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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: S6W-07239

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timescale for revising the Clean Air Act 1993 in coordination with local authorities and SEPA, as outlined in Cleaner Air for Scotland 2.

Our new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' sets out a series of actions intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026. Amongst these actions are several which focus on reducing emissions from domestic fuel combustion including work with local government and SEPA to consider revision of the Clean Air Act 1993.

An expert working group, which met for the first time in January 2022, has been established to advise the Government on taking forward these actions. Further information will be made available as this work proceeds.

Question reference: S6W-07034

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a 70% recycling target for household waste, as set out in annex A, section 5.5, of Scotland's Zero Waste Plan.

Question reference: S6W-07033

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what greenhouse gas emissions changes it estimates there would be from converting Scotland’s energy-from-waste plants to (a) combined heat and power systems and (b) carbon capture and storage systems, and when it anticipates any such changes will occur.

Zero Waste Scotland’s report on the Climate Impacts of Burning Municipal Waste in Scotland, published in 2021, considered how converting to combined heat and power systems may change the carbon intensity of electricity only energy from waste (EfW) plants that were operating in Scotland in 2018 as part of a sensitivity analysis. This indicated that the average carbon intensity of EfW plants was reduced by an estimated 30%. The report is available here .

Evidence from a report published by ClimateXChange in 2022 on behalf of Scottish Government also suggests that retro fitting carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to 6 existing energy from waste facilities and 3 facilities expected to be completed in the next year could deliver up to ~1MTCO2/year of negative emissions, although the potential for negative emissions will depend on the biogenic content in the processed waste. The report is available here.

The independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland, being led by Dr Colin Church, is considering what the potential options are to decarbonise the residual waste infrastructure that is already in place in Scotland and work is being progressed to inform the Review’s considerations.

The existing national planning framework has ensured that all EfW facilities have prepared detailed heat and power plans which seek to identify opportunities for local use of heat from the plant. It also encourages local development plans to co-locate sources of heat demand and heat generation. There are examples of such heat use - currently or in development - at Lerwick, Grangemouth, Shawfair in Midlothian and Torry near Aberdeen.

Question reference: S6W-07032

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-05516 and S6W-05517 by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022, what emissions have been modelled for incineration with energy recovery as part of its Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports to date.

Question reference: S6W-06547

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can introduce a Direct Vision Standard for HGVs in Scotland, and, if so, what consideration it has given to this.

Vehicle safety standards, such as Direct Vision Standard to improve the sighting of vulnerable road users in the HGV and bus driving positions, is reserved to the UK Government.

In the Scottish Government’s formal response dated November 2021 to the UK Government consultation on its future of transport regulatory review, we called on the UK Government to adopt the measures outlined in the EU General Road Safety Regulation, including Direct Vision, to ensure that the UK remains a leader in vehicle safety.

Question reference: S6W-07031

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will proceed with the appointment of a new Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme trustee board.

Under Schedule 1, Part B, Rule 8(1) of the 2009 Act it is for the Parliament to appoint all trustees by resolution on nomination by the SPCB. The SPCB recently agreed to nominate Gordon MacDonald MSP, Murdo Fraser MSP and Mark Ballard (pensioner trustee) as Fund Trustees of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme. The motions for the Parliament to approve the appointment of the above named were moved on Wednesday 9 March 2022.

Question reference: S6O-00868

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-06176

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether individual licences to carry out control of certain generalist predator species should be issued to employees of landholdings, when the general licence allowing this same activity has been suspended by NatureScot.

Decisions on licence applications are taken by NatureScot on a case-by-case basis taking into account all relevant information. The arrangements for restricting the use of General Licences are set out in detail on the NatureScot website. We consider these arrangements to be a fair and proportionate response where there is evidence of wildlife crime. We do not think an automatic restriction on all other licence applications is necessary or justified.

An individual licence may be issued, where a general licence restriction has been imposed, where there is evidence that the licence is required to deliver legitimate land management or other work. Applicants must provide detail as to the requirement for an individual licence, therefore, individual licences allow more control by the licensing authority. Details such as number of a species to be controlled, time and place can be specified on the licence. The licence will also usually require the applicant to report on the activities carried out.

For example, NatureScot has previously issued individual licences to employees of landholdings where general licenses restriction are in place, for the prevention of serious damage to livestock. In this case for example the licence was for heavily restricted use only in specified locations.

Question reference: S6W-06175

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in cases of restrictions of the use of general licences on certain land-holdings, where “the regulator has lost trust or confidence”, as stated by NatureScot, what its position is on how the regulator can regain enough trust and confidence to issue individual licences to employees of that same land-holding to undertake the same activities prohibited by the restriction.

Individual Licences can be issued on land-holdings where General Licences have been restricted due to the level of control held by the licensing authority in the case of the former. General Licences by their nature require a higher degree of trust on the part of the licensing authority as the user of the licence is not required to provide details of the activities being undertaken under the licence. When an application is made for an Individual Licence details such as number of a species to be controlled, time and place are specified on the licence. The licence will also usually require the applicant to report on the activities carried out.

Question reference: S6W-06053

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new ScotRail operator, ScotRail Trains Ltd, will honour the commitment to staff, reportedly offered under the existing franchise agreement, to no compulsory redundancies until at least 2025.

We absolutely remain committed to our policy position, which remains that public bodies should work with their staff representatives to negotiate no compulsory agreements for 2022-23 where it is practical to do so.

For a new body like ScotRail Trains Ltd, which does not have an existing agreement on no compulsory redundancies, I would expect there to be negotiations on this as part of the Public Sector Pay Policy discussions, which are crucial to the change that is needed as ScotRail comes under Scottish Government control on 1 April 2022.