Parliamentary questions
Maurice Golden
1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what targeted support it will provide to local authority areas that showed a negative change in recycling rates between 2018 and 2019.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In the Programme for Government 2020-21 we announced the establishment of a £70 recycling fund to improve local authority collection infrastructure, along with the development of a route map to achieving our 2025 recycling targets. We will work in partnership…
31 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest household waste statistics from SEPA, which state that the recycling rate in Scotland’s two largest cities either declined or remained stagnant between 2018 and 2019.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Two thirds of local authorities improved their recycling rate between 2018 and 2019. We are aware that some local authorities face specific challenges in improving their recycling rates. Alongside Zero Waste Scotland, we will continue to work with local auth…
29 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32549 by Michael Matheson on 29 October 2020, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what date it last met representatives of the aviation industry.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government last met representatives of the aviation industry on 10 November 2020.
29 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been received for each of its COVID-19 Restrictions Funds, broken down by local authority area; how many of these (a) have been approved, (b) have been declined and (c) are awaiting a decision; whether it will update this information on a regular basis and, if …
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is working closely with COSLA and all local authorities to deliver the Restrictions Fund, including monitoring arrangements to record the numbers of applications received and payments made. Information for Closure and Hardships Funds w…
27 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow the installation of electric vehicle charging points at residential properties as permitted developments.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Town and Country (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2014 (the Order), Part 2 D, Class 9E and 9F already provides that planning permission is not required for the installation of an electrical outlet mounted on a wall or for an upst…
27 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific risk factors were identified that led to casinos being entirely disassociated from hospitality businesses in the COVID-19 Strategic Framework where currently they are permitted to remain open alongside hospitality businesses outside of the Central Belt.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Casinos are subject to hospitality rules if situated in areas at levels where they can open, levels 0 and 1, and the industry COVID guidance is linked to the Scottish Government guidance on hospitality. Within the Strategic Framework approach they are treated…
27 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32494 by Kate Forbes on 26 October 2020, how many home deliveries of office equipment and supplies have been made to public sector workers through its procurement framework in each month since March 2020.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The number of deliveries of IT equipment and supplies made directly by suppliers to home addresses through our procurement frameworks since March 2020 is shown in the following table. Items include laptop and desktop computers, monitors, and accessories such …
26 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance was issued to local authorities regarding the payment of the business support grants that opened for application on 20 October 2020.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Guidance was provided online on the Scottish Government website and in grant letters.
26 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed fund to top-up payments from the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme will open for applications, and when the first payments will be made.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government furlough support fund is providing businesses with grants of £1,650 per premise to help meet the cost of furloughing staff by providing support towards the 20% employer’s contribution that businesses are required to pay under the Octob…
26 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when its £11 million fund for business support opened; how much has been paid out so far, and when the first payments were made.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: On 27 October we announced that the first tranche of payments through this fund would be made available to nightclubs and soft play centres which have been closed since March. No payments have yet been made through this fund as we are working in partnership …
26 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of its £48 million business support fund was paid out in the first seven days after applications opened on 20 October 2020.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Data is being collated and is going through validation processes and will be published in due course.
21 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture that "up to £9 million of funding will help with the costs of re-furloughing staff by supporting the 20% salary contribution required by the UK Government" and that "payment mechanisms for additional…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Businesses that have already applied for a Closure Grant will be contacted by their local authority directly to add the furlough support to their application. Any closure grant applications received before 5pm on 3 November will be considered to include the a…
21 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27751 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 March 2020, whether the funding for Creative Communities is still £900,000 for the period October 2020 to June 2021.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has provided total funding of £900,000 to the Creative Communities Programme to cover the period to July 2021.
19 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the COVID-19 Restrictions Fund, which local authorities will administer, will be part of its discretionary fund.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Of the £48 million made available to support businesses through the COVID-19 Restrictions Fund, we have allocated £11 million to the Discretionary element of this Fund. On 27 October we announced that the first tranche of payments through this fund would be …
19 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm that applications to the Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund from companies in the creative supply chain are being given equal consideration for funding as culture organisations and venues.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All eligible applications to the Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund will be given equal consideration by Creative Scotland. Supply chain businesses that work in support of cultural activity were able to apply to the fund.
18 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Scottish Youth Guarantee and when young people will begin to be supported by this scheme; how much money has been spent on the scheme since it was announced; how many (a) young people have received assistance from the scheme, (b) y…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture set out further details on how the Young Person's Guarantee would be delivered, including details on the £60m of additional funding and how young people would be supported, in her statement to Parli…
18 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide additional funding support to the personal beauty industry, in light of the current close contact retail regulations that effectively prevent many treatments.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32389 on 27 October 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies have intervened in the production of the Indian film, Bell Bottom, to halt filming work and, if so, for what reason.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: a) The Scottish Government did not intervene in the production of Bell Bottom to halt filming work. b/c)The information requested about Scottish Government agencies and other public bodies is not held centrally.
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the production of the Indian film, Bell Bottom, was able to start filming during the initial 14-day isolation period when the cast and crew were in a defined "bubble", as set out in the British Film Commission guidance, Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The production company was able to make use of the quarantine exemption provided by the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Under this exemptions, crew members were able to travel from their accommodation to a p…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of incidents where (a) it and (b) its agencies have intervened to (i) temporarily and (ii) permanently halt film productions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: ai) and aii) The Scottish Government announced on 22 March that Scotland would be placed under lockdown. Although the Scottish Government did not have any direct contact with productions actively filming in Scotland at this time, any production filming in Sco…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the producers of the Indian film, Bell Bottom, regarding delays to filming the production in Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has had no direct engagement with the producers of the Indian film, Bell Bottom. However, we are aware that Screen Scotland engaged with the production in the planning stages and when it arrived in Scotland.
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when (a) it and (b) its agencies last met representatives of the Indian film industry regarding the filming of productions in Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: a)The Scottish Government has not met with members of the Indian film industry regarding filming of productions in Scotland; however, I met with Poonam Gupta OBE, Chief Executive of PG Paper, on 21 October 2020. Ms Gupta met with me on behalf of a producer fr…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options there are to treat municipal waste in the event that compositional changes result in the rate of kgCO2e/t from incineration overtaking landfill.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Prevention, reuse and recycling are always preferable waste management options, over energy recovery or disposal of waste. We have ambitious targets to improve the way we manage materials by reducing waste, increasing recycling and keeping materials at a hig…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on discussions between SEPA and energy-from-waste (EfW) operators in relation to improving data collection to determine the (a) composition and volume of incinerated waste and (b) final destination of waste items that are difficult to incinerate.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Energy from waste (EfW) operators submit quarterly data returns on the types and quantities of waste they accept. These are included in the Official Statistics on Waste Incineration, available at https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-dat…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether energy-from-waste (EfW) technologies are low-carbon solutions for waste treatment.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A recent report by Zero Waste Scotland suggests that the greenhouse gas emissions from the incineration of residual waste at Scottish energy from waste plants are on average lower than landfilling the same waste. That being said, in terms of environmental imp…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce specific monitoring of energy outputs from energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities in Scotland.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Energy from waste facilities (EfW) are already required to report energy generation to SEPA on an annual basis. Permits issued by SEPA to EfW plants require each facility to produce a Heat and Power Plan and report annual progress to SEPA each year. This repo…
14 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of (a) community and (b) national football authorities.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has regular dialogue with organisations across all levels of football to discuss a wide range of issues, including community and amateur football.
14 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the hospitality sector.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I last met with a range of hospitality and tourism representatives on 07 October. I meet regularly with the industry, often through representative bodies such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality and others and a wide range of issues are discusse…
14 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has contributed to the Scottish Growth Scheme since March 2020; how much has been paid out, and how many businesses have received support.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: During the ongoing Covid pandemic, from March 2020 to 30 September 2020, the Scottish Government has contributed £6.5m to the demand-led Scottish Growth Scheme and this has unlocked additional public, private sector and European investment of £56.7m (£63.2m i…
14 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the aviation industry.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government regularly meets with representatives of the aviation industry including representatives from airports, airlines, Unions and other aviation stakeholders.