Parliamentary questions
Maurice Golden
1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the British Business Bank having a published rate of return that the UK Government has set, whether it will set a rate of return for the Scottish National Investment Bank.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish National Investment Bank will operate commercially and seek a commercial return on its investments. How that is determined will vary depending on the circumstances of the investment the Bank is considering. The Bank will now be growing its invest…
27 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often it has engaged with (a) each local authority and (b) other statutory bodies since 2014 to better understand the impact of anti-litter enforcement practices.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has been, and continues to be, committed to engaging with local authorities and other key partners on the issue of litter. An enforcement sub-group of the Litter Managers Network has been set up to focus on enforcement and to discuss s…
27 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) litter control areas and (b) street litter control notices have been introduced in each year since 2014.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This information is held at a local level by individual local authorities and each authority would need to be contacted to provide the details being requested.
27 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for how many fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping have been issued by the police in each year since 2014, also broken down by the number paid.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Government does not hold information on fixed penalty notices issued by police for flytipping.
27 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what baselines have been established to monitor and track the litter reduction interventions set out in its strategy, Towards a litter-free Scotland: a strategic approach to higher quality local environments.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Local Environment Audit and Management System (LEAMS) has been used since 2003 to collect data on local environmental quality. This data is collected by Local Authorities and administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Zero Waste Scotland is working with Keep S…
27 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what litter reduction campaigns and projects it has supported since 2014, also broken down by how much funding it has provided to each.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Government has given over £1.5 million supporting litter and flytipping reduction campaigns and projects across Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32510 on 13 November 2020, which outlines behaviour change marketing campaigns…
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to appoint a scheme administrator under the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A coalition of major drinks producers and trade bodies has confirmed to us its intention to apply for approval as a scheme administrator. Under the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, Scottish Ministers have 28 days from receipt of an app…
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has carried out on the potential impact of a second independence referendum on the expected outcomes of Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan: Shaping Scotland’s Economy, and whether it will publish the findings of this.
Answer · Michael Russell: On 18 March 2020, the Scottish Government announced that because of the Covid-19 crisis, the Scottish Government had paused work on preparing for an independence referendum this year. However, the member will be interested to know that previous modelling by …
14 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates it has met representatives of the aviation industry since January 2020.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Dates the Scottish Government has met representatives of the aviation industry are included in the following table. Date Stakeholder 09-Jan-20 HIAL 14-Jan-20 PIK 16-Jan-20 PIK 22-Jan-20 HIAL 22-Jan-20 HIAL 24-Jan-20 HIAL 10-Feb-20 HIAL 11-Feb…
13 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32948 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2020, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding the date that the 2020-21 Scottish Enterprise R&D budget was approved.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The R&D budget was set at the Scottish Enterprise Board meeting held on 28 February 2020.
11 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32552 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 10 November 2020, whether it will provide the information requested regarding when it last met representatives of (a) community and (b) national football authorities.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As I stated in my answer to S5W-32552 the Scottish Government are in regular contact with the footballing authorities to discuss a range of issue.
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-32259 and SW5- 32008 by Fiona Hyslop on 20 October 2020 and Maree Todd on 6 October 2020 respectively, whether private tuition of school pupils can be delivered in private homes at each level of its COVID-19 Strategic Framework.
Answer · Maree Todd: In light of the publication of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Scotland's Strategic Framework on 23 October 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19): organised activities for children guidance for organised activities and services for children, including babies and to…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32198 by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 October 2020, what alternative methodologies have been used in the absence of granular and sector data collection to monitor progress toward its target of reducing food waste by 33%.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: While our capacity to measure and monitor on a granular and sector specific level develops, we have identified some alternative interim measurement methodologies. For household data, we have utilised waste compositional data from 5 local authorities in Scotla…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided in each year since 2014 to customer loyalty schemes that reward people for resource efficiency, as set out in Zero Waste: Towards a Litter-free Scotland: A Strategic Approach To Higher Quality Local Environments.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland has published advice on incentives to reduce littering through choice architecture and design in the report ‘More Carrot Less Stick’ . In 2013, Zero Waste Scotland funded a number of ‘recycle and reward’ pilot projects to test the incre…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken since 2014 to encourage businesses to collaborate when commissioning waste collection services, and how many such partnerships have been formed each year.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Since 2014, Zero Waste Scotland, SEPA & local authorities have engaged with several thousand businesses regardingcompliance with the Waste (Scotland) regulations 2012 andwider resource efficiency measures. Where appropriate, this engagement included advice on…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what pilot schemes have been introduced to address accidental/wind-blown litter in each year since 2014.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland has provided additional guidance through communications, Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse engagement and litter prevention action plans to help support stakeholders to minimise the impact of litter escaping from bins or vehicles.
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the pilot action to address littering and fly-tipping in remote rural locations, as set out in Zero Waste: Towards a Litter-free Scotland: A Strategic Approach To Higher Quality Local Environments.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A number of relevant projects in remote areas have been funded through the following funds:Litter and Flytipping Community Action Fund 2014-2015Flytipping Small Grants Scheme 2011-2013Recycle on The Go Infrastructure Fund In addition, Zero Waste Scotland are…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Recycle on the Go facilities have been installed in each local authority area, also broken down by how much waste these have captured.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Through funding supplied to stakeholders, 4,254 Recycle on the Go bins were installed across 22 local authority areas between 2011-2016, providing an estimated 600,000 litres of capacity. An analysis suggests that the 3,095 bins (450,000 litres of capacity) …
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) locations, (b) costs and (c) outcomes have been of the pilot scheme to reward communities that encourage voluntary clean-ups of black spots, as set out in Zero Waste: Towards a Litter-free Scotland: A Strategic Approach To Higher Quality Local Environments.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We have recently provided grant funding to support Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) and Marine Conservation Society (MCS) volunteer-led clean ups and to provide clean, disinfected equipment for small group clean ups in locations across Scotland. There have been…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) businesses, (b) land managers and (c) third sector groups since 2014 to improve the monitoring and reporting of littering, and what subsequent improved data capture has been recorded.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (Scotland) was revised and published in 2018. Through Zero Waste Scotland, over 60 engagement sessions were held with local authorities and other duty holders, and these included material on the importance of monitori…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent assessment is of the financial impact of littering.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This question was looked at extensively in July 2013 in the Zero Waste Scotland report Scotland’s Litter Problem . This looked at both direct and indirect costs, and whether these are currently internalised or externalised. Elements of this work were revisi…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted since 2014 regarding public attitudes to littering.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland published a qualitative report in 2015 that sought to understand both perceptions of litter and attitudes towards litter to help inform and shape key behavioural interventions. Additionally, a short survey of public attitudes and behaviour…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) locations, (b) costs and (c) reductions in litter frequency/volume have been of the tailored local messaging pilot projects to influence behaviour in motivating people not to litter, as set out in Zero Waste: Towards a Litter-free Scotland: A Strategic Approach To Higher Qua…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A contextual messaging toolkit has been developed based on behavioural insights research Public Perceptions and Concerns Around Litter carried published in 2015. The litter toolkit cost £120,000 and helps to provide effective context-specific and local commun…
2 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been made to the Dumb Dumpers hotline in each year since 2014.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The following table provides a summary of the number of calls received by the SEPA Call Centre Dumb Dumpers Hotline 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (to date) TOTAL CALLS 1338 1512 1556 1484 1743 1786 …
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to Scottish Enterprise’s research and development budget in the current fiscal year; on what date this budget was approved, and how it compares with the equivalent budget in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The allocation to Scottish Enterprise’s research and development budget for 2020-21 and equivalent spend in the preceding years is as follows. These figures include from FY2018/19 to FY2020/21, an additional £15 million each year for business R&D grants that …
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many training courses to develop the skills required for energy efficiency and low-carbon heat have been available across colleges in Scotland in each of the last five years, and what targeted funding has been made available to support each course in each year.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The latest data available are from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and go up to and including the academic year 2018-19 and pre-date the establishment of new funding streams designed to support the green recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. The data cov…
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the loans issued under the SME Loan Scheme to aid energy efficiency measures, (a) how many loans have been issued and (b) what the total value of (i) issued and (ii) repaid loans has been in each year since it launched.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Since the launch of the SME Loan Scheme in its current form in 2013, 594 loans have been paid to aid businesses to implement energy efficiency measures. SME Energy Efficiency loan paid number and value by FY budgets as at 30 th September 2020 Financial year…
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding awarded through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) since 2015, and what the (a) outcomes have been and (b) current status is of each funded project.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Details of projects awarded funding through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) since 2015 are available below and on the LCITP website. https://www.gov.scot/policies/renewable-and-low-carbon-energy/low-carbon-infrastructure-transition…
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund have been (a) received and (b) approved since it opened in August 2020, and when the first payments will be made.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund was opened for applications on 21 August 2020 with the closing date for applications on 18 December 2020, with funding awards being made in January 2021. As of 9 November 2020, there have been no applications submitted or…
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the loans issued under the Home Energy Scotland Loan Scheme, (a) how many loans have been issued and (b) what the total value of (i) issued and (ii) repaid loans has been in each year since it launched.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The number of Home Energy Scotland loans issued, the value of those issued and the value of repaid loans, since its launch are: Number of loans issued by year since launch of scheme Year 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Total Number of loans issued 1173 1679 …