Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18098 on 5 June 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Curriculum for Excellence is a flexible curriculum with defined experiences and outcomes that allow for teaching and learning of a very wide range of topics. This ensures that schools are able to deliver a curriculum that is best suited to their learners in their circumstances and local context.

Learning for Sustainability, which is an entitlement for all learners, provides the general curricular theme on sustainable development education, social justice, climate change, global citizenship, children’s rights, equality and outdoor learning.

There are experiences and outcomes across the curriculum that cover learning on material extraction and end product use such us: Sciences SCN 4-04b: “Through investigation I can explain the formation and use of fossil fuels and contribute to discussions on the responsible use and conservation of finite resources”; Social Studies SOC 4-08a: “I can discuss the sustainability of key natural resources and analyse the possible implications for human activity”; and Technology TCH 2-06a “I can analyse how lifestyles can impact on the environment and Earth’s resources and can make suggestions about how to live in a more sustainable way”.

Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) provides funding for primary and secondary heat network infrastructure. This includes projects that utilise waste heat from existing incineration plants to provide low carbon, affordable heat to local consumers. Under the scheme, £5.6 million was committed in August 2022 to the extension of the Torry Heat Network which uses waste heat from an energy from waste plant. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) awarded £5.78m for Phase 1 in November 2020.

LCITP awarded £7.3m in January 2020 to Midlothian Council to build a heat network using waste heat from the Millerhill incineration plant.

SHNF is focused on the construction of heat networks and doesn’t cover the installation of electricity generation equipment.

RIF funding awards are predominantly still at planning or early implementation stages and there has therefore not yet been an evaluation of the impact of the projects in terms of waste reprocessing capacity (or increased collection for recycling). Information is currently available relating to two projects.

There are no regulations to specifically prevent the export of waste collected through DRS. Waste will be channelled to appropriate recycling facilities. Decisions on appropriate recycling facilities are made by Circularity Scotland in delivering the scheme As stated in our response to the second report, the Scottish Government accepts recommendation 18. We want to be able to manage more of our own waste within Scotland and strengthen public confidence in where their recycling goes.

The DRS is expected to improve the quality of collected materials, resulting in high value recyclate that will incentive investment in reprocessing infrastructure in Scotland to handle material, and for drinks producers to return it to food-grade plastics rather than export for other purposes.

The Scottish Government has no role in directing individuals to a particular university programme. Universities are responsible for their own admissions processes and it is for them to decide how they wish to allocate places to each course.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, and will continue to work with SFC and the sector to maintain our commitment to the widening access agenda.

SFC are committed to investing in education that is accessible to learners from all backgrounds and monitors each institutions progress on widening access as part of their role.

Scotland's universities are amongst the best in the world. We want every child, no matter their background, to have an equal chance of entering and succeeding in higher education. By 2030, we want 20% of students entering university to be from Scotland's 20% most deprived backgrounds. With 16.5% of full-time first degree entrants coming from the 20% most deprived areas in 2021-22, we achieved the interim Commission on Widening Access target to have 16% by 2021.

In 2021, Scottish Government published the Strategy for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research, which has formed the basis for the Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 and includes consideration of biogenic carbon. Scottish Government has not undertaken specific consideration of how to include biogenic carbon in future research publications and has no plans to publish on the matter, given its consideration within the Strategic Research Programme.

As an example of recent Ministerial engagement with the higher education sector on climate change, on 8 February the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport met the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre at Heriot-Watt University to discuss how research can support a just industrial decarbonisation which realises socioeconomic opportunities and wider environmental benefits.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme has been based on successful schemes across Europe. The Minister has been thoroughly briefed by Zero Waste Scotland on relevant research findings throughout the policy’s development.

Research was undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland, who designed the scheme, and met with a range of international scheme administrators and operators, including those from Norway, Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Iceland, Denmark and Finland.

This research and briefing has meant that the minister has been fully appraised of the main characteristics of schemes across Europe and has not therefore personally travelled to the countries listed or personally met the chief executives from these schemes.

As Circularity Scotland is a private company, contractual arrangements they have with their members, including any payments as part of their producer agreement, is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements between private companies.