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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: S5W-25764

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the basis is of the claim at table 2.2 in the paper, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland, that, under the current system, the recycling rate for glass would be unlikely to increase above 64% by 2043.

The Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Strategic Environmental Assessment” indicates that, without further intervention, glass recycling is not anticipated to increase above current levels.

It is recognised that there are a range of measures which can drive improvements in glass recycling and the Scottish Government is committed to a comprehensive suite of activity to increase performance in this area. Deposit return is a key element of those plans and, once established, will deliver significant increases in recycling rates for single-use drinks containers.

Question reference: S5W-25866

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what measures have been taken to assess the impact of the 20p deposit charge on people in the low-income bracket.

A Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment was published alongside the draft Regulations on 10 September 2019 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/consultation-paper/2019/09/deposit-return-schemme-scotland-regulations-accompanying-statement-proposed-regulations/documents/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment/govscot%3Adocument/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment.pdf

Question reference: S5W-25867

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what measures have been taken to assess the potential risk of fraud as a result of glass inclusion in its deposit return scheme.

Question reference: S5W-25864

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support its claims that there is "overwhelming public support for an all in deposit return scheme in Scotland".

An ‘all-in’ scheme is one which targets a wide range of drinks containers, as opposed to an ‘on-the-go’ scheme which specifically targets drinks bought and immediately consumed away from the home.

When responding to the Scottish Government’s public consultation to explore options for establishing a deposit return scheme, 88% answered ‘no’ to the question ‘Do you think that the deposit return scheme should be limited to “on the go” only?’.

Question reference: S5W-25865

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has that supports a projected deposit return scheme glass collection rate of 90%.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Case Stage 1” (FBC), our proposals for deposit return draw on experience of other high-performing schemes in Europe and have been designed to maximise consumer participation.

Accordingly, the FBC concludes that a performance target requiring the capture of 90% of containers within three years of the scheme’s operation represents an ambitious but achievable performance objective. This is subject to a minimum capture rate of 85% by material type.

Question reference: S5W-25881

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve road safety on the A75.

The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland is currently progressing a number of actions to further improve safety on the A75. These actions involve collision reduction measures at Ardachie Straight, approximately 5 miles west of Newton Stewart, including enhanced reflective road studs and vehicle activated traffic signs to warn road users of the bend and to reduce speed. We are also investigating collision reduction measures at the junction with the A751 which includes improved junction signing, road markings and foliage removal. It is anticipated that this will be implemented this financial year. Investigations are on-going for a controlled pedestrian crossing in Crocketford following the public meeting held earlier this year. It is anticipated that any facility will be delivered in the next financial year (2020/21) subject to local consultation.

Question reference: S5O-03711

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it tackles non-native invasive species.

Question reference: S5W-25882

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what improvement work is planned for the A75, and what the (a) cost and (b) timeline is for this.

In the current financial year the Scottish Government will invest approximately £2 million on road maintenance schemes on the A75. In addition, there are also road safety improvement schemes being progressed. This financial year these include accident reduction measures at:

A75 Ardachie Straight - estimated to cost £115,000, subject to road space being available, and;
A75 junction with the A751 - estimated to cost between £50,000 - £70,000.

Investigations are also on-going for a controlled pedestrian crossing in Crocketford following the public meeting held earlier this year. Estimated cost and timescales for this will be determined upon decision of what type of facility is suitable.

Transport investment has to be supported by robust evidence and the South West Scotland Transport Study is also being progressed. This study is considering the rationale for improvements to all modes of transport on key strategic corridors, including that served by the A75. The study will provide recommendations which identify transport interventions to be considered in more detail through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. The output of the review will provide Scottish Ministers with a programme of potential transport investment opportunities over the period 2022 – 2042 and will support the vision, priorities and outcomes of the new National Transport Strategy.

Question reference: S5W-25805

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25088 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2019, where the 40% of the ChargePlace Scotland network serving small towns and rural areas is located, broken down by Parliamentary constituency and region.

At end-August 2019, 445 chargepoints on the ChargePlace Scotland network were located in areas designated as accessible small towns, remote small towns, accessible rural or remote rural as set out in the Scottish Government’s six-fold urban/rural classification. The following table provides a breakdown of these chargepoints by Local Authority area.

Local Authority	Number of Chargepoints 1
Aberdeen City	6
Aberdeenshire	30
Angus	15
Argyll and Bute	30
City of Edinburgh	11
Clackmannanshire	6
Dumfries and Galloway	16
East Ayrshire	8
East Dunbartonshire	1
East Lothian	33
East Renfrewshire	4
Falkirk	2
Fife	27
Highland	49
Inverclyde	3
Midlothian	11
Moray	12
Na h-Eileanan an Iar	16
North Ayrshire	17
North Lanarkshire	9
Orkney Islands	17
Perth and Kinross	29
Renfrewshire	2
Scottish Borders	27
Shetland Islands	13
South Ayrshire	8
South Lanarkshire	22
Stirling	16
West Dunbartonshire	3
West Lothian	2
TOTAL	445

1 in locations designated as accessible small towns, remote small towns, accessible rural or remote rural as set out in the Scottish Government’s six-fold urban/rural classification.

Please note, the data presented includes areas of low population density within or nearby urban centres meaning some cities have chargers located in areas designated as accessible small towns.

Question reference: S5W-25762

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) risk and (b) potential consequences of its proposed deposit return scheme leading to consumers choosing to purchase larger (i) alcohol and (ii) other bottle types.

The Scottish Government published “A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business Regulatory Impact Assessment” (BRIA) on 9 July 2019. That BRIA concluded that any impact on consumer choice, including a shift towards purchasing larger sized products, is likely to be small. The decision to pursue a scheme design which maximises consumer convenience and targets a high capture rate should help to mitigate this impact.