- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will meet the SNP manifesto commitment to provide free swimming for school children.
Answer
The Scottish Government are midway through a four year term and are working through our manifesto commitments having already delivered a significant number of measures to make Scotland wealthier, safer, healthier, smarter and greener.
We will continue to work with Scottish Swimming, sportscotland and others to ensure we offer more and better opportunities for our young people to enjoy and benefit from swimming. Our investment of over £1.2 million in Scottish Swimming earlier this year, the biggest ever single investment in a Scottish governing body of sport, shows our commitment to swimming in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposed timetable for consulting affected parties, such as doctors, pharmacists and patient representative organisations such as Epilepsy Scotland, will ensure that new arrangements for effective prescribing are introduced sensitively to allay patient fears while safeguarding the interests of thousands of people with epilepsy.
Answer
The introduction of the generic substitution measures contained in the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will be subject to discussion with affected parties such as doctors, pharmacists and patient representative organisations to ensure that the new arrangements are introduced in a way which safeguards the interests of patients while improving the effectiveness of prescribing.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that clinicians can continue to prescribe anti-epileptic drugs that currently maintain seizure control for people with epilepsy, in light of the introduction in January 2010 of generic prescribing though the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.
Answer
Under the terms of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), pharmacists will be able to fulfil a prescription for a branded medicines by dispensing an equivalent generic medicine, but only where it is safe and clinically appropriate to do so. Provision will be made to allow the prescriber to opt out of substitution where, in his/her clinical judgement, it is appropriate for the patient to receive a specific branded medicine. In these circumstances the named brand must be dispensed.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make an estimate of the volume and proportion of food from (a) supermarkets, (b) households, (c) restaurants and other eating establishments and (d) other sources that became food waste in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answer
The following table provides information.
Food Waste from Various Sources (in Tonnes)
| Year | Retail (inc. Supermarkets) | Household | Hotels and Restaurants | Other Sources | Total Food Waste |
| 2005 | 160,226 | 487,231 | 150,873 | 765,024 | 1,563,354 |
| 2006 | 506,692 | 505,890 | 89,355 | 951,824 | 2,053,761 |
| 2007 | 539,396 | 510,396 | 98,062 | 979,233 | 2,127,087 |
Source: Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it plans to undertake to determine the volume and proportion of food from (a) supermarkets, (b) households, (c) restaurants and other eating establishments and (d) other sources that will become food waste in any given year.
Answer
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have just carried out a study on the amount of household food waste in Scotland. This will be launched today, 3 September, and shows that the average family wastes £8-10 of food per week. WRAP have also commissioned a research project on waste in the hospitality sector. This report is due to be published later in 2009. WRAP is currently undertaking a survey of food waste within the supply chain which covers the transfer, processing and packaging of food from the farm gate to the back of store.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it plans to undertake to determine the volume and proportion of commercial waste discarded in any given year.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) plans to carry out work to estimate the amount of commercial and industrial waste produced in Scotland for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 using existing survey data. In addition, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), with Scottish Enterprise, are commissioning work on commercial and industrial organic waste arisings, to understand better the amounts, types and geographical spread. This will aid plans for future waste management infrastructure.
Section 79 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 empowers Ministers to make regulations requiring persons of the kinds specified to provide SEPA with information on waste. The section lays down that draft regulations must be laid before Parliament no later than 12 months after the day on which this section comes into force.
To achieve this there is a discussion of how to improve commercial and industrial waste data Sections 1.5 and 1.6, and Annex C, of Scotland''s draft Zero Waste Plan
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/waste-and-pollution/Waste-1/wastestrategy.
The plan was issued for consultation on 20 August 2009 and one of the questions asked relates to the proposals outlined there.
Depending on the results of this consultation we will consult next year on the details of what regulations under this section should lay down, and what information on waste should be sent to SEPA.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the volume and proportion of commercial waste discarded in any given year.
Answer
Both Envirowise Scotland,
http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland/Envirowise-in-Scotland.html, and the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme Scotland (NISP Scotland),
http://www.nisp.org.uk/scotland.aspx, are funded by the Scottish Government to reduce business waste. An independent study into the performance of Envirowise identified that in 2007 alone, Envirowise reduced commercial waste arisings in Scotland by over 70,000 tonnes and raw material use by over 14,000 tonnes. During 2008-09, NISP Scotland diverted 73,742 tonnes of industry materials from landfill.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) also provides advice to business on waste reduction through their regulatory functions and has recently delivered a training programme to assist all field staff with the promotion of resource efficiency to all businesses they come into contact with. SEPA also contributes to the development of advice and guidance available through NetRegs, http://www.netregs.gov.uk, which contains a range of information about reducing, re-using and recycling business waste.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made toward achieving its targets with regard to reducing the volume and proportion of commercial waste discarded and whether it is on track to meet these targets.
Answer
There are no such targets in place at the moment.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what progress has been made toward achieving its targets with regard to reducing the volume and proportion of food waste from (i) supermarkets, (ii) households, (iii) restaurants and other eating establishments and (iv) other sources and (b) whether it is on track to meet these targets.
Answer
We do not yet have information on progress in relation to the target on food waste in the Courtauld Commitment with retailers. This is our only specific target on food waste.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set with regard to reducing the volume and proportion of food waste from (a) supermarkets, (b) households, (c) restaurants and other eating establishments and (d) other sources.
Answer
The current Courtauld Commitment with retailers has a specific target to help reduce the amount of food householders across the UK throw away by 155,000 tonnes by 2010, against a 2008 baseline. We do not have any other specific targets to reduce food waste at this moment in time. The Waste and Resources Action Programme are leading work to develop a further Courtauld commitment with retailers, to go beyond 2010.
