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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: S6O-00953

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Department for Work and Pensions regarding proposed changes to its office estate that could result in job losses in the north east and elsewhere in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-07030

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the non-commercially sensitive copy of the 2020-28 Northern Isles Ferry Services contract with Serco.

Question reference: S6W-07029

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reviewed the 2020-28 Northern Isles Ferry Services contract with Serco since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Question reference: S6O-00903

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking, in relation to green skills, to remove barriers facing offshore oil and gas workers in transitioning to green jobs in the offshore energy sector.

Question reference: S6O-00867

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-00844

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards the establishment of a Peace Institute by the end of 2022, as set out in its 2021-22 Programme for Government.

Question reference: S6W-05942

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Deposit Return Scheme will be expanded in a similar way to the Latvian scheme, to include standardised refillable bottles and containers for one-way recycling.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will focus on non-refillable single-use drinks containers. Including refillables in the scheme would add a significant degree of complexity, with the need for industry to agree and operate standard bottle and collection crate designs and put in place bottle washing and refilling facilities in addition to the infrastructure already required for our DRS.

Once our DRS is operational we intend to consider options to expand the scope of the scheme. If there is a case for including refillable containers at this point then we can explore this as part of that work.

Scotland’s DRS will be ambitious by the standards of European schemes, including Latvia’s. I would note that Latvia’s scheme, unlike ours, is intended to exclude wine and spirits and that, while our scheme will reach 90% of containers collected for recycling by 2025, Latvia will not do so until 2030 for plastic and glass, and their target for aluminium is only 60%.

Question reference: S6W-05943

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which minister is responsible for the implementation of its Deposit Return Scheme.

Portfolio responsibility for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) lies with me as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.

In line with the principle of extended producer responsibility and the polluter pays principle, the work to deliver DRS is being led and paid for by industry, in particular the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL). I meet with CSL on a monthly basis to ensure that the agreed implementation timetable is maintained.

Question reference: S6O-00728

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to improve the provision of services for NHS Tayside breast cancer patients.

Question reference: S6W-05152

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Climate Justice Fund is currently contributing to projects supporting international efforts to (a) tackle forest fires and (b) reforest the Amazon Basin and Indonesian provinces, and whether such projects will be eligible for funding in the future under the expanded fund.

The Climate Justice Fund does not currently contribute to projects tackling forest fires or reforestation in the Amazon Basin or Indonesia. The focus of the Fund is on actions to achieve climate justice, principally supporting communities most affected by climate change build a more resilient, inclusive and equal future. Projects in Scotland's three international development partner countries of Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia will remain the primary focus of the expanded Fund.