- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 16 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times a solicitor has been appointed by court for an unrepresented person facing charges under section 1(1) of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information however the Scottish Legal Aid Board does record applications for legal aid in Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act (DASA) 2018 cases applied where Section 22(1)(dd) of the Legal Aid Act (Person accused of certain offences) applies.
This classification does not specify the circumstances of the grant, only that the grant was made. Therefore it cannot be determined from the data below what ratio of those applications came from court appointed solicitors. This designation under section 22(1)(dd) is also not exclusive to DASA cases but is also applicable to all cases where an accused cannot represent themselves i.e. cases involving sexual offences, child witnesses, vulnerable witnesses, Abuse Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, and trials in absence.
The annual figures for all section 22 (1)(dd) cases are as follows:
Financial Year | Number s.22(1)(dd) received |
2018-19 | 152 |
2019-20 | 148 |
2020-21 | 128 |
2021-22 | 185 |
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available for people seeking to buy a new electric vehicle.
Answer
The Scottish Government is providing over £30 million this financial year to accelerate the shift to zero emission transport. This includes support for zero emission community transport and car clubs in addition to funding interest free loans for electric vehicles. This approach is designed to support more people and households on lower incomes to make the switch to electric.
In January we also announced a new fund that would enable £60 million investment in the public charging network over the next four years, anticipating over half of this investment will come from the private sector. The fund aims to ensure the right level of investment in public charge points across all of Scotland, including in settings, where lower demand for electric vehicle charging means that there is less opportunity for commercial investment.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05655 by Mairi McAllan on 19 January 2022, when it will provide a full response to the previous parliamentary session's Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s Inquiry into Regional Marine Planning, as committed to in the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment’s letter to the Committee of 23 March 2021.
Answer
We continue to carefully consider the report and recommendations made by the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee as regards regional marine planning and are working to finalise our formal response, which will be published this Autumn.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 25 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of non-compliance with its Guidance on due diligence: human rights have been reported since the guidance was published in 2018.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09230 on 11 July 2022. 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: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 25 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that all checks that it has carried out since the publication of its Guidance on due diligence: human rights (a) fully comply with the guidance and (b) take account of the nature and sensitivity of the relationship with the person or organisation being checked, and what the (i) minimum and (ii) maximum scope and depth of these checks has been.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09230 on 11 July 2022. 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: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates meeting Scotland’s capacity gap
on residual waste management resulting from the 2025 landfill ban, as
identified in the independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy.
Answer
The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built.
We are working closely with local authorities to support those that do not currently have solutions to the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste in 2025. The support includes facilitating collaborative procurement and providing technical, procurement and legal support for local authorities.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, when the 2025 landfill ban comes into force in
Scotland, whether residual waste will be exported to England to meet the
capacity gap identified in the independent review of the role of incineration
in the waste hierarchy and, if this is the case, whether it has identified
which facilities in England this waste will go to, and, if it has, whether it
will provide details of (a) the facilities involved and (b) how they will
manage the exported waste.
Answer
The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built.
The review noted that export is one of the short-term options for the treatment of residual waste in order to bridge the expected capacity gap. However, we will continue to work closely with local authorities and commercial operators to support those that do not currently have solutions to treat their residual waste ahead of the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste in 2025, taking account of the recommendations of the independent review and ongoing assessment of residual waste requirements and available capacity.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much residual waste it anticipates exporting to
England in each year from 2025 onwards.
Answer
The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built.
The review noted that export is a feasible short-term option for the treatment of residual waste in order to bridge the expected capacity gap. Scottish Government will continue to work with local authorities and commercial operators to ensure they have solutions in place to manage their residual waste in 2025 and beyond, taking account of the recommendations of the independent review and ongoing assessment of residual waste requirements and available capacity.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost is of exporting residual waste to England in each year from 2025 onwards.
Answer
The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built. The review noted that export is a feasible short-term option for the treatment of residual waste in order to bridge the expected capacity gap, but did not assess the cost of this option.
The most recent assessment of costs was the Waste Markets Study in 2019, which was commissioned to assess readiness for implementing the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste and considered potential costs of available options, including exporting waste. The report can be found here: Waste markets study: full report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering or has any plans to introduce legislation in relation to the reported pilot scheme for, or establishment of, juryless trials.
Answer
The review, Improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases , led by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, developed proposals for an improved system to deal with serious sexual offence cases, including recommending consideration of a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials. We have committed to give careful consideration to all of the Review’s recommendations.
We have established a Governance Group to further explore the recommendations on an individual and collective basis. The Group established a short-life working group to consider the specific issues involved in any potential pilot of single judge rape trials. In addition, we launched a consultation on 12 May to gather wider views on the recommendation and other proposals to improve victims’ experiences of the justice system. Decisions on whether to proceed with legislation to implement a pilot will be informed by the outcomes of the working group and the consultation.
