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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-18431

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many stakeholders it has met with, to date, to discuss barcodes for products within scope of the Deposit Return Scheme.

In line with the DRS governance structure, officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders from multiple sectors to discuss operational issues including barcodes for DRS articles.

There are no barcode requirements with Scotland’s DRS Regulations. Producers must provide SEPA with relevant information that supports the identification of scheme articles, which may include barcodes.

Decisions over barcodes rest with drinks producers and the scheme administrator, and will depend on a range of factors.

Question reference: S6W-18426

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still its position, as set out by the former Deputy First Minister in his letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 31 January 2023, that it "agrees with the goal of promoting long term alignment of [deposit return] schemes" across the UK.

The Scottish Government has always been clear that we will work closely with the UK and devolved Governments to maximise interoperability of the schemes, while acknowledging that waste and recycling policy is fully devolved.

In order to do this, the UK Government must provide clarity on its own deposit return scheme by introducing regulations for its scheme as soon as possible.

I wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Defra’s Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience on 6 June setting out that I was keen to work collaboratively with other administrations across the UK to push forward work on issues around interoperability, while ensuring that the wishes and competence of the Scottish Parliament are respected.

Question reference: S6W-18430

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reconsidered or revised any impact assessments as a result of the delay in implementing the Deposit Return Scheme, and, if so, which ones.

A suite of impact assessments has been updated to reflect the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Amendment Regulations 2023, which changed the implementation date of the scheme to 1 March 2024, alongside a number of simplification measures.

Updated versions of the Islands Communities Impact Assessment, Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment and Equalities Impact Assessments will be published shortly, alongside a supplementary analysis to the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment in light of the amendments laid in May

These changes pre-date my statement to Parliament on 7 June 2023 on the reset of date to 2025 as a result of conditions set by the UK Government very late in the process and I will be setting out detailed proposals for Parliament as appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-18427

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received legal advice on the position of paying compensation in the event that the Deposit Return Scheme is cancelled.

Question reference: S6W-18428

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the First Minister and the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity last met to discuss the Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-18960

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to establish a dedicated space to address the role of Scotland in empire, colonialism and slavery, as recommended by the Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums steering group.

I am carefully considering the Scottish Government’s response to the steering group’s recommendations, including the one which focused on establishing a new organisation to create a dedicated space to address the legacy of colonialism in Scotland. This is an important agenda and we will continue to seek ways of raising awareness of the role Scotland played in slavery and empire and how our museums and galleries can play their part in that.

Question reference: S6W-18859

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been received by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s 24 Hour Pollution Hotline in each year since 2019, and how many full-time staff members are employed in the Reservoirs Regulatory Unit.

This is a matter for SEPA. The information requested is not held centrally. SEPA have provided the following information.

Calls to Pollution Hotline in each year since 2019

Year	Number of calls
2019	7793
2020	6409
2021	6527
2022	6617
2023 (until 8/6)	2560

60% of inbound enquiries now come via a SEPA online reporting tool:

Eight FTE members of SEPA staff are directly dedicated to work on regulating reservoirs. This resource increases considerably in years when risk designations have to be reviewed. Further resource from across SEPA (legal input, monitoring to underpin models etc.) is provided to fulfil their statutory duties.

Question reference: S6W-18669

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review any of the statutory duties placed on local authorities by the Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA to agree a New Deal with Local Government in Scotland that promotes sustainability, empowerment and provides greater fiscal flexibility over local funding with clear accountability for delivery of shared priorities and outcomes.

As part of the New Deal, we are committed to concluding the Local Governance Review in this parliament, ensuring that decisions are taken as close as possible to those they affect the most is at the heart of our approach to public service reform in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17874

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland regarding barriers to gaining bathing water status at Scotland’s rivers, lochs and beaches due to newly introduced requirements, including the need to gain the consent of landowners and local authorities, hold a local consultation and submit aerial photography or drone footage of the site, which may make it difficult to obtain the protections that come with official designation.

Under the Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and infrastructure and facilities provided, or other measures taken to promote bathing. Scottish Ministers have historically asked for information on past usage trends (user surveys and photographs), evidence of relevant infrastructure and facilities and evidence of support from local authorities and land owners in order to consider whether a large number of bathers is expected at a surface water area. Recent proposals have also been voluntarily accompanied by local consultations as an indication of local support.

SEPA’s bathing water guidance has recently been updated to require landowner and local authority letters of support, evidence of local consultation and either aerial or drone footage to be provided alongside a bathing water application. This formalises the process which has been routinely followed by groups submitting proposals, and provides further clarity on the information needed to support Scottish Minister’s decisions under the Regulations.

Question reference: S6W-18840

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what investigations National Galleries Scotland has undertaken to determine whether any of the buildings that it manages were fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what the cost was of conducting any necessary repairs, broken down by building.