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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: S5W-35202

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the trials of digital deposit return schemes in Wales and Northern Ireland, and whether these schemes could be used in Scotland.

Scottish Government officials engage regularly with representatives of the other UK administrations to understand their intentions regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and any implications for Scotland’s DRS.

As per the answer to question S5W-31523 on 14 September 2020, we have no current plans to put in place a solution for returning containers via a smartphone or app as part of Scotland’s DRS. It would, however, be open to any scheme administrator(s) and/or return-point operators to consider the use of a digital solution (for example allowing consumers to choose to have their deposits reimbursed through an app) to support consumers in returning containers via a return point.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-35205

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the current economic situation, and whether this will have any impact on the implementation date of July 2022 for its deposit return scheme.

Question reference: S5W-35204

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still anticipates its deposit return scheme will be operational by July 2022.

The 1 July 2022 date set out in regulations was based on an assessment undertaken before the pandemic, but also allowed for some flexibility for businesses responding to the disruption it has caused.

We are continuing to monitor the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and we recognise the significant and unique pressures COVID-19 is putting on a number of areas of the beverages industry in particular.

We are continuing to take steps to support industry to drive forward implementation of DRS, for example by amending planning legislation so that, with limited exceptions, retailers installing a reverse vending machine will not need to apply for planning permission.

Question reference: S5W-35206

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) Welsh Government (b) Northern Ireland Executive and (c) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the operability of Scotland's deposit return scheme with other planned schemes across the UK.

Question reference: S5W-35203

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will appoint a scheme administrator for its deposit return scheme before the end of the current parliamentary session.

We are aware that a group of businesses and trade bodies from the producer, retailer, and wholesaler sectors has set up a company, Circularity Scotland Ltd, which intends to submit an application to Ministers in due course for approval to act as a scheme administrator.

Under the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, once an application is received, Ministers must grant or refuse it within 28 days.

Question reference: S5W-34907

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide information about how Regional Land Use Partnerships will be funded; whether that funding will be sourced from the agricultural budget, and what its reasons are for its position on the matter.

We announced five Regional Land Use Partnership pilot regions on 5 February. The Scottish Government will work with the pilots to develop Scotland’s approach to land use in support of our transition to net-zero by testing practicalities around governance, local engagement, and working across regional boundaries. The initial focus of the pilots will be collaborative regional land use decision-making. They will not be directing any funding for land use change projects this year. It is the intention to use Environment Climate Change and Land Reform portfolio programme funding to facilitate pilot establishment and local engagement in 2021.

Question reference: S5O-04996

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is putting in place for infrastructure projects in 2021-22.

Question reference: S5O-04975

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to curling rinks.

Question reference: S5W-33932

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 8 December 2020 (Official Report, c. 46), from which budget stream the exceptional, one-off payment to teachers assessing and marking National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses in 2021 will be sourced, and whether it will apply to (a) college lecturers and (b) staff at independent schools carrying out the same task.

In acknowledgement of the additional workload around the quality assurance associated with the alternative certification model for the National Qualifications in 2021, at a time of already significant pressures due to COVID, I announced provision for a one-off, exceptional payment for all teachers and lecturers directly involved in these processes.

SQA, through their National Qualifications 2021 Working Group, are considering whether any adjustment to the alternative certification model processes or timescales is needed as a result of the current remote learning position and will issue further guidance as necessary.

Any such changes will be factored into discussions that are underway to determine how best the additional payments, which would come from within the education budget, might apply to teachers and lecturers involved. This would include those in colleges and independent schools where relevant.

Question reference: S5W-34291

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area have been treated in hospital solely for COVID-19 since 1 December 2020, also broken down by how many received treatment in intensive care units.

This data is not currently available.

Public Health Scotland publish information on hospital admissions for Covid-19 and information on admissions to ICU for Covid 19. This is available on the daily dashboard( https://public.tableau.com/profile/phs.covid.19#!/vizhome/COVID-19DailyDashboard
_15960160643010/Overview ) and in the weekly report( https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-
publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/ )