Maurice Golden

14 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reducing Air Passenger Duty to support the aviation industry through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Air Passenger Duty (APD) is currently set by the UK Government, with introduction of Air Departure Tax (ADT) in Scotland deferred to allow the issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption to be resolved. We made clear last year that reduci…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has committed to research into the animal welfare impacts of electric shock collars.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has no plans to fund research into the animal welfare impacts of electronic training aids at this time.  

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met The Kennel Club to discuss electric shock collars.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scottish Government officials have discussed the position regarding dog training aids with the Kennel Club through e-mail exchanges in September and October this year.  

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public waste bins each local authority has had in each year since 2014.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This information is held at a local level by individual local authorities and each authority would need to be contacted to provide the details.

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of fly-tipping have been recorded in each year since 2014.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: There is no single dataset of all flytipping incidents in Scotland, as there is no legal requirement for duty bodies or landowners to report on flytipping externally. The figures provided below represent incidents reported via the voluntary reporting options …

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) its agencies have spent on tackling litter in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Responsibility for dealing with litter primarily rests with local councils as part of their role in delivering waste services. Zero Waste Scotland have spent the following amount of money on tackling litter from 2015 to 2020: Year Spend on tackling litter …

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried of the (a) frequency and (b) quantity of litter in each year since 2014.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) methodology is currently used to assess litter levels on annual basis, this is used by local authorities and validated by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Results are published annually in the Local Governm…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much landfill tax has been recovered from illegally deposited waste by Revenue Scotland in each year since 2014.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: As this matter relates to Revenue Scotland in its role as the tax authority responsible for the collection and management of the fully devolved taxes, I have asked the Chief Executive of Revenue Scotland to write to you directly.

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what behaviour-change marketing campaigns it has run since 2011 aimed at discouraging littering, broken down by the (a) cost of, (b) reach of and (c) outcome in litter reduction achieved by each campaign.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Information on campaigns run by, or in association with, Scottish Government is provided in the following table. A significant proportion of litter prevention communication is led by local authorities in line with their statutory responsibilities. Name of ca…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fixed penalty notices for littering have been issued by each public body 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.  

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its planned 2020 review of its national litter strategy, Towards A Litter-Free Scotland: A Strategic Approach To Higher Quality Local Environments.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Towards a litter free Scotland was reviewed in 2019-20 by a steering group of organisations. The key findings were as follows:The focus should move to a more holistic approach, tackling throwaway culture by setting prevention within the context of the circula…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the financial support that it has provided to food redistribution charities in each year since 2013.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Food Waste Reduction Action Plan (FWRAP) was published in April 2019. It sets out how Scotland can work towards achieving the target and reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill, including building on existing food redistribution activities. Alo…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to develop advice and support services for community food redistribution projects; what services have been developed; where they have been deployed, and which projects have benefited from them.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland has carried out a mapping of the redistribution landscape in Scotland, including analysis of the challenges and barriers facing redistribution activities and engagement with stakeholders on the potential solutions and support needs. We al…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its consultation on an obligation for food retail sites over a certain size to redistribute edible food; when it expects to implement such measures, and what the criteria will be for site inclusion.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The planned consultation on the range of commitments identified in the Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, has been delayed by a number of factors, including the recent Covid-19 crisis. We remain committed to consulting on the Scottish Government’s proposals fo…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Waste Data Strategy Board’s detailed monitoring and reporting timeline will be published.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Waste Data Strategy Board’s action plan includes key components of waste data monitoring and reporting. The plan includes the development of a national food waste monitoring and measuring plan to align with Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, and an update …

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which hospitality sub-sectors it has prioritised for support to reduce food waste; what best practice guidance has been developed for them, and what proportion of businesses in each of these sub-sectors has received such guidance in the last 12 months.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Certain subsectors have been identified and prioritised but planned work has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Zero Waste Scotland and partners have developed a specific toolkit for the hospitality and food service sector which has been pr…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how business advice and support services to identify and demonstrate the value of food waste to the hospitality sector have been expanded since 2019.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Requests for assessments under the Food Waste Reduction Business Support Service have significantly reduced compared to the previous year due to the impact of COVID-19. However next year we hope to increase the support to the hospitality sector, increasing o…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the methodology and source of the behavioural change science used in developing its consumer food waste prevention schemes, and how often this scientific advice is refreshed.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Behaviour change science is a very dynamic area of research and we are adopting a flexible, dynamic and collaborative approach as knowledge and insight develops. There has been increasing evidence within peer reviewed literature that more structured implement…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the effect that its advertising campaigns have had in increasing uptake of tools to prevent food waste among consumers and householders.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32339 on 10 November 2020. The Scottish Government 2018-19 ‘Food Waste Gone Bad’ campaign has most recently been evaluated. This campaign generated awareness of 47% and most notably, 76% of people who saw the c…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has instructed its appointed office equipment supplier in its procurement framework not to deliver IT equipment and supplies to people working from home and, if so, when that instruction was given, and when it plans to rescind it.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has not instructed its framework suppliers of IT equipment not to deliver equipment and supplies to people working from home. Scottish public sector organisations using these frameworks can directly engage with suppliers to discuss th…

8 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31924 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 October 2020, for what reason information on turnover, jobs and the quantity of material reuse have not been updated since the publication of Making Things Last: a circular economy strategy for Scotland, and how pro…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: 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 for individ…

8 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31925 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 October 2020, how it plans to satisfy its stated aim to "encourage increased capture rates" through the use of reuse and repair hubs if it does not record the capture rates.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Further to the answer S5W-31925, the Scottish Government, through Zero Waste Scotland, has established three re-use hubs. The purpose of these hubs is to capture material that would otherwise have been disposed of thereby contributing to the aim in Making Thi…

8 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31929 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 October 2020, how many remanufactured products made in Scotland have been recognised as comparable or equivalent to new products by the EU, standards and certification organisations and others since 2016, and how ma…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Institute for Remanufacture (SIR) has enabled 23 companies to deploy new manufacturing technologies and processes into their businesses in Scotland. The SIR and the University of Strathclyde have also worke…

8 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the findings of the recent University of Lincoln study, "Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs a Focus on Positive Reinforcement" will inform its review of the training guidance that permits the use of electronic training aids, including electric …

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The review of the effectiveness of the Scottish Government Guidance on Dog Training Aids will consider all relevant information supplied by stakeholders, including the latest publication from the University of Lincoln researchers.  

8 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27457 by Mairi Gougeon on 19 February 2020, whether it will provide an analysis of responses to its stakeholder survey, and when it expects to publish its review of dog training guidance permitting the use of electronic training aids, including elec…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government expects to publish its review of the effectiveness of the Guidance on Dog Training Aids, including an analysis of responses to its stakeholder survey, before the end of this year.  

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the Fair Food Fund was distributed in 2019-20.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: £3,384,042.53 of investment was made from the tackling food insecurity budget, also known as the Fair Food Fund, across the 2019-20 financial year. The Fair Food Fund includes a number of work streams and our investment is as follows. Fair Food Transformatio…

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to the NHS national action plan to reduce food waste; which facilities the plan applies to, and what reduction in food waste it has achieved so far.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Food waste reduction is now a standing agenda item for the NHS Waste Management Steering Group and the Catering Services Experts Group. Both groups are working with Zero Waste Scotland to develop a food waste reduction strategy for NHS Scotland and a national…

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on developing tools to measure food waste generated by the (a) hospitality and catering, (b) wholesale and retail, (c) education and (d) healthcare sector, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the amount of food waste generated by each sector in each year …

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In terms of measurement, we refer to response S5W-32336, on 10 November 2020, S5W-32200 on 30 October 2020, and S5W-32198 on 30 October 2020, which highlight that annual data is not currently collected or held centrally for the categories identified in this q…

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) costs and (b) outcomes of (i) advertising and (ii) outreach campaigns that it has run to promote food waste reduction in each year since 2013.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Table 1 shows Scottish Government advertising spend for campaigns that have promoted food waste reduction since 2013-14. This includes spend on Scottish Government’s national campaign, ‘Food Waste Gone Bad’ which aims to promote food waste recycling. The Scot…

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many collaborations between businesses that generate food waste and those that can utilise food waste as a resource it has facilitated since 2013.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Since 2016, nine projects have been formally supported, through Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Investment Fund, that utilise food and drink waste or by-products. Since 2016, Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Business Support Service has supported…