Chamber and committees

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: S1W-18384

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17943 by Rhona Brankin on 18 September 2001, whether there is any reason why it could not introduce a system of producer responsibility for the collection and treatment of waste electrical and electronic products before the proposed European directive has been finalised.

Question reference: S1W-18385

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17943 by Rhona Brankin on 18 September 2001, whether it is aware that Sweden has introduced a system of producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic products within the last year.

Question reference: S1W-18355

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of bridges have been assessed and strengthened where required to 44 tonnes carrying capacity since 1 January 1999 in accordance with European legislation.

Question reference: S1W-18356

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding has been made available to fund the #166 million estimated by the Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland as needed to assess bridges in the local authority roads network and strengthen them when required to 44 tonnes carrying capacity in accordance with European legislation.

Scottish Executive support for local authorities' capital expenditure on roads and transport is included within the single capital allocation which covers all non-housing programmes. An extra £70 million is being allocated to local authorities over three years for capital investment in local roads and bridges. It is for local authorities to prioritise the upgrading of bridges and allocate the necessary funding from the resources available to them.

Question reference: S1W-18386

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of end-of-life waste electrical and electronic equipment have been disposed of in an non-environmentally acceptable way in each of the past three years.

Data on the amounts of waste, electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) disposed of are not held centrally. A recent research report commissioned by the Executive and entitled The Determination of the Source, Nature, Amount and Disposal Routes of WEEE Arising in Scotland, that is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 14595) estimated that some 42,000 tonnes of WEEE was produced in 2000. Much of this may have been landfilled although some will have been reused or recycled.

There is no definition of what is an "environmentally acceptable" way in which to dispose of WEEE but the proposed EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment will prescribe treatment standards when it is introduced. In the meantime, it is an offence to dispose of any waste in a way that causes harm to human health or pollution of the environment.

Question reference: S1W-18357

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to expedite the programme of assessment and strengthening up to 44 tonnes carrying capacity of all bridges in the local authority road network.

Question reference: S1W-18165

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how much treated sewage sludge was applied to agricultural land last year and how much is expected to be applied this year.

Question reference: S1W-18168

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 28 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the laws with regard to the treatment of sewage.

The Water Environment and Water Services Bill, which we plan to introduce to Parliament next year, will provide a new structure to protect Scotland's water environment in a consistent and integrated manner. Measures in the bill, or related secondary legislation, may affect the treatment of sewage.

We issued a consultation paper, Rivers, Lochs Coasts: the Future for Scotland's Waters, on 29 June, outlining our policy intentions for the Bill. The paper is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 14576).

Question reference: S1W-18167

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been carried out into any health risks associated with treated sewage sludge.

WRc's (Water Research Centre) Review of the Scientific Evidence relating to the Controls on the Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge reported in 1998. It concluded that there is no direct evidence in the UK of adverse human health effects resulting from the transmission of pathogens from sludge. In addition, UK Water Research Industry Limited (UKWIR) is currently carrying out research to characterise the risks associated with the beneficial use of sewage sludge in agriculture. This study will be the subject of an independent peer review by the Advisory Committee on Microbiology and Safety in Food.

Question reference: S1W-18169

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the laws with regard to the application of sewage sludge to land.

The Scottish Executive plans to incorporate the provisions of the Safe Sludge Matrix into revised regulations, which govern the application of sewage sludge on agricultural land. The matrix, which bans the use of untreated sewage sludge in agriculture and details restrictions on the use of two levels of treated sewage sludge, has been established following agreement between the water industry in the UK and the British Retail Consortium, which represents the food industry.