Parliamentary questions
Finlay Carson
905 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence there is to support its claim that there will be no significant impacts on the hospitality sector as a result of the inclusion of glass in its deposit return scheme.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As set out in the draft Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations, published on 10 September 2019, where a hospitality retailer exclusively sells drinks for consumption on site, the cost to that hospitality retailer of materials used to collect and store scheme…
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statement on the inclusion of glass in its deposit return scheme (DRS) by British Glass regarding "potential Scottish job losses and closure of glass plants following reduced demand for glass" and that "examples from a number of European countries suggest a fa…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Glass bottles remain in high demand from drinks manufacturers, in particular in high-growth sectors such as gin and whisky. We are committed to working with industry to maximise the economic opportunities associated with the high-quality feedstock of recycled…
23 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statement from British Glass in its report, DRS for Scotland and Glass, that "the inclusion of glass will increase the cost and complexity of a DRS [deposit return scheme] system and therefore increase the risk of the scheme not operating effectively from day …
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government believes that deposit return represents the best opportunity to deliver increases in the quantity and quality of glass recyclate. We acknowledge that its inclusion will increase the cost and complexity of the scheme, but the Full Busin…
23 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the evidence from Oakdene Hollins in its report, Recycling DRS in Scotland, that across Europe, five out of the top seven countries for glass recycling do not operate a deposit return scheme (DRS) system, and what its justification is for setting similar targets f…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Glass capture rates in different European countries reflect a number of policies and practices acting in combination over time, with the existence of long-standing extended producer responsibility schemes and the adoption of pay as you throw consumer charging…
23 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support its claim conveyed in a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform to the Chief Executive of British Glass on 27 September 2019, that "if glass were to be excluded from DRS [deposit return scheme], it would have t…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As set out in the ‘Consultation on reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system’ published in February 2019, the UK Government, Scottish Government, and other devolved administrations intend to establish new extended producer responsibility arran…
23 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence is available to support its claim, conveyed in a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform to the Chief Executive of British Glass on 27 September 2019, regarding glass inclusion in the deposit return scheme that "Scottish busines…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The introduction of a deposit return scheme (DRS) will significantly increase the quantity and quality of glass recyclate from single-use drinks containers. While it will be for drinks producers to manage material collected through the scheme, we are committe…
23 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how increased levels of the plastic, PET, will be managed as a result of any decline of one-way glass that arises as a consequence of a deposit return scheme.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: There is currently limited evidence from other deposit return schemes (DRS) to suggest a widespread switch away from single-use glass to other materials. The introduction of deposit return will significantly increase the quantity and quality of all target ma…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what improvement work is planned for the A75, and what the (a) cost and (b) timeline is for this.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In the current financial year the Scottish Government will invest approximately £2 million on road maintenance schemes on the A75. In addition, there are also road safety improvement schemes being progressed. This financial year these include accident reducti…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve road safety on the A75.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland is currently progressing a number of actions to further improve safety on the A75. These actions involve collision reduction measures at Ardachie Straight, approximately 5 miles west of Newton Stewart, includ…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its framework for older people (a) identifies and (b) works to alleviate levels of malnutrition.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: ‘A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Action’ was developed with the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum. It recognised that malnutrition is a risk to healthy ageing and included a commitment to working with both Health and Social Care Partn…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on evidence from the research and consulting company, Oakdene Hollins, in its report, Recycling DRS in Scotland, published in September 2019, that glass reverse vending machines are not currently economically viable for glass, and what measures it is taking to ensure…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Case Stage 1” details the costs associated with the operation of an ambitious scheme which includes glass. This includes the costs associated with the acquisition and operation of …
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures have been taken to assess the potential risk of fraud as a result of glass inclusion in its deposit return scheme.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Case Stage 1” assesses the potential for fraudulent acts linked to the operation of the scheme. We believe that drinks producers are best placed to identify and adopt the most effi…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures have been taken to assess the impact of the 20p deposit charge on people in the low-income bracket.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment was published alongside the draft Regulations on 10 September 2019 and can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/consultation-paper/2019/09/deposit-return-schemme-scotland-regula…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has that supports a projected deposit return scheme glass collection rate of 90%.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As set out in the Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Case Stage 1” (FBC), our proposals for deposit return draw on experience of other high-performing schemes in Europe and have been designed to maximise consumer partic…
16 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support its claims that there is "overwhelming public support for an all in deposit return scheme in Scotland".
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: An ‘all-in’ scheme is one which targets a wide range of drinks containers, as opposed to an ‘on-the-go’ scheme which specifically targets drinks bought and immediately consumed away from the home. When responding to the Scottish Government’s public consultat…
10 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25088 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019, where the 40% of the ChargePlace Scotland network serving small towns and rural areas is located, broken down by Parliamentary constituency and region.
Answer · Michael Matheson: At end-August 2019, 445 chargepoints on the ChargePlace Scotland network were located in areas designated as accessible small towns, remote small towns, accessible rural or remote rural as set out in the Scottish Government’s six-fold urban/rural classificati…
10 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25088 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of the £30 million in grants given to local authorities.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table provides a breakdown of grant funding awarded to all 32 Local Authorities from financial year 2012-13 to 2019-20 (inclusive) for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes £12.1 million awarded to 5 Local Authorities (City of …
10 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide further details of the £7.5 million fund for the electric vehicle charging network announced on 29 August 2019.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The £7.5m Strategic Partnership between the Scottish Government, SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks includes Scottish Government funding of £5m and at least an additional £2.5m from the network companies to support the delivery …
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it not being included in its proposed deposit return scheme, how it will ensure that the recycling rates of high-demand flint cullet (clear glass) will not decrease.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As set out in the draft Regulations published on 10 September 2019, the deposit return scheme (DRS) will include single-use drinks containers made wholly or mainly from glass. This will include containers made from flint glass; indeed, a significant proportio…
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the basis is of the claim at table 2.2 in the paper, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland, that, under the current system, the recycling rate for glass would be unlikely to increase above 64% by 2043.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Strategic Environmental Assessment” indicates that, without further intervention, glass recycling is not anticipated to increase above current levels. It is recognised that there are a range of…
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support local authorities in maintaining the current provisions for recycling glass, including kerbside collections and bottle banks.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: 30 out of 32 Councils have signed the Scottish Household Recycling Charter and the supporting Code of Practice. The Code of Practice is being reviewed to ensure that it aligns with our new deposit return system, and it is the intention of the Scottish Governm…
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) risk and (b) potential consequences of its proposed deposit return scheme leading to consumers choosing to purchase larger (i) alcohol and (ii) other bottle types.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government published “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Regulatory Impact Assessment” (BRIA) on 9 July 2019. That BRIA concluded that any impact on consumer choice, including a shift towards purchasing larger sized products, is …
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will prevent any market distortion that could arise because of glass being included in the proposed deposit return scheme.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Government is clear that packaging design choices are a matter for producers and there are a number of factors which influence their decisions. Ministers have taken an approach which seeks to avoid the preferred scheme design favouring any particular mate…
3 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in superfast broadband in the last five years, also broken down by parliamentary region.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Telecommunications, including all regulation and legislative responsibility for broadband, is reserved to the UK Parliament and UK Ministers under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. However, the Scottish Government has invested its own resources in Scot…
25 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many farm holdings will have support payments withheld as a result of unresolved disputes regarding the Land Parcel Identification System mapping process.
24 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24874 by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019, whether it will provide a regional breakdown of where money was invested during the first phase of the Digital Growth Fund in 2018-19.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Phase 1 of the Digital Growth Fund closed on 31 August 2019. The following table outlines the regional breakdown of where money was invested during the first phase: Region Phase 1 : June 2018 - August 2019 Aberdeen £25,000 Aberdeenshire £31,196 Border…
18 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of including glass in its deposit return scheme on Scotland's glass manufacturers and recycling sector.
16 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its planned investment for routes serving the ferry hub at Cairnryan, as referred to in the SNP's 2016 election manifesto.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We are delivering on the pledges made in the 2016 Manifesto. Improvements on the A77 are currently underway with the construction of the Maybole bypass, which is expected to open in summer 2021 subject to any unforeseen circumstances such as adverse weather. …
12 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in superfast broadband in the South Scotland region in the last five years, including gainshare.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has provided access to fibre broadband to over 170,000 premises in the South of Scotland region with over 150,000 capable of accessing superfast speeds. Alongside our partners, we have invested more t…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the National Forum on Climate Change will be established, and how its membership will be configured.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We will establish a National Forum on Climate Change to bring together Scotland’s businesses, public sector, communities and individuals so that everyone can be involved in the continued conversation on climate change and the decisions we will all have to tak…