Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-22355

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set any targets on the number of jobs to be created through the £500 million strategic investment to help create thousands of green jobs and deliver the full economic potential of offshore renewables projects, as announced on 17 October 2023.

Our aim is to maximise the number of green jobs and we are considering how we can best work collaboratively with the renewables sector to do that.

The latest report from the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) [June 2023], predicted jobs in this sector in the UK could grow to over 100,000 by 2030. This OWIC report also shows a 4% increase in offshore wind jobs compared to 2021-22, showing that the sector currently supports over 32,000 jobs, almost 30% of which are in Scotland.

This £500m investment will help to support market certainty, creating the environment that will deliver these jobs, whilst creating a highly productive, competitive economy, embedding innovation and boosting skills.

Question reference: S6W-22369

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers became concerned about Biffa's role in the Deposit Return Scheme following Biffa's acquisition by Energy Capital Partners on 27 January 2023.

Biffa were contracted by Circularity Scotland Ltd to provide logistics for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. This was a commercial arrangement between two private businesses - this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart. As such, it would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to get involved or raise concerns.

In appointing BIFFA, an extensive tender process was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22368

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its (a) officials and (b) ministers raised any concerns with (i) Circularity Scotland, (ii) SEPA and (iii) Zero Waste Scotland regarding Biffa's role in the Deposit Return Scheme, following Biffa's acquisition by Energy Capital Partners on 27 January 2023.

Biffa were contracted by Circularity Scotland Ltd to provide logistics for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. This was a commercial arrangement between two private businesses - this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart. As such, it would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to get involved or raise concerns.

In appointing BIFFA, an extensive tender process was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22356

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its £500 million strategic investment to help create thousands of green jobs and deliver the full economic potential of offshore renewables projects, as announced on 17 October 2023, whether it will propose the scheduling of time for a ministerial statement, or use other appropriate means, to update the Parliament on its plans.

Question reference: S6W-22380

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of households at risk of being disconnected from (a) an electricity supply, (b) a gas supply and (c) an alternative heating source over the forthcoming winter period due to debt.

While we do not hold information on the number of households at risk of being disconnected this winter due to debt, we are clear that suppliers must exhaust all possible options to prevent this.

The power to take meaningful action to alleviate the effects of high energy costs on households over the long term, such as the introduction of a social tariff, sits with the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government continues to do everything we can, within the limited powers available to us, such as tripling our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £30 million for this year.

I also recently chaired three working groups focusing on rural, non-domestic and vulnerable (now known as priority) energy consumers, helping to identify and deliver collaborative actions to help mitigate the impact of the continued high cost of energy on households and businesses across Scotland.

I would urge anyone struggling with energy debt to contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 80 960 for free, impartial advice.

Question reference: S6W-22000

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there have been any changes to ministerial responsibilities since 15 June 2023, and, if so, whether it will list the changes.

The current lists of Ministerial responsibilities are provided on the Scottish Government website at Cabinet and Ministers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Where Ministers have recused themselves from an issue within their portfolio to avoid an actual or perceived conflict of interest, this is recorded on the Scottish Government website at List of ministers' interests - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

These lists are kept up to date and reflect changes made since 15 June 2023.

Question reference: S6O-02669

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with COSLA to discuss climate adaptation funding.

Question reference: S6W-21956

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its Infrastructure Investment Plan is compatible with the emissions targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, in light of a reported breach of statutory duties identified by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland and Good Law Project.

Scottish Ministers accept that the documentation published to date falls short of the requirements of Section 94A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. Scottish Ministers are committed to complying fully with these requirements and are engaging with Environmental Standards Scotland on this matter through the informal resolution process. To this end, the Scottish Ministers intend to publish an assessment of the extent to which investment in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment Plan is expected to contribute to the meeting of the emissions reduction targets in Part 1 of the 2009 Act. In the context of the informal resolution process, it is the Scottish Ministers’ intention to share with ESS the proposed assessment prior to publication. This will be done as soon as possible and before the end of the calendar year, with publication anticipated in early course thereafter.

Question reference: S6W-22033

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it anticipates will be made available to local authorities in Scotland as a result of extended producer responsibility for packaging contributions.

Question reference: S6W-22035

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what preliminary work it has carried out on a circular economy strategy in advance of consideration of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill.

Zero Waste Scotland reviewed existing legislation in Europe and beyond and the duty it places on governments to publish circular economy or similar strategies, which is available at the following link Insights into Statutory Obligations of Circular Economy Strategies (zerowastescotland.org.uk) . The review concluded that ‘it would be beneficial to keep obligations for the strategy as broad as possible, with detail to follow as data and evaluation are gathered and released, as this would help Scotland keep pace with new developments.’

Our 2023-24 Programme for Government outlines our commitment to publish a final Circular Economy and Waste Route Map. Before this, a second Route Map consultation will be published later this year, which will inform any new circular economy strategy.

Chamber and committees