Parliamentary questions

Maurice Golden

1,697 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

10 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its preferred method is for managing the interaction of beaver and high-density deer populations in riparian woodland areas.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: There is no preferred method of managing the interaction of beaver and deer populations in riparian woodland areas and all available tools should be utilised. It is the Scottish Government’s intention to ensure that high-density deer populations, where they …

10 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made or plans of the impact of beavers on the Atlantic salmon population.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) commissioned two detailed reviews of the interactions between beavers and fish species, undertaken by the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory in 1997 and the University of Southampton in 2010. These reviews informed the work of the…

10 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to identify instances of localised damage to beech trees by beavers.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not take action specifically to identify instances of localised damage to beech trees by beavers. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) offers a free advisory service to landowners who have questions about the activities of beavers on …

9 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14916 by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 March 2018, what information it has regarding how many plastic straws there are in terms of (a) weight and (b) volume.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The expert panel will review the available evidence on plastic straws and provide an estimate of the number and weight of material to the Scottish Government.

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the waste disposal bill to farmers will be as a result of the decision to remove the exemption for drum incinerators to dispose of farm plastics.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The information requested is not held centrally.

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any diverging costs for rural and urban house builders as a result of low-carbon building standards.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Research supporting review of energy standards within building regulations includes specific assessment of the cost and impact of change on remote or rural areas. This focusses on the comparative cost of delivering new homes off the mains gas grid. An example…

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that smaller rural communities are not disadvantaged in accessing energy efficiency programmes due to settlements of up to 10,000 homes being categorised as rural.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15039 on 14 March 2018 . Our delivery projects aim is to ensure that everyone in fuel poverty gets support, no matter whether they live in urban or rural Scotland. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions…

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using a single definition of "rural community" for the purposes of delivering energy efficiency programmes.

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of enforcing a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating on private sector home sales, and what consideration it has given to the financial costs associated with upgrading rural off-gas grid properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating as part of…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government worked with stakeholders as part of the Regulation of Energy Efficiency in Private Sector housing group between 2013 and 2015. The working group considered proposals for enforcement of a minimum standard of energy efficiency in both th…

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress it has made investigating possible reform of the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating system.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As we develop Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP), we will identify areas where review of the current EPC process is needed to support action under the Programme. Work on the review is already underway. We have commissioned research to collate and …

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many rural homes in each local authority area have received support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland area-based schemes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We do not hold information on the urban/rural status of households assisted through our Area Based Schemes. We do publish a breakdown of installs by local authority to provide information on regional delivery. The information for 2013-14 can be found at htt…

4 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to develop metrics to differentiate between rural off-gas grid, rural on-gas grid and urban off-gas grid households for the purpose of delivering energy efficiency programmes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Our delivery projects aim is to ensure that everyone in fuel poverty gets support, no matter whether they live in urban or rural Scotland. Funding for our area based fuel poverty programmes on the basis of need and takes into account different levels of fuel …

27 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has been made of the impact of beavers on (a) red squirrels, (b) beech trees and (c) other aspects of biodiversity.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: a) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) assessed the potential interaction and effects (positive or negative) between beavers and other mammal species, including red squirrels, when preparing its ‘Beavers in Scotland’ report submitted to the Scottish Government in…

27 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the ban on plastic straws will be in terms of (a) weight and (b) volume.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is currently establishing an expert panel to advise on measures to tackle items like disposable plastic straws, which would include a ban or other measures. As part of this, the panel will work with its disability adviser and Zero Wast…

25 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria SEPA uses when determining whether to revoke a non-compliant license.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The various legal regimes under which SEPA regulates different activities each set out specific provisions on when SEPA may revoke environmental authorisations. When deciding whether revocation of an environmental authorisation is appropriate, SEPA will consi…

25 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many licenses in March 2016 were assessed by SEPA as being non-complaint, and how many (a) remain non-compliant and (b) are subject to a final warning or enforcement action.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Annual compliance scheme figures for 2016 show that there were 440 non-compliant sites. Of these, 36 had formal enforcement action as follows:13 failing sites were issued with a Formal Warning Letter;23 failing sites were issued with a Enforcement Notice. Al…

25 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14163 by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 February 2018, how many litter abatement notices have been issued by each local authority in each of the last three years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not collect details of how many litter abatement orders have been issued by local authorities.

16 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultations are taking place as part of Zero Waste Scotland’s work to develop a range of possible models for a deposit return scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: ero Waste Scotland are carrying out full stakeholder engagement on a one-to-one and workshop basis to develop of a range of proposed models for a deposit return scheme. The Scottish Government will carry out a full consultation once scheme options have been …

16 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the proposed ban on electric shock collars for dogs will be extended to apply to other animals and, if so, which.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: At present, the draft guidance issued under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 is being developed for dogs, since they are the animals most commonly affected by the use of electronic collars; however we are already considering whe…

16 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what devices will be covered by the proposed ban on electric shock collars for dogs.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The draft guidance issued under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006) is intended to cover the use of any training devices that administer unpleasant stimuli or physical punishment. This may include the use of electronic collars tha…

16 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the proposed ban on electric shock collars for dogs will be introduced as guidance and not through secondary legislation; what the legal status of this guidance will be, and how it will be enforced.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government had previously intended to only allow the use of electronic training collars under the supervision of properly qualified dog trainers. As laid out to Parliament on 25 January 2018, the continuing concerns expressed about that proposed …

6 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was collected in fines from people prosecuted for fly-tipping in each of the last three years.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The information on fines collection that the SCTS holds is not broken down to specific charges, such as fly tipping. Fine accounts are connected to a person rather than one charge, therefore fines imposed and collected for multiple charges will appear on one …

27 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to ensure that the research being undertaken by Scottish Water and local authorities to assess sewer and drainage networks is kept up to date in the future.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Water and Local Authorities are working together to understand how sewerage and drainage networks operate at times of heavy rainfall. This work is enabling them to assess the performance of sewerage and drainage networks whether these be for the day …

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact litter abatement orders have on keeping roads clean.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Litter Abatement Orders support the fulfilment of a duty to keep roads clean, created by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. People who are concerned about unclean roads can make a summary application to the Sheriff Court. The Sheriff will consider the evi…

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on a voluntary code of practice for takeaways that have drive-throughs to reduce littering from vehicles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Every business has a legal responsibility to manage the waste it produces and we encourage businesses to support their customers by reducing waste and preventing litter. Zero Waste Scotland produced guidance on takeaway litter (Tackling Takeaway Litter) whic…

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans to increase the fixed penalty fines issued by SEPA for fly tipping.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We keep these issues constantly under review to ensure the maximum environmental standards for Scotland. This includes working with all enforcement partners, to improve the effectiveness of enforcement as a deterrent.

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans to increase the fixed penalty notice for littering.

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13949 by Shona Robison on 19 January 2018, whether families currently being treated at Ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital will have financial support for travel considered as part of individual treatment plans to be agreed before paediatric ser…

Answer · Shona Robison: As set out in my response to question S5W-13949 and the Statement I delivered to Parliament on 23 January 2017, my approval of these proposals is conditional on: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde maintaining and developing community based paediatric services, there…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13949 by Shona Robison on 19 January 2018, whether the decision to transfer paediatric services from the Royal Alexandra Hospital to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow will be reversed should the conditions for approval set out in the answer…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an environmental assessment has been carried out in relation to proposed work by Scottish Water to install a new pipeline between Baljaffray and reservoirs in Milngavie.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment)(Scotland) Regulations 2017 Scottish Water has submitted an EIA Screening Opinion Request to the planning authority.