunately, the Scottish Government is unable to produce these specific statistics as the Greenhouse Gas Inventory that we use does not allow us to extract data separately for textiles. However, a one-off project published in November 2020 ( available her…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10333 by Mairi Gougeon on 13 September 2022, whether it will provide details of the terms and timeline of the review of the British Wool Board.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The review of the British Wool Board is being conducted by Defra in collaboration with British Wool and the Devolved Administrations. The review is intended to produce a set of recommendations for improvements to the current model which will be agreed by UK a…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10334 by Mairi Gougeon on 13 September 2022, what proportion of the £564 million Common Agriculture Policy payments in 2021 was specifically allocated to support wool farmers.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are not specifically allocated to wool farmers. Sheep producers in Scotland are however eligible for a number of CAP support schemes including the Basic Payment Scheme (payments total circa. £418 million), Less Favour…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11018 by Lorna Slater on 30 September 2022, what the intended aim is of the 75% split in favour of capital expenditure in the overall grant budget allocation of the Circular Textiles Fund, in light of the fact that applications are not required to i…
Answer · Lorna Slater: The aim of the split is to allow a wide range of applications for different types of innovations, including for potential capital support which can be of higher cost.
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11018 by Lorna Slater on 30 September 2022, how many applications that do not include capital expenditure elements have been successful at stage 1 in relation to the Circular Textiles Fund.
Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11774 on 8 December 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many wool-related applications have progressed to stage 2 in relation to the Circular Textiles Fund.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Zero Waste Scotland are currently concluding the applicant process for round 1 of the Circular Textile Fund. Announcements on funding decisions will be made in due course, once the robust application and assessment process is complete.
18 Oct 2022 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the progress that has been made on a Deposit Return Scheme.
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02434 by Lorna Slater on 13 September 2021, what progress has been made on the waste compositional analysis, and whether it will be possible to publish updated food waste data before the full analysis is completed.
Answer · Lorna Slater: As set out in our recent Waste Route Map consultation, Zero Waste Scotland is currently delivering a programme of household kerbside waste composition analysis, in partnership with local authorities. This is expected to be completed in 2023. It is not possib…
1 Oct 2022 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to meet air quality limit values, in light of the recent report from Environmental Standards Scotland.
28 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10252 by Michael Matheson on 7 September 2022, for what reason no monitoring activity was undertaken in areas of high population and high population density, such as Aberdeen City, Dundee City, East and West Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Ren…
Answer · Michael Matheson: Sampling was carried out in the Chemical Investigation Programme 2 (CIP2) Scotland in areas of high density and low dilution wastewater treatment works (WwTW) at inland watercourses to identify WwTW at the greatest risk of non-compliance with the Priority Sub…
24 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10660 by Maree Todd on 27 September 2022, what its position is on whether questions around eating disorders should be incorporated into future Scottish Health Surveys, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government recognises the impact that eating disorders can have on people's lives. Questions on eating disorders will be considered, alongside other requests for new questions submitted as part of the recent review of the Scottish Health Survey …
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10419 by Lorna Slater on 20 September 2022, whether it will provide the information requested and provide a list of the meetings held by the board, and which ministers attended each meeting, and for what reason it did not provide this information in…
Answer · Lorna Slater: The programme board overseeing delivery of the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste by 2025 is chaired by senior Scottish Government officials and comprises representatives from SEPA, Cosla, Solace and Zero Waste Scotland. Scottish Min…
20 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will address any concerns over cost pressures affecting the retail sector.
8 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10331 by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022, whether support from the Circular Textiles Fund is available without capital expenditure requirements.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Yes. Support from the Circular Textiles Fund is available without capital expenditure requirements. Further information on funding for applicants to the Circular Textiles Fund is available at:- https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/faqs-circular-text…
8 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10335 by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022, what metric it uses to assess and direct support for Scottish wool producers in the absence of data on the quantity of Scottish wool used in manufacturing.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A wide range of Scottish Government support is available to Scottish wool producers and manufacturers through the Find Business Support webpage ( https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/ ) and our enterprise agencies who work with companies to discuss their sp…
8 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10335 by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022, whether it has any plans to collect such data.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to collect such data.
8 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has verified the process used by Circularity Scotland to calculate producer fees for the proposed Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: In line with European best practice for scheme administrators of deposit return schemes, Circularity Scotland Ltd is a private company independent of the Scottish Ministers. Accordingly, the Scottish Government is not required to verify the processes used by …
6 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what powers Scottish Ministers have to require Circularity Scotland to publish the methodology used to set retailer handling fees for the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: In line with European best practice for scheme administrators of deposit return schemes, Circularity Scotland Ltd is a private company independent of the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Ministers have no powers to require Circularity Scotland Ltd to publish …
6 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has confidence that the correct regulatory process was followed in setting the retailer handling fee structure for the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Regulations underpinning Scotland’s DRS state what factors need to be considered when developing the retailer handling fee. The Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd, followed a robust, independent process that considered these factors to set han…
1 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Deposit Return Scheme public awareness campaign launched; how long it will run for; what budget has been allocated to it, and what engagement has been recorded from the public to date.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Public communications for Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are taking place over two phases. The first focuses on business and has already commenced, the second will focus on consumers and will take place closer to the scheme’s launch.