Parliamentary questions
Maurice Golden
1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the delivery of the Recycling Improvement Fund once it concludes in 2026.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The 5-year Recycling Improvement Fund will conclude at the end of 2025-26, at which point the Scottish Government will review the overall Project.Zero Waste Scotland is completing a series of evaluations of projects funded by the RIF. The first annual Evaluat…
5 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24241 by Lorna Slater on 10 January 2024, whether it will provide an updated breakdown of any projects funded through the Recycling Improvement Fund to date showing the (a) expected tonnage increase in recycled material and (b) funding allocated to …
Answer · Gillian Martin: The following table provides the full list of projects funded through the Recycling Improvement Fund with a breakdown of the projected tonnage and funding allocated to each project, for which tonnage increase is a direct impact. N/A indicates projects where r…
5 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of dedicated textile recycling collection services operating across the (a) household and (b) commercial sector.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government’s Circular Economy & Waste Route Map and 2020 Climate Change Plan update included our commitment to consult on the separate collection of textile waste from households. A consultation was launched on 25 March 2025: Changes to…
4 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the reported barriers to soft plastic recycling.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Zero Waste Scotland is currently conducting research on soft plastic recycling to understand collection and processing opportunities. The outputs of this research are expected to be available in the summer of 2025.Farm plastics are a significant source of sof…
4 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any recycling facilities that manage soft plastics, and, if so, where they are located.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Yes, the Scottish Government is aware of recycling facilities that manage soft plastics in Scotland.We are aware of one sorting facility, Cireco, located in Fife, which collects and sorts soft plastics from households. This was enabled by the award of £…
4 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of soft plastics collected in Scotland are recycled in Scotland.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Household soft plastics are not routinely recycled by Scottish Local Authorities. Data is not collected specifically on soft plastics, but Zero Waste Scotland extrapolate from SEPA annual estimates of the amount of plastic waste generated in Scotland and mana…
4 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish its review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020 and (b) outline its next steps to improve the welfare of dogs.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers)(Scotland) Act 2020 was published on 4 April. In that review we committed to consult on prohibiting the use of remote control static pulse training collars. We are currently working to …
4 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Report on the use of devices other than handheld remote controlled electronic devices(e-collars/shock collars) by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission in March 2025, whether it will take forward the Scottish Animal Welfare'srecommendation to introduce legislation that …
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We have noted the recommendations in the SAWC report and are giving them careful consideration.
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fires there have been at waste management and/or recycling facilities in each of the last five years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Over the past five years, there have been four fires at a battery recycling centre, six at electronic recycling centres, and thirty nine at conventional recycling centres for a total of forty three fires overall.The following table breaks down these incidents…
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent fire at the Blairlinn industrial estate, what plans it has to conduct a review of safety procedures at waste management and/or recycling centres.
Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA is presently awaiting the incident report following the fire at the Blairlinn industrial estate in Cumbernauld.Therefore, at this time, it would not be appropriate to commit to a review of fire safety procedures at waste management facilities.
28 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which records that drinks-related litter was found on 95% of the beaches surveyed.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government thanks the Marine Conservation Society and all the many volunteers for their excellent work in monitoring beach litter and cleaning our shores. Citizen science is valued, and in combination with data from our scientists and our wider i…
28 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which records that, compared with 2023, there had been an increase of 7.2% in items of litter found on the beaches surveyed.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government thanks the Marine Conservation Society and all the many volunteers for their excellent work in monitoring beach litter and cleaning our shores. Citizen science is valued, and in combination with data from our scientists and our wider i…
28 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which records that over 22,000 wet wipes were found on the beaches surveyed and, in light of this, whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made towar…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government thanks the Marine Conservation Society and their volunteers for their considerable efforts in gathering the data within the State of Our Beaches 2024 report, and also removing beach litter during these surveys. Their citizen science is…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24187 by Patrick Harvie on 19 January 2024, whether it will provide an update on the average processing time for a Home Energy Scotland (a) grant and (b) loan application.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: In the 12 month period covering March 2024 to February 2025, under the contract between Scottish Government and Energy Saving Trust, 97% of fully completed applications received across all schemes within the contract were processed within 10 working days.The …
24 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: There are no plans to review Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy before the end of the current parliamentary session. This is a ten year strategy and most of its actions relate to the ongoing delivery of our management functions. The progress being…
24 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan update was published on 20 March 2025 and can be accessed via this link: Scotland's Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan.
24 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-32791 and S6W-32788 by Mairi Gougeon on 8 and 17 January 2025 respectively, and in light of recent media coverage, including a video showing discarded fish on the seabed, what (a) progress it has made toward the implementation of fish landing obli…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Firstly, the landing obligation was fully implemented in Scotland on 1 January 2019. Prior to this date, the landing obligation was phased in gradually, starting with pelagic fisheries in 2015 and extending to demersal fisheries in 2016, with the final phase …
24 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the fixed quota allocation set out in Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 is fit for purpose, and whether it will consider adopting the quota application mechanism pilot programme that is being rolled out in England.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: As the name suggests, England is piloting a Quota Application Mechanism (QAM). The QAM initiative commenced in 2024 and included three of the roughly 100 stocks which Fisheries Administrations distribute. In 2025 they have expanded the pilot to include five s…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the support mechanisms in each of the past five years specifically targeted at distributing surplus food from farms showing how much (a) surplus food each programme has distributed and (b) funding was committed.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: In 2021-22, the Scottish Government provided a grant of £200,000 to FareShare Scotland to deliver the Surplus With Purpose programme. This supported the redistribution of 1,001 tonnes of fresh surplus produce from Scottish farms, equivalent to 2.3 milli…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35438 by Gillian Martin on 20 March 2025, whether it has adapted the approach of the UN report and, if so, how it arrived at the specific target of "seeking [a] reduction of Scotland's extraction of raw materials by one third", in light of the…
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the findings of the UN report and the need to promote sustainable resource use.As well as the recent UN report noted in S6W-35438, Zero Waste Scotland was also influenced by recent Circularity Gap Reports i…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the May 2028 deadline for farmers and crofters to have completed habitat maps is consistent with its target of reversing biodiversity decline by 2030.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Farmers and crofters are required to complete at least two of the five Whole Farm Plan audits, including a habitat map for the Biodiversity Audit requirement, by May 2025. All five audits will need to be completed by May 2028.The habitat map can be completed …
13 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any further data on dog thefts has been compiled by Police Scotland since the release of its last set of figures covering the period up to 2021.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: This is an operational matter for Police Scotland. They have confirmed that incidents involving the theft of a pet are recorded on Police IT systems as a ‘theft’. However, the Police Scotland IT system can record details of the nature of a theft a…
12 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is maximising the impact of its International Development Fund in its partner countries, including any of those affected by high levels of indebtedness.
10 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the performance of the system for providing grants for the installation of heat pumps in each of the last three years, showing the (a) number of applications (i) received and (ii) approved, (b) average time for approval and (d) number of application…
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The following information provided relates to the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme, which provides funding to install heat pumps and other measures to domestic owner occupied households in Scotland.a) Table 1 outlines the number of heat pump a…
7 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s reported decision to end funding for Huntington’s disease specialist services on 31 March 2025, what assessment it has made of the potential impact of this on families living with the disease in the area.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government wants to ensure families affected by Huntington’s Disease are given the best possible care, information and support and I was pleased to meet with the Scottish Huntington’s Association recently to discuss services in Scotla…
7 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the First Minister on 7 Nov 2024 that “Huntington’s disease is a devastating condition...all who are affected should be able to access the best possible care and support”, what steps are being taken to ensure that families across Scotland wh…
Answer · Jenni Minto: I was pleased to meet with the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) recently to discuss the provision of Huntington’s Disease services.The Scottish Government is currently supporting the SHA’s youth services through the Children, Young Pe…
4 Mar 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it will reportedly not meet the target to reduce Scotland’s food waste by 33% by 2025.
4 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the target in Zero Waste Scotland’s Corporate Plan to reduce Scotland’s extraction of raw materials by one third, what the (a) start and (b) end date is for this target; what data this is based on, and for what reason one third was chosen as the target.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Zero Waste Scotland's (ZWS) Corporate Plan for 2025-2030 includes present and future targets beyond the life of this Corporate Plan.The reference to seeking reduction of Scotland's extraction of raw materials by one third is based on a United Nations Environm…
4 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its indicator, the carbon footprint of Scotland’s waste, has reportedly not been updated since 4 November 2021.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The last report on the carbon footprint of Scotland’s waste [from all sources] was published by Zero Waste Scotland in 2021, reviewing 2018 data. Due to the SEPA cyber-attack, and limited waste data from all sources available for 2019 and 2020, producin…
4 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23191 by Lorna Slater on 7 December 2023, which states that a review was being conducted by Zero Waste Scotland into methodological changes to the Material Flow Accounts, whether this review has been completed, and, if so, what the main conclusions …
Answer · Gillian Martin: The review of potential methodological changes to the Material Flow Accounts was completed in early 2024. This review concluded that converting the Material Flow Account to an environmentally extended input-output model was both desirable and possible. This r…