Parliamentary questions
Maurice Golden
1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the comments by Zero Waste Scotland at the meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 28 September 2021 that consideration should be given to the carbon content of waste, instead of tonnage, when measuring recycling rates, and how it plans to recor…
Answer · Lorna Slater: We are working with industry, local government and environmental groups to develop a route map to deliver our waste and recycling targets for 2025. This work will also be critical in determining how the waste and resources sector will contribute towards lower…
6 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce domestic targets for waste based on the carbon metric rather than weight-based targets, as set out in its Zero Waste Plan from 2011.
Answer · Lorna Slater: We are working with industry, local government and environmental groups to develop a route map to deliver our waste and recycling targets for 2025. This work will also be critical in determining how the waste and resources sector will contribute towards lower…
4 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its review of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 will include a review of the effectiveness of breed-specific legislation.
Answer · Ash Denham: Further to the work of the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee in the previous session of Parliament, the Scottish Government has begun the process of reviewing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”). Earlier this year we published a c…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to findings from the charity, Cats Protection, which suggests that 29% of owned cats in Scotland are not microchipped, and what measures it is taking to encourage owners to microchip their cats to help reunite lost animals and identify those that have been stolen.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats recommends that all cat owners should consider neutering and microchipping their pets as the best way of being reunited with them should they be separated. The findings of the Cats Protection’…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that local authorities carry out their duty to collect and manage waste.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Waste management and collections are the responsibility of local authorities and they are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of waste and recycling services in their area. As democratically elected bodies it would not be appropriate for Sco…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of how much of the resources being presented at waste centres is considered to be fit for re-use.
Answer · Lorna Slater: This information is not held centrally and no recent specific analysis has been undertaken. UK wide analysis was carried out in 2012 by WRAP on the reuse potential of furniture and electrics collected at Household Waste Recycling Centres. The data shows just…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on setting a target for preparing waste for re-use.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Through our work to bring forward a Circular Economy Bill and develop a route map to achieving our targets to 2025 and beyond, we are investigating how further reuse and repairs could be encouraged and incentivised, including through more responsible producti…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of local authority waste centres have facilities capable of receiving items for re-use, also broken down by item category.
Answer · Lorna Slater: This information is not held centrally. SEPA’s Waste Data Flow website contains data on the amount of waste prepared for reuse by each Local Authority.
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the economic value of re-use, and what information it has regarding (a) how many jobs are supported and (b) the quantity of material that is re-used by this activity each year.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The report Making Things Last: A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland set out that the reuse economy in Scotland has a yearly turnover of at least £244 million, supports over 6,000 jobs, reuses 89,000 tonnes of material annually, and provides opportunities …
29 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote sustainable public procurement.
27 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve waste water treatment facilities to prevent (a) pharmaceuticals and (b) other novel pollutants entering the environment.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Water is working in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in the Chemical Investigation Programme (Scotland). Through environmental investigation this project identified chemicals of concern, their sources and concentrati…
27 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it is carrying out on the presence of pharmaceuticals in the natural environment.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03402 on 20 October 2021. 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 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects all relevant businesses to fully support and comply with the Deposit Return Scheme from the launch day onwards.
Answer · Lorna Slater: We expect all relevant businesses to fully comply with Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.
25 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what targeted support it is offering to businesses to ensure that they are prepared for the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, SEPA and Circularity Scotland Ltd, are engaging with businesses to address their queries and concerns regarding Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. SEPA is also in the process of developing guida…
25 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of businesses are currently on track to be able to fully comply with the Deposit Return Scheme at launch.
Answer · Lorna Slater: We do not monitor individual businesses readiness to comply with the Deposit Return Scheme. However Zero Waste Scotland, Circularity Scotland, the Scottish Government, SEPA, and Zero Waste Scotland have been engaging with businesses and trade associations to …
24 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will announce the outcome of the Gateway Review into the go-live date for the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government is considering the recommendations from the Gateway Review into the go-live date for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. I will provide an update to Parliament shortly.
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what material impact its policies and enforcement measures have had on incidences of waste crime over the last five years.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government continues to work with and support Scotland's environmental regulator SEPA in tackling waste crime. The introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced additional enforcement measures for SEPA to utilise which inc…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on establishing an annual appraisal of waste crime impacts.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Waste crime has a serious and detrimental impact on our environment, communities and compliant businesses. The Scottish Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy recognises waste crime as a strategic threat. In respect of an annual appraisal of waste…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to develop a dedicated framework to support businesses to report and act on nature-related risks, and what funding it has committed to such work.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government is engaging with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) a market-led, UN supported, international initiative, which builds on the model developed by the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all nationally significant infrastructure projects deliver a net biodiversity gain.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 sets out six outcomes to which a future National Planning Framework (NPF) should work towards, including securing positive effects for biodiversity, and we are developing new proposals which deliver positive outcomes for biodi…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of future opportunities for kerbside recycling of glass packaging containers that are not included in the forthcoming deposit return scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: No specific assessment has been carried out for kerbside glass recycling. However, the Scottish Government is committed to review the Household Recycling Charter’s Code of Practice, which aims to bring more consistency in household recycling services, and enc…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options it is considering to ensure that glass does not exit closed-loop recycling, if the forthcoming deposit return scheme does not include a re-melt target.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, requires any person who manages controlled waste to apply the Waste Hierarchy set out in Article 4(1) of Directive 2009/98/EC (the “Waste Framework Direc…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much glass it anticipates would exit closed-loop recycling and be recycled as aggregate if the forthcoming deposit return scheme does not include a re-melt target.
Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03192 on? 4 October 2021. 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…
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether 1 July 2022 continues to be the go-live date for the introduction of the deposit return scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: An independent review of the go-live date for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme was conducted in June this year. We are considering its findings and I will provide an update to Parliament and businesses shortly.
20 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what the impact would be of including a re-melt target for glass collected under the forthcoming deposit return scheme.
Answer · Lorna Slater: As per the answer to question S5W-33510 on 2 December 2020, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Full Business Case ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-case-stage-1/ ) was developed on the basis of glass being collect…
14 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support Scotland’s move to a more circular economy.
30 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many enquiries (a) it and (b) local authorities have received since March 2020 regarding a lack of provision of free personal care for under-65s.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not hold this data centrally.
30 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on the provision of free personal care for under-65s in each local authority in each year since the introduction of Frank’s Law.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02631 on 13 September 2021 September 2021. 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/ch…
30 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31723 by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020, how it is ensuring that everyone eligible for free personal care under Frank’s Law is receiving it during the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of data on this not being reported.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Eligibility for Free Personal Care is identified by an assessment of need. The assessment is carried out by a member of staff of the local authority's social work department. Local authorities have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess th…
30 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31723 by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020, whether it will clarify if data on the provision of free personal care for under-65s has continued to be collected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and, if so, whether it will provide an update on when it e…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Data on the implementation of free personal care to under 65’s, in line with other non-Covid-19 data collections, was temporarily postponed due to the pandemic and redirection of the Scottish Government and Local Authority resources to the pandemic response. …