- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 24 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities will be required to pay landfill tax as a result of the clear up following recent flooding incidents and, if so, what estimate it has made of the cost.
Answer
The material that local authorities send to landfill will attract landfill tax, including any disposals arising from the recent flooding events. The Scottish Government has provided a £16 million aid package in response to the flooding, principally providing grants to individuals and businesses but also supporting councils with reparation costs, which might include Scottish landfill tax liabilities.
The Scottish Government currently has no estimate on the quantity of waste material produced, and amount that will be landfilled as a result of the recent flooding events. We will be monitoring the situation closely.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 12 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware that the contents of the Museum of Fire in Edinburgh will be put into storage when it is closed in May 2016 and what its position is on the reported lack of a plan to reopen it in Edinburgh.
Answer
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has no plans to put the Museum of Fire collection in storage. The SFRS is committed to finding a new home for the collection in Edinburgh and is currently in discussion with the City of Edinburgh Council and Museums Galleries Scotland to explore possible solutions.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 10 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the restatement and amendment of the law relating to allotments in Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, whether local authorities will retain the ability to compulsorily purchase land for the purpose of providing allotments.
Answer
Powers for compulsory purchase of land for the provision of allotments are not included within the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and local authorities will not be able to purchase land for allotments compulsorily once Part 9 of this Act has been implemented. Scottish Government officials are reviewing the position on the need and justification for compulsory purchase of land for allotments, using compulsory purchase orders, and this important work is currently underway.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost would be to electricity consumers in Scotland of the Scottish Government refusing to agree to the proposed closure of the renewables obligation in Scotland in the event of its being transferred the power to do so.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it lost the power to close the renewables obligation in respect of electricity generated by onshore wind.
Answer
UK Ministers took powers in the Energy Act 2013 to close the renewables obligation across Great Britain to all new capacity. The UK Government lodged an amendment to the Energy Bill with no prior consultation with the Scottish Government or Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Government published a letter from the Energy Minister, Mr Ewing, to the former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, dated 1 November 2013, concerning the closure of the renewables obligation. This can be found at the following link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/ElectricityMarketReform/Letter01-Nov-13.
The Scottish Government has not made any estimate of how much it would cost electricity consumers in Scotland to maintain the renewables obligation on the basis that we do not have powers to keep the renewables obligation scheme open.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it was consulted before it lost the power to close the renewables obligation in respect of electricity generated by onshore wind.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) discussions it had and (b) agreement was reached with the UK Government before losing the power to close the renewables obligation in respect of electricity generated by onshore wind.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 4 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what content on (a) human rights law and (b) its human rights obligations is included in the induction and professional development programmes for its civil servants who (i) are engaged in policy development and (ii) provide legal services for ministers.
Answer
All new staff recruited by the Scottish Government participate in a corporate induction programme that introduces them to the core values of the Scottish Government and gives them the opportunity to explore how these values, including our commitment to human rights, are translated into the development and implementation of policy. This is supplemented by locally-led induction and by spending time with colleagues and stakeholders to build subject-specific knowledge and understanding. As an organisation, we encourage all staff to discuss and plan their learning and development on an on-going basis with their line manager. Our learning support is designed to help people develop their skills and knowledge through experiential learning, classroom based learning and coaching or mentoring support.
Staff providing legal advice have an in-depth professional knowledge of the law of Scotland, including the important human rights dimension to the devolution settlement. Skills, knowledge and awareness are further developed through a combination of on-the-job training and supportive supervision by experienced colleagues, as well as through personal learning which, for example, ranges from the use of regular human rights case updates for Scotland, the UK and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to participation in internal and external seminars and workshops.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 26 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the new chairperson of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Answer
Ministers confirmed formally the appointment of Bob Downes as Chair of the Board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and of Martin Hill as a board member, on 15 January 2016. Further details are available at http://www.appointed-for-scotland.org/news.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 26 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments by Aileen McLeod on 9 June 2015 that “the Cabinet has agreed to embed climate change in this autumn’s budget process” (Official Report, c. 59) and 27 October 2015 that “we will ensure that climate change is a top priority through a Cabinet agreement to embed it in the autumn budget process”, (Official Report, c. 24), which spending commitments in the Draft Budget 2016-17 embed climate change.
Answer
The Draft Budget 2016-17 embeds climate change within relevant portfolios, including support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable travel, waste reduction and natural carbon capture. The principal spending commitments were published in Draft Budget 2016-17: Details of funding for climate change mitigation measures, available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/DraftBudget2016-17. In addition, as highlighted in the Infrastructure Investment Plan, we are making significant multi-million pound investments in new and more energy efficient schools, colleges, health centres and hospitals.