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: S5W-05104

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the licensing system for animal rehoming agencies.

Question reference: S5W-05103

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Dumfries and Galloway Council, (b) Police Scotland, (c) port authorities, (d) the Scottish SPCA and (e) other stakeholders regarding the illegal trade in puppies from Ireland to Scotland.

The Scottish Government supports the action being taken by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Police Scotland and local citizens regarding the illegal introduction to Scotland of puppies. Scottish Government officials have been attending meetings of the group convened in Cairnryan to discuss the issues with all of these bodies and to report back to Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S5W-04894

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposal for a new bridge connecting Renfrew and Clydebank as part of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal.

The Clyde Waterfront and Renfrewshire Riverside Project, which includes a proposal for a new bridge over the River Clyde between Renfrew and Yoker is being taken forward by Renfrewshire Council as part of the Glasgow City Region Deal.

This Government is fully committed to supporting projects which form part of the overall £1.13bn City Deal agreement, where they have a robust business case, ensuring that public funds are directed to those projects which deliver most benefit. The City Deal encourages Local Authorities to operate strategically at the regional level to focus on the priorities required to deliver Scotland’s Economic Strategy. As such, the Glasgow City Region Deal Cabinet will determine the projects and the programme for investment in those projects, in line with the Government approved assurance framework.

Question reference: S5W-04893

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with East Dunbartonshire Council regarding the completion of Phase 2 of the Bears Way cycle path, and what information it has on alternative cycle ways that have been considered.

As The Bears Way project and related voting on Phase two, is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council and its residents, the Scottish Government has had no direct discussions with East Dunbartonshire Council regarding the completion of this project.

However, discussions were held with Sustrans Scotland, Cycling Scotland and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport(SPT) who all contributed to the project. In addition, public meetings were held to try to find a way forward.

At the second annual Active Travel Summit on 2 November 2016, I announced my intention to establish a Task Force to look at how we might tackle the barriers to the delivery of ambitious cycling and walking projects in Scotland, following publication of the refresh of the Cycling Action Plan.

In the meantime, Sustrans Scotland will continue to work closely with East Dunbartonshire Council to explore a local solution to this issue.

Question reference: S5W-04906

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on offering air quality monitors to all schools in order to encourage modal change and identify pollution hot spots.

We have no specific plans to offer air quality monitors to all schools. However the Learn About Air education package which is operated by SEPA includes amongst its resources ten mobile air quality sensors which are loaned to schools. The sensors are sited to provide information about air pollution levels during drop off and pick up times, illustrating the impacts of parked and idling vehicles outside schools.

Further information on Learn About Air can be found at www.Learnaboutair.com

Question reference: S5W-04794

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to local authorities to support kerbside recycling systems in each year since 2011, also broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to support recycling services through its delivery body Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS).

Local Authorities have received funding from Zero Waste Scotland to support implementation of food waste and kerbside collection services. The following table indicates the level of funding awarded since 2011 to each council in this respect.

Local Authority	ZWS Funding received since 2011 for food waste
Aberdeen	£1,429,517
Aberdeenshire	£1,590,467
Angus	£203,367
Argyll and Bute	0
Clackmannanshire	£347,831
Dumfries and Galloway	£1,653,283
Dundee	£213,791
East Ayrshire	£1,006,675
East Dunbartonshire	£806,673
East Lothian	£221,840
East Renfrewshire	0
Edinburgh	£2,477,961
Falkirk	£776,280
Fife	£556,645
Glasgow	£3,243,470
Highland	£957,541
Inverclyde	£685,000
Midlothian	£537,816
Moray	0
North Ayrshire	£886,370
North Lanarkshire	£1,400,000
Orkney	0
Perth and Kinross	0
Renfrewshire	£1,733,383
Scottish Borders	£113,583
Shetland	0
South Ayrshire	£1,031,269
South Lanarkshire	£708,649
Stirling	£268,000
West Dunbartonshire	£370,060
West Lothian	£1,084,462
Western Isles	0
TOTAL	£24,303,933

Funding was awarded following applications by Councils to Zero Waste Scotland. The Councils that received no funding, either did not apply or did not meet the necessary criteria.

The Scottish Government is also supporting Councils with implementation of the Household Recycling Charter. 20 Councils have already signed the Charter, and an award of just over £2 million was made to East Ayrshire Council in October 2016.

Question reference: S5W-04796

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to achieve its target to reduce food waste by a third by 2025, and what assessment it has made of how effective these are.

We will shortly commence a series of wide-ranging stakeholder workshops to discuss what measures should be taken to achieve this ambitious target and to assess which options will be the most effective. These meetings will allow us to draw on the breadth of expertise and experience available across all of the involved parties, from consumers to food producers. As a first step, I announced last week the 2013 baseline for all food waste arisings in Scotland, the first time this has been calculated.

Question reference: S5W-04802

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what types of jobs its circular economy strategy will deliver, and how many jobs have been delivered to date.

‘Making Things Last’ sets out our ambition and priorities to move Scotland towards a more circular economy, where products and materials are kept in high value use for as long as possible. These types of approaches can lead to economic benefits across a wide range of activities such as manufacturing, retail, transport, construction and repair. The strategy identifies the potential economic and environmental opportunities underpinning the prioritisation of our actions. We would expect the employment benefits of these interventions to become clearer as implementation proceeds.

Question reference: S5W-04795

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 24 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish proposals on increasing the share of community ownership in renewable energy schemes.

The Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) offers a wide range of support including free advice and access to funding to support community ownership of renewable energy schemes. The support available under CARES has led to our target for 500 MW of installed capacity of community and locally owned renewable generation by 2020 being reached 5 years early.

We have made a commitment in our Programme for Government to continue with CARES and are currently in the process of retendering for a suitably qualified and experienced service provider to undertake the delivery of CARES up to 2020.

Our draft Energy Strategy which will be published for consultation early in the new year, will reaffirm our support for community and locally owned energy with new targets of 1 GW by 2020 and 2 GW by 2030 and a commitment for at least half of newly consented renewable energy projects to have an element of shared ownership.

Question reference: S5O-00401

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it carries out to ascertain which groups are most vulnerable to seasonal health risks.