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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5O-04526

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the physical and mental health impact of closing fitness facilities and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-30919

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to regulate (a) dog and (b) other pet grooming services.

There are no plans at present to bring forward legislation to regulate dog and other pet grooming services in Scotland. It is anticipated however that pet grooming and indeed other activities involving animals will be areas that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission may in future wish to consider. Should such a review be undertaken by the Commission, the Scottish Government would of course consider its findings carefully, including any case made for regulation of these activities.

Question reference: S5W-30523

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when the National Records of Scotland will re-open its buildings, and which phase of lockdown restrictions is applicable to it.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) has continued to operate a small number of business critical services from their buildings and remotely during lockdown. Additional services have been made available through the early stages of the Scottish Government (SG) routemap. Appropriate controls and safeguards are in place to enable safe working in buildings for the current business critical services. The majority of NRS work has been delivered through working from home, since lockdown. NRS expect homeworking to continue for the majority of activities until Phase 4, to stay in lock-step with the SGs’s conditions-based approach to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Information and updates on customer facing services that were restricted or paused at lockdown were communicated on the NRS website. As part of Phase 3, NRS are planning to restart a limited number of further major services, with controlled and essential access to NRS buildings to adhere to physical distancing and safe working. Announcements on the NRS phased service re-opening plan during Phase 3 will be made on the NRS Website. Full building re-opening, including public access to NRS buildings, is not expected to take place until Phase 4 but NRS management are keeping their plans under review, in line with evolving Scottish Government announcements.

Question reference: S5W-30649

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on the levels of litter on streets across the country.

The Scottish Government-led Waste and Resources Sector Forum, which includes local authority representatives, monitors the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of waste services across Scotland. The Forum has indicated that levels of litter have increased as lockdown has eased, raising significant concerns about its visible impact on our open spaces, including parks, countryside and beaches.

In response, we have partnered with Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful to develop a national anti-littering campaign for digital and social media which launched on 15 July. This builds on an existing national waste management marketing campaign and web resource that sets out how the public can manage waste responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-30645

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how national planning practice guidance will ensure that only reverse vending machines that comply with section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requirement to promote high-value recycling will be given planning permission.

Question reference: S5W-30647

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on household recycling rates across the country.

It is too early to determine the full impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on household recycling rates. We are however, extremely grateful to those who have worked hard in difficult circumstances to keep essential waste service going in communities across Scotland.

The most recent statistics are from 2018 and are available from: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/household-waste-data/ .

Question reference: S5W-30644

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the national planning practice guidance on the siting and design of reverse vending machines.

Question reference: S5W-30643

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the plastic collected for recycling is subsequently recycled in Scotland.

Of the 75,361 tonnes of Scottish plastic waste that was recycled in Scotland or sent for recycling outside Scotland in 2018, 2% was recycled in Scotland. This figure includes plastic that was collected for recycling and plastic that was originally collected as mixed waste and subsequently sorted.

Scottish Ministers are committed to the delivery of a more circular economy and are undertaking a range of activities, including the implementation of a deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers, which will support increased opportunities for domestic reprocessing of plastic.

SEPA publish statistics on the management of all waste, including the amount of plastic waste originating in Scotland and subsequently recycled in Scotland, which can be accessed here: https://www.environment.gov.scot/data/data-analysis/waste-from-all-sources/ .

Question reference: S5W-30646

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the national planning guidance on reverse vending machines will state that glass must not be crushed.

Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, businesses handling returned scheme packaging will have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to ensure it is managed in a manner that promotes high-quality recycling. The associated code of practice makes clear that crushing mixed-colour glass should be avoided where possible.

Enforcement of this obligation is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). We are working with SEPA to consider what guidance can be provided to retailers and other obligated businesses to help ensure compliance.

Question reference: S5W-30648

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on recycling rates for glass across the country.

The tonnage of glass waste from households is included in the household waste statistics, and glass waste from all sources, including household waste, is reported in the statistics on waste from all sources. While it is too early to determine the full impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on recycling rates for glass, we are extremely grateful to those who continue to work hard in difficult circumstances to keep essential waste service going in communities across Scotland.

The most recent waste from all sources statistics are available from: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/waste-data-for-scotland/ .

The most recent household waste statistics are available from:

https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/household-waste-data/ .