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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-16770

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the plans to resolve safety issues at Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.

The Scottish Government is not directly responsible for the site, or its regulation. However, the risk to human health outwith the site remains low and signage is in place to warn members of the public to keep off the site.

The Scottish Government intends to fund the removal of giant hogweed from the site again this year to prevent the spread of this threat to public health.

SEPA continues to monitor the site regularly, with the most recent site assessment outlining that the conditions remain poor but stable. The site conditions do not appear to be deteriorating, but there is an ongoing environmental impact to surface water. The most recent update from SEPA on the status of the site can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-16771

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in preventing leachate from reaching water courses near Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.

The Scottish Government is not directly responsible for the site, or its regulation.

The Scottish Government met with SEPA and the Council in January 2023 to discuss future options for the site. At this meeting it was noted that, given new information around the increased and potential ongoing costs of the leachate management strategy, and other changes of circumstances, a fresh strategy for the management of the site should be considered to enable progress.

Subject to final approval and available funding, the intention is to fund and commission a review by consultants, who will be asked to identify the possible options for remediation at the site. Scottish Government, SEPA and the Council will then meet to consider these options.

SEPA continues to monitor ongoing environmental risks at the site and completed its latest survey in January 2023. This found no significant increasing trends associated with the impact to groundwater or water courses from leachate.

Question reference: S6F-02067

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to a recent report suggesting that current forestry grant funding rules are supporting projects that are harmful to peatlands, and which, as a result, generate more CO2 than they sequester.

Question reference: S6W-16788

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis the stakeholders interviewed as part of the gateway review into the Deposit Return Scheme were selected, and for what reason the Scottish Hospitality Group was not included.

Gateway Review teams normally speak with 12-15 interviewees including relevant commercial and external stakeholders (e.g. prime contractors and consultants). For the latest review, reviewers spoke to 45 people which included CSL, a range of producers, retailers, wholesaler, hospitality representatives, SEPA, Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Government.

For this review, the interview team selected their chosen interviewees based on the information gathered from the previous gateway reviews as well as their understanding of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The Scottish Government continues to engage with the Scottish Hospitality Group, and they attended a round table meeting with the First Minister and myself to discuss DRS on 20 April 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16759

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many businesses have now registered with the Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch on 16 August 2023, and what work it is doing to ensure that all businesses are signed up to the scheme.

More than 670 producers responsible for more than 2 billion drinks containers have signed up with Circularity Scotland – this represents the full range of drink producers from global brands to small craft breweries and distilleries.

This means 95% of the annual total volume of products are included in scheme.

Producers must be registered by 12 January 2024 to guarantee that they will be able to sell scheme products when the scheme launches on 1 March. Those who register after this time will be able to sell scheme products when their registration is approved.

As set out in the DRS Regulations, SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.

Question reference: S6W-16756

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to excluding, or delaying the inclusion of, small businesses within the scope of the Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch on 16 August 2023.

All producers, regardless of size, will be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme from its launch on 1 March 2024. The Circular Economy Minister announced on 20 April 2023 a package of measures to simplify the scheme which will benefit businesses of all sizes but particularly small producers. All retailers which sell scheme articles will automatically be a return point but some businesses, particularly smaller retailers, may wish to apply for an exemption and can do so via Zero Waste Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16753

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether small businesses will continue to be included in the Deposit Return Scheme from its launch date on 16 August 2023, in light of the First Minister's reported pledge to exempt small businesses for the first year of the scheme.

Businesses of all sizes will be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which will now launch on 1 March 2024. Adjusting the launch date by over 6 months provides everyone with additional time to prepare for the launch of the scheme, with around 10 months in total to now prepare, including small businesses.

On 20 April 2023 it was announced to Parliament that any product which sells less than 5,000 articles a year in Scotland will no longer have to place a deposit on the product. This change was asked for by business and will apply to producers of all sizes. However, it will particularly help small producers, removing an estimate 44% of producers from having to place a deposit on any of their products.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with businesses of all sizes to ensure our DRS is ready for launch on 1st March next year.

Question reference: S6W-16755

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to raise awareness of the Deposit Return Scheme among consumers; what activities have been involved in this, and how many civil servants have been engaged in this work, broken down by salary grade.

Question reference: S6W-16757

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to review the Deposit Return Scheme after its launch on 16 August 2023 and its (a) impact in general, (b) financial impact on (i) businesses, (ii) consumers and (iii) the wider economy and (c) environmental impacts.

Question reference: S6W-16752

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 16 August 2023 was selected as the launch date for the Deposit Return Scheme, in light of the chief executive of Circularity Scotland reportedly stating that it had identified the period of September to October 2023 as deliverable for the scheme launch but, even then, with a degree of risk.