- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Circularity Scotland Ltd meets the requirements and could be designated as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, in accordance with section 5 of the Act.
Answer
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd, is a privately owned company. This arrangement is consistent with the polluter pays principle and is the same approach used by many similar schemes internationally.
The Scottish Government has not given any consideration to its designation as a Scottish public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the total quantity of counterfeit and illegal goods seized by Trading Standard Scotland officers was in each of the past five years.
Answer
The regulation of consumer protection is reserved to the UK Government which includes the work of Trading Standards Scotland.
The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that any counterfeit and illegal goods seized by Trading Standards Scotland officers are recycled rather than incinerated or sent to landfill.
Answer
Trading Standards Scotland, when it takes possession of counterfeit and illegal goods, is subject to Section 34 of the Environment Protection Act 1990 which requires waste to be dealt with in line with the waste hierarchy. The Scottish Government has provided guidance on applying the waste hierarchy - https://www.gov.scot/publications/duty-care-code-practice/ .
I welcome the initiative shown by Falkirk Council and the local Trading Standards Scotland team in finding alternative destinations for seized counterfeit and illegal goods, to prevent them becoming waste. I would encourage others to follow this example.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an updated timeline on the forthcoming consultation process for the Review of the Storage and Spreading of Sewage Sludge on Land in Scotland (The Sludge Review).
Answer
The legislative changes recommended by the completed review of the Storage and Spreading of Sewage Sludge on Land in Scotland (‘The Sludge Review’), are being implemented via the forthcoming Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF) regulations.
The proposed changes are designed to strengthen SEPA powers to ensure effective management practices are implemented and followed by operators within the industry.
A consultation on proposed IAF regulations is due to be published early next year and stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals relating to sewage sludge.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS patients have been treated in private hospitals in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The total number of NHS patients that have been treated in private (independent) hospitals in each of the last five financial years and reported to PHS is presented in the following table.
Number of NHS patients treated in Private (independent) hospitals 1 by NHS board of residence; 2017-18 – 2021-22 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Inpatients or Daycases (SMR01) | | Outpatients (SMR00) 2 |
Health Board of Residence | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Ayrshire and Arran | 247 | 44 | 145 | 499 | 705 | | - | - | - | - | 434 |
Borders | 59 | 55 | 62 | 52 | 86 | | 68 | 136 | 109 | 93 | 121 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 5 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 29 | | 38 | 29 | 27 | 16 | 34 |
Fife | 63 | 582 | 157 | 502 | 91 | | 26 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
Forth Valley | 429 | 808 | 689 | 558 | 319 | | 1 | 220 | - | 135 | 1 |
Grampian | 742 | 510 | 290 | 1081 | 446 | | 774 | 293 | 507 | 381 | 124 |
Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 818 | 752 | 841 | 643 | 539 | | 306 | 393 | 408 | 197 | 203 |
Highland | 171 | 201 | 161 | 16 | 3 | | 18 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 12 |
Lanarkshire | 1951 | 1703 | 2919 | 1389 | 1389 | | 271 | 151 | 480 | 176 | 208 |
Lothian | 828 | 374 | 839 | 713 | 361 | | 2348 | 1916 | 1672 | 146 | 366 |
Orkney | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 2 | | - | - | 2 | - | 1 |
Shetland | 2 | - | - | 13 | 2 | | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
Tayside | 55 | 155 | 203 | 108 | 54 | | 60 | 18 | 77 | 263 | 294 |
Western Isles | 42 | 39 | 39 | 36 | 19 | | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Not Known | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | | 20 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Outwith Scotland | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - |
Grand Total | 5418 | 5236 | 6356 | 5657 | 4048 | | 3932 | 3198 | 3317 | 1443 | 1808 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
- denotes zero |
1. relates to patients treated in non-NHS locations such as private hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, care homes, etc. The data recording/completeness of Non-NHS Provider data varies from year to year. |
2. Outpatient data only include patients that attended their outpatient appointment and were seen. |
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) GP and (b) hospital appointments have been missed in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
Part (a) The Scottish Government does not hold data on missed GP appointments. Individual GP practices are responsible for their own appointment arrangements.
Part (b) Information on consultant led new outpatient appointments where the patient did not attend is published within Public Health Scotland’s annual acute hospital activity and NHS beds publication. Information can be found in ‘Table 1 – outpatient activity (consultant led).xlsx’ which presents data by NHS Board of Treatment for 2012/13 to 2021/22 (available under the ‘Data files’ heading on this Public Health Scotland web page: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2022/ ).
In addition, monthly trend information from May 2015 to September 2022 on the number of planned operations typically carried out within an inpatient or day case setting in NHS Scotland, that were cancelled the day before or the day of treatment by NHS Board of treatment (including cancellation reason, cancelled by patient). This information is published within Public Health Scotland’s monthly cancelled planned operations publication (available under the ‘Data files’ heading on this Public Health Scotland web page:
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/cancelled-planned-operations-month-ending-30-september-2022/ ).
The next Public Health Scotland’s monthly cancelled planned operations publication covering October 2022 is due to be published on 6 December.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) source data and (b) calculation methodology was for the tonnage figures provided for drinks containers collected annually, as shown in Table 1 in the publication, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland - Summary.
Answer
Zero Waste Scotland sourced this information from SEPA’s waste data tool ( Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk) , to which their researchers applied a compositional analysis to provide the detail found in the table.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, based on ratings used in the School Estate Statistics, what proportion of pupils have been educated in schools in (a) good, (b) satisfactory, (c) poor and (d) bad condition in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The following tables show the percentage of pupils by school condition for each local authority from 2018 to 2022 as reported in the School Estate Statistics.
| Percentage of pupils by school condition - 2022 |
| Good | Satisfactory | Poor | Bad | Condition not reported |
Aberdeen City | 31% | 69% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Aberdeenshire | 29% | 68% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Angus | 46% | 54% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Argyll and Bute | 62% | 38% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
City of Edinburgh | 47% | 47% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Clackmannanshire | 56% | 41% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Dumfries and Galloway | 38% | 55% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
Dundee City | 66% | 19% | 16% | 0% | 0% |
East Ayrshire | 63% | 36% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
East Dunbartonshire | 46% | 47% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
East Lothian | 14% | 73% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
East Renfrewshire | 35% | 57% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
Falkirk | 61% | 39% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Fife | 26% | 64% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
Glasgow City | 16% | 84% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Highland | 34% | 30% | 36% | 0% | 0% |
Inverclyde | 10% | 90% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Midlothian | 56% | 31% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Moray | 24% | 35% | 34% | 7% | 0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 52% | 45% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
North Ayrshire | 17% | 79% | 0% | 5% | 0% |
North Lanarkshire | 44% | 41% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
Orkney Islands | 39% | 61% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Perth and Kinross | 16% | 73% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
Renfrewshire | 31% | 59% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
Scottish Borders | 36% | 33% | 32% | 0% | 0% |
Shetland Islands | 2% | 98% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
South Ayrshire | 52% | 34% | 14% | 0% | 0% |
South Lanarkshire | 93% | 6% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Stirling | 55% | 43% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Dunbartonshire | 56% | 43% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
West Lothian | 35% | 59% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
All Local Authorities | 40% | 52% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
| Percentage of pupils by school condition - 2021 |
| Good | Satisfactory | Poor | Bad | Condition not reported |
Aberdeen City | 30% | 69% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Aberdeenshire | 29% | 67% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Angus | 46% | 54% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Argyll and Bute | 61% | 39% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
City of Edinburgh | 40% | 54% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Clackmannanshire | 55% | 45% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Dumfries and Galloway | 40% | 50% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
Dundee City | 65% | 24% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
East Ayrshire | 61% | 39% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
East Dunbartonshire | 46% | 48% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
East Lothian | 14% | 67% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
East Renfrewshire | 34% | 57% | 9% | 0% | 0% |
Falkirk | 68% | 30% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
Fife | 23% | 64% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
Glasgow City | 16% | 84% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Highland | 34% | 28% | 38% | 0% | 0% |
Inverclyde | 11% | 89% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Midlothian | 65% | 24% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
Moray | 23% | 43% | 34% | 0% | 0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 52% | 45% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
North Ayrshire | 16% | 80% | 0% | 5% | 0% |
North Lanarkshire | 44% | 40% | 16% | 0% | 0% |
Orkney Islands | 47% | 53% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Perth and Kinross | 15% | 73% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Renfrewshire | 30% | 59% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
Scottish Borders | 35% | 33% | 32% | 0% | 0% |
Shetland Islands | 3% | 97% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
South Ayrshire | 51% | 34% | 14% | 0% | 0% |
South Lanarkshire | 95% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Stirling | 54% | 44% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Dunbartonshire | 54% | 44% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Lothian | 39% | 61% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
All Local Authorities | 40% | 52% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
| Percentage of pupils by school condition - 2020 |
| Good | Satisfactory | Poor | Bad | Condition not reported |
Aberdeen City | 28% | 71% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Aberdeenshire | 26% | 69% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Angus | 47% | 53% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Argyll and Bute | 59% | 39% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
City of Edinburgh | 36% | 53% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
Clackmannanshire | 54% | 46% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Dumfries and Galloway | 42% | 51% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
Dundee City | 65% | 25% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
East Ayrshire | 48% | 51% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
East Dunbartonshire | 46% | 47% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
East Lothian | 14% | 69% | 17% | 0% | 0% |
East Renfrewshire | 33% | 58% | 9% | 0% | 0% |
Falkirk | 63% | 34% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Fife | 23% | 65% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
Glasgow City | 16% | 84% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Highland | 31% | 29% | 40% | 0% | 0% |
Inverclyde | 8% | 89% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Midlothian | 63% | 25% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Moray | 17% | 35% | 48% | 0% | 0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 51% | 46% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
North Ayrshire | 16% | 80% | 0% | 5% | 0% |
North Lanarkshire | 43% | 45% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Orkney Islands | 47% | 53% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Perth and Kinross | 14% | 74% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Renfrewshire | 30% | 66% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Scottish Borders | 30% | 33% | 37% | 0% | 0% |
Shetland Islands | 3% | 97% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
South Ayrshire | 48% | 33% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
South Lanarkshire | 95% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Stirling | 53% | 47% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
West Dunbartonshire | 54% | 44% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Lothian | 38% | 62% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
All Local Authorities | 38% | 53% | 9% | 0% | 0% |
| Percentage of pupils by school condition - 2019 |
| Good | Satisfactory | Poor | Bad | Condition not reported |
Aberdeen City | 28% | 71% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Aberdeenshire | 25% | 69% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Angus | 42% | 54% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Argyll and Bute | 58% | 40% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
City of Edinburgh | 38% | 43% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
Clackmannanshire | 44% | 48% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
Dumfries and Galloway | 38% | 46% | 14% | 0% | 2% |
Dundee City | 65% | 25% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
East Ayrshire | 48% | 50% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
East Dunbartonshire | 32% | 61% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
East Lothian | 13% | 70% | 17% | 0% | 0% |
East Renfrewshire | 32% | 60% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
Falkirk | 59% | 38% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Fife | 26% | 59% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
Glasgow City | 16% | 84% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Highland | 31% | 30% | 39% | 0% | 0% |
Inverclyde | 77% | 23% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Midlothian | 63% | 24% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
Moray | 16% | 36% | 48% | 0% | 0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 51% | 46% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
North Ayrshire | 16% | 80% | 0% | 4% | 0% |
North Lanarkshire | 39% | 46% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
Orkney Islands | 47% | 53% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Perth and Kinross | 36% | 52% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Renfrewshire | 31% | 66% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Scottish Borders | 31% | 31% | 38% | 0% | 0% |
Shetland Islands | 28% | 72% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
South Ayrshire | 43% | 32% | 25% | 0% | 0% |
South Lanarkshire | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Stirling | 52% | 48% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
West Dunbartonshire | 51% | 46% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Lothian | 34% | 66% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
All Local Authorities | 39% | 51% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| Percentage of pupils by school condition - 2018 |
| Good | Satisfactory | Poor | Bad | Condition not reported |
Aberdeen City | 23% | 75% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
Aberdeenshire | 25% | 70% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Angus | 39% | 58% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Argyll and Bute | 42% | 57% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
City of Edinburgh | 39% | 43% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
Clackmannanshire | 44% | 54% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
Dumfries and Galloway | 33% | 48% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
Dundee City | 59% | 26% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
East Ayrshire | 39% | 61% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
East Dunbartonshire | 43% | 56% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
East Lothian | 12% | 70% | 19% | 0% | 0% |
East Renfrewshire | 31% | 62% | 7% | 0% | 0% |
Falkirk | 60% | 35% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Fife | 27% | 57% | 16% | 0% | 0% |
Glasgow City | 14% | 78% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
Highland | 30% | 28% | 42% | 0% | 0% |
Inverclyde | 69% | 31% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Midlothian | 56% | 21% | 16% | 7% | 0% |
Moray | 16% | 26% | 58% | 0% | 0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 50% | 44% | 5% | 0% | 0% |
North Ayrshire | 40% | 56% | 0% | 5% | 0% |
North Lanarkshire | 40% | 48% | 12% | 0% | 0% |
Orkney Islands | 44% | 56% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Perth and Kinross | 36% | 51% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
Renfrewshire | 40% | 56% | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Scottish Borders | 29% | 30% | 41% | 0% | 0% |
Shetland Islands | 27% | 73% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
South Ayrshire | 42% | 27% | 30% | 0% | 0% |
South Lanarkshire | 98% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Stirling | 70% | 29% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Dunbartonshire | 51% | 47% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
West Lothian | 31% | 69% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
All Local Authorities | 39% | 49% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to issuing guidance regarding the Deposit Return Scheme’s online takeback service.
Answer
In line with the principle of industry responsibility for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), it is for retailers (in consultation with the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd) to decide how to comply with the obligation to provide a takeback service for scheme articles sold online. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published guidance to support retailers in complying with their obligations:
https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/deposit-return-scheme/retailers/online-retailers/
However, as set out in the answer to S6W-12236 on 1 December 2022, we are considering measures to reduce the burden this obligation places on industry, and are working closely with SEPA to ensure that the guidance is updated if necessary as a result of this work.
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 .
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme’s online takeback service on food delivery drivers operating in rural areas.
Answer
The Island Communities Impact Assessment for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, published on 16 March 2020 and available here: Islands Communities Impact Assessment - Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , considered the impact of online takeback on island communities and concluded that this aspect of the scheme would be vital to ensure access to the scheme for consumers in island areas who were unable to access a physical return point. These considerations also apply to rural areas in terms of ensuring equality of access to DRS.