Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-18000

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16903 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, for which of the schemes listed the minister has (a) visited the location and (b) met with the relevant chief executive.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme has been based on successful schemes across Europe. The Minister has been thoroughly briefed by Zero Waste Scotland on relevant research findings throughout the policy’s development.

Research was undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland, who designed the scheme, and met with a range of international scheme administrators and operators, including those from Norway, Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Iceland, Denmark and Finland.

This research and briefing has meant that the minister has been fully appraised of the main characteristics of schemes across Europe and has not therefore personally travelled to the countries listed or personally met the chief executives from these schemes.

Question reference: S6W-17992

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of targeting support to encourage people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to access university programmes related to careers in roles vital to the critical minerals sector.

The Scottish Government has no role in directing individuals to a particular university programme. Universities are responsible for their own admissions processes and it is for them to decide how they wish to allocate places to each course.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, and will continue to work with SFC and the sector to maintain our commitment to the widening access agenda.

SFC are committed to investing in education that is accessible to learners from all backgrounds and monitors each institutions progress on widening access as part of their role.

Scotland's universities are amongst the best in the world. We want every child, no matter their background, to have an equal chance of entering and succeeding in higher education. By 2030, we want 20% of students entering university to be from Scotland's 20% most deprived backgrounds. With 16.5% of full-time first degree entrants coming from the 20% most deprived areas in 2021-22, we achieved the interim Commission on Widening Access target to have 16% by 2021.

Question reference: S6W-18002

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish details of its consideration of how to include biogenic carbon in future research publications.

In 2021, Scottish Government published the Strategy for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research, which has formed the basis for the Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 and includes consideration of biogenic carbon. Scottish Government has not undertaken specific consideration of how to include biogenic carbon in future research publications and has no plans to publish on the matter, given its consideration within the Strategic Research Programme.

Question reference: S6W-18004

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that plastic waste collected through the Deposit Return Scheme is not exported outwith Scotland, in accordance with its acceptance of recommendation 18 of Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury? Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, Second Report: Decarbonisation of Residual Waste Infrastructure in Scotland.

There are no regulations to specifically prevent the export of waste collected through DRS. Waste will be channelled to appropriate recycling facilities. Decisions on appropriate recycling facilities are made by Circularity Scotland in delivering the scheme As stated in our response to the second report, the Scottish Government accepts recommendation 18. We want to be able to manage more of our own waste within Scotland and strengthen public confidence in where their recycling goes.

The DRS is expected to improve the quality of collected materials, resulting in high value recyclate that will incentive investment in reprocessing infrastructure in Scotland to handle material, and for drinks producers to return it to food-grade plastics rather than export for other purposes.

Question reference: S6W-17918

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17316 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, whether it will provide a list of the sites referred to along with the stage of construction and/or operational progress achieved for each.

Question reference: S6W-17919

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16932 by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023, what measurable impact those efforts have had in increasing textiles reuse.

Question reference: S6W-17917

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16926 by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023, whether waste packaging collected and recycled through the Deposit Return Scheme will be able to be identified in Scotland's waste statistics.

Question reference: S6O-02309

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the third sector.

Question reference: S6W-17795

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) funding and (b) staff resource it has allocated to the Compost at Home campaign since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-17796

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) funding and (b) staff resource it has allocated to the Real Nappy Campaign in Scotland in each year since 2007.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is not currently directly involved in the Real Nappy Campaign or any other similar campaign in Scotland. It promotes the use of reusable nappies through Scotland’s Baby Box and its Parentclub website ( www.parentclub.scot) , as well as the Ready Steady Baby resource ( www.nhsinform.scot/ready-steady-baby/early-parenthood/caring-for-your-new-baby/nappies/ )

Zero Waste Scotland supported the Real Nappy Campaign in printed and digital form and at events until 2013-14,

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