Maurice Golden

22 Sep 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that it meets its new target for banning biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill.

13 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24295 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 August 2019, what representation (a) the glass manufacturing industry and (b) consumers will have on the deposit return scheme Implementation Advisory Group.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) was established as a forum to engage with representatives of producers and retailers, as the sectors which will be directly involved in operating DRS. In addition to the IAG we continue to e…

13 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of ERDF funds allocated by Zero Waste Scotland, and how much remains unallocated for (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland is lead partner for the Resource Efficient Circular Economy Accelerator Programme in the current round of European Structural Funds in Scotland. The funds allocated in the financial years requested are set out in the following table.  Bu…

13 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23388 by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 June 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of the £3,162,000 spent on the deposit return scheme by Zero Waste Scotland.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: During the 2019-20 financial year Zero Waste Scotland expects to spend £3.2m on supporting the Scottish Government’s work on delivering the deposit return scheme, comprised of:Programme delivery - £1.8mStaffing costs - £1mOverheads - £0.4m Programme delivery…

10 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a deposit return system that includes glass will have on the availability of glass recyclate for remanufacture in Scotland.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: According to the best available evidence, the current recycling rate for glass sits at 64%. The introduction of deposit return will significantly increase the quantity and quality of glass recyclate, creating an aggregated and high-quality feedstock for repro…

18 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions local authorities have notified SEPA of contaminated sites in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In the last 5 years, local authorities have advised SEPA of 18 formal identifications of contaminated land.  

18 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often SEPA has carried out a state of contaminated land in Scotland report and how many local authorities responded to each.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A State of Contaminated Land in Scotland Report was last carried out in 2009 with all 32 local authorities responding with the information required.  

18 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many reviews of contaminated land inspection strategies have been carried out in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Local authorities are responsible for maintaining and reviewing their own inspection strategies. Legislation requires inspection strategies to be periodically reviewed, and these are publicly available at allocated offices in each local authority area.  

16 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to regulate third-party puppy sales.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The third party sale of puppies is already regulated in Scotland under The Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009. Under these Regulations persons who acquire young cats or dogs less than 84 days old with a view to selli…

16 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in consulting on what additional measures should be considered to improve the use and reuse of materials.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are committed to developing Scotland’s circular economy, as set out in our strategy document Making Things Last . Last year we consulted on introducing a deposit return scheme (DRS) for single-use drinks containers and we have since announced the design…

9 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill will come into force on 1 January 2021.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill. This will contribute to progress on climate change targets and increase incentives to deal with waste in a more sustainable way. Available evidence shows that signi…

8 Aug 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to Anaphylaxis Campaign's Making Schools Safer Project.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not provide support to the Anaphylaxis Campaign’s Making Schools Safer Project. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that education authorities, health boards and schools have the guidance they need to effectively del…

29 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that councils comply with their statutory duty to keep a register of contaminated land.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires all Local Authorities, as the primary regulators, to produce inspection strategies for their area which are publically available and are subject to periodic review. When Local Authorities formally id…

24 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been made available through Zero Waste Scotland to support waste collection services in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally but may be available through contacting Zero Waste Scotland directly.

22 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that businesses and stakeholders have limited exposure to financial risk associated with the proposed deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In announcing the design of the scheme, Scottish Ministers made it clear that the proposed model for the scheme administrator would be industry led. As such the details of the corporate structure are for industry stakeholders to decide and agree. The Scottish…

22 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the administrator of the proposed deposit return system will be limited by guarantee.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will shortly bring forward secondary legislation to establish a deposit return scheme. That legislation will, amongst other things, outline the conditions to be met by any person acting as a scheme administrator.

11 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Zero Waste Scotland regarding providing resources to support local authorities in making changes to waste collection services as a result of the introduction of a deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland are currently working with eight local authorities to assess the impact of deposit return on their waste collection services. Work with the remaining 24 local authorities is expected to follow. It is intended that the outputs from this wor…

11 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities are in discussion with Zero Waste Scotland regarding support for waste collection service changes as a result of the introduction of a deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: No local authorities have approached Zero Waste Scotland for support in implementing waste collection service changes as a result of the introduction of a deposit return scheme.

9 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria must be met for membership of the Implementation Advisory Group for the proposed deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Representative bodies of those sectors who will be directly involved in operating the deposit return scheme were invited to sit on the Implementation Advisory Group. Further detail on the Group can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov…

9 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether environmental rights and justice experts will be included as part of the leadership of the National Taskforce for Human Rights.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24293 on 1 August 2019. 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/parliamentarybusiness/…

9 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether environmental rights and justice will be considered as part of the remit of the National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership reported in December 2018. It recommended a new statutory human rights framework for Scotland, including a right to a healthy environment. The new National Taskforce will now take forward the Gro…

9 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with online retailers regarding the potential impact on them of cost pressures specifically related to collecting containers as part of a deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders who will be involved in deposit return, including retailers that offer online sales. That engagement will continue as work to implement the scheme progresses, supported by the DRS Implemen…

9 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether physical and online retailers will be paid the same handling fee per container as part of the proposed deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: It is the intention that all business acting as return points be reimbursed reasonable costs associated with the collection and storage of material captured through deposit return. The final structure of fees will be set out in due course as part of work on i…

1 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its expectations of a 90% redemption of consumer deposits is uniform across high, medium and low income groups.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The choice of a return to retail model which maximises accessibility is intended to minimise any risk of variation by geography or demography. The scheme has been carefully designed to ensure that those purchasing their containers can return them easily, no m…

1 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role it will play in balancing kerbside collection services to maintain a 90% consumer deposit redemption rate.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are working with local authorities to understand fully and to mitigate potential impacts on kerbside collection services. The choice of a 20p deposit level is intended to provide a strong incentive to return containers through the DRS system. It is likely …

1 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its expectation of a 90% redemption of consumer deposits is uniform across all local authority areas, and whether it will provide a breakdown of areas of variation.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The modelling was done at a national level and is based on information on performance of other international schemes. The choice of a return to retail model which maximises accessibility is intended to minimise any risk of variation by geography or demography…

1 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been conducted of differences in consumer behaviour when the deposit level in a deposit return system is advertised separately versus included in normal pricing.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The approach of advertising the deposit price separately has been identified as best practice from extensive evidence gathering in countries with well-established deposit return schemes as well as experience from other policies such as the single use carrier …

24 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23445 by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 June 2019, by what date it expects to conclude its discussions with the local authorities.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is an on-going process with local authorities and part of much wider on-going engagement over waste, therefore there is no anticipated end date.

24 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23450 by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 June 2019, what role it will have in ensuring that the financial liabilities related to the proposed deposit return scheme are met.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As noted in the previous response, the financial liability for the scheme will fall on drinks producers. This will be reflected in the regulatory approach.  

19 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to diverting inert soil from landfill to public works projects.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Construction is a priority in our circular economy strategy “Making Things Last” ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/making-things-last-circular-economy-strategy-scotland/ ) and in line with the waste hierarchy, we encourage the reuse and recycling of mater…