Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is undertaking further runs of the TIMES model to incorporate updated sector assumptions and reflect the Scottish Government’s latest policies and proposals. These will inform the final Climate Change plan.

We continue to use the Element Energy research, commissioned by Transport Scotland, to inform the development of the Transport emissions envelopes. Element Energy's work offers additional detail over the core TIMES Transport module. For instance, the Element Energy project included the construction of a detailed Scottish vehicle database, including number, age and turnover of the Scottish vehicle parc, a peer review of their database of technology costs across transport modes (used to refine their cost models for alternative fuels and technologies) and finally used their consumer demand model to develop realistic scenarios for the take up of alternatively fuelled vehicles, particularly cars. The share of each fuel type flowing into the Transport sector and the Transport emissions envelopes, resulting from the Element energy analysis, have been coded into TIMES, such that their impacts on the wider energy system would be costed and considered.

The Scottish Government is committed to the development of the TIMES model. A dedicated branch sits with in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to run and extend the model. The Scottish Government has also seconded a TIMES analyst to ClimateXchange at Edinburgh University to develop the model further and to support the adoption of the TIMES model by the wider academic community in Scotland. The Scottish Government also has ongoing engagement with the academic community, who review and advise on assumptions and data that support the development of the model.

The Scottish Government is undertaking further runs of the TIMES model to incorporate updated sector assumptions and reflect the Scottish Government’s latest policies and proposals. These will inform the final Climate Change plan.

The Scottish Government has in place a range of regulatory and voluntary activity to increase recycling rates, including of drinks containers, and to reduce all types of litter.

This activity includes supporting the UK-wide Courtauld Commitment with retailers and industry to introduce voluntary targets to increase recycling rates, improve design for recyclability and drive waste reduction. Information about the success of these measures can be found here:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/category/initiatives/courtauld-commitment.

The Scottish Government has also agreed a Household Recycling Charter with COSLA to move to a consistent system that will make it easier to recycle. Zero Waste Scotland is providing financial support to the 25 councils which have signed up to the Charter. It is voluntary, but the Scottish Government will consider what other measures might be required if sufficient progress is not made.

This voluntary approach on recycling is underpinned by regulatory action, such as the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 which require the separate collection of recyclable materials, the provision of recycling facilities to households and a ban on recyclable material being incinerated. This holistic approach to improving recycling has seen an improvement in household recycling to a current rate of 44.2%, compared to 40.1% in 2011.

Through Zero Waste Scotland we are also supporting voluntary measures to tackle littering, such as anti-littering tool kits and support for local networks. We have also taken a range of legislative steps with a focus on preventing littering behaviours. These include increasing the fines for both littering and flytipping, widening the range of public bodies which can issue fines, and working with local authorities on Litter Prevention Action Plans.

The Scottish Government has no plan to monitor the implementation of the exemption on tail docking for working dogs.

The Scottish Government has no information on further work required to understand the differences in the experience of pain incurred through tail surgery in dogs. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor research on the effects of tail docking in lambs and piglets, which may be relevant to the possible effects of tail shortening in puppies.

No meetings or discussions have taken place in 2017 between the Scottish Government and onshore petroleum exploration and development licence owners regarding its position on unconventional oil and gas.

No fracking or drilling for coal bed methane can take place in Scotland as a result of the moratorium this Government has put in place.

Ministers received the report and recommendations from the reporter on this planning proposal on 22 December 2016. Ministers are currently giving full and proper consideration to it. Every effort is being made to issue the decision as soon as possible.

I can confirm that neither the First Minister nor Scottish Ministers have met formally with Judy Murray since December 2015. No Scottish Government Official has met Judy Murray since December 2015, although she did provide evidence at the Park of Keir inquiry, chaired by a DPEA reporter, which took place from Monday 5 to Wednesday 14 September 2016.

The Scottish Government was unable to provide an answer within the 10 counting day deadline because it was waiting for a third party to provide the necessary information; in this instance the membership of a newly formed working group.

The standard Scottish Government process ensures that if a written parliamentary question is not answered within 10 counting days (20 days during recess) then a holding reply will automatically be issued. The substantive answer reiterated the information on the website, but was delayed going through the drafting and parliamentary process.

It is considered that despite the delay, the process is consistent with the Scottish Ministerial Code, with Ministers and officials acting in good faith and always have regard to the terms of the Scottish Ministerial Code when answering parliamentary questions.