Chamber and committees

The following information is held for the Scottish Government’s core property assets.

Zero assets have end-of-life or adaptability plans. Assets out with the core property estate are a matter for individual public bodies. This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government holds 72 core property assets on its estate. Of these, 17 are owned and 55 are held on lease or occupancy agreements. In addition three buildings have been identified as surplus to requirements.

Core property holdings should be kept to the minimum required to meet current and planned operational needs. Our owned buildings are current assets which are to be used for the foreseeable future and as such there are no-end-of life or adaptability plans available. Assets are subject to ongoing review and should a building be identified as surplus it would be processed under the guidance for disposal of surplus assets contained within the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). https://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm/PropertyManagement

For core property assets held on lease or occupancy agreements, landlords generally transfer responsibility for maintenance of the property during the leased period to the tenant. A legal agreement (lease) will require the Scottish Government to return the building in an agreed condition and repair. Under the SPFM officers have a duty to properly manage assets including determining any repairs or work that may be required at the end of the lease, known as dilapidations. The scope of works and timescale is determined by the legal agreement. The end of the lease agreement is not usually the end-of-life of the asset.

There is no specific funding to reduce the number of Absorbent Hygiene Products going to landfill or incineration. Our work is focussed on reducing all waste and helping Scotland implement a ban on biodegradable municipal waste (that includes Absorbent Hygiene Products) waste to landfill by January 2021.

Our delivery partner, Zero Waste Scotland, ran a pilot for Absorbent Hygiene Product collection in 2012-13 that provided funding to four Councils. Since then there has been no funding specifically for Absorbent Hygiene Product collection, although we are working to implement the ban on general biodegradable material going to landfill which includes Absorbent Hygiene Products.

An additional 795kt incineration capacity, over and above that which currently exists, will be operational in Scotland by the start of 2021. A further 385kt is expected to become operational in the year following the ban. We continue to keep developments in the sector under review and are commissioning a waste markets study to consider future requirements.

While the use of powers contained within the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 is an operational matter for local authorities, the Scottish Government collects data on the use of dog control notices by local authorities under the 2010 Act. 

A table has been lodged with SPIce detailing information on the use of the 2010 Act since it came into force in February 2011. This has reference BIB 59967.

On 28 June 2018, the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee launched a call for evidence as part of their post-legislative scrutiny of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010. The Committee's call for evidence closes on ‎ 5 October and can be found at the following link:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/109013.aspx

The Scottish Government will engage with the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee as post-legislative scrutiny of the 2010 Act is undertaken.

The Scottish Food Waste Reduction Target aims to reduce food waste by 33% by 2025. We are working on an action plan which will provide greater detail on measures to be taken in Scotland which we expect to publish by the end of the year. This will include further information on the contribution we expect from the different measures being pursued.

Zero Waste Scotland has received 284 Stage 1 applications. 111 have been approved to Stage 2 Application stage, 26 are still being assessed or clarified and 147 have been rejected. In addition, 69 Stage 2 ‘Full Applications’ have been received. 18 have been approved/contracted, 21 are being assessed or clarified and 30 have been rejected.

Since April 2013 Zero Waste Scotland has made £766,800 available to Community Resources Network Scotland to cover core activities such as the running of regional forums, themed events, policy consultations, representation and research. Further funding, of £283,500 has also been supplied for specific projects over the same period, such as the early development of the Revolve initiative and the establishment of the Reuse Consortium.

The spend profile for the CEIF is forecast to be £4.58m this year. Spend against profile will be monitored on a regular basis.