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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: S6O-01805

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to how its Blue Economy Vision for Scotland can support developing industries within the blue economy in the drive to net zero.

Question reference: S6O-01797

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of local government services in improving public health and wellbeing.

Question reference: S6W-13127

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards its target of ensuring that all homes achieve at least an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2033, where technically feasible and cost effective.

The most recent data from the 2019 Scottish Housing Condition Survey showed 45% of Scotland’s homes to be EPC C or better. To ensure all homes reach at least equivalent to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C, we are committed to introducing regulations from 2025. They will require Scotland’s homes to reach at least equivalent to EPC C at respective trigger points, where technically feasible and cost-effective to do so - with backstops of 2028 for the private rented sector and by 2033 for owner occupiers.

To enable this and a just transition, the Scottish Government have committed to investing at least £1.8 billion this parliamentary term to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures. We intend to publish a consultation on the proposals for the Heat in Buildings Bill in the coming year.

Question reference: S6W-13267

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to care homes and similar facilities to address rising energy prices, in light of their reported inability to reduce usage given requirements for them to maintain heating levels at a specified temperature.

The Scottish Government are aware of the severe pressures which rising energy and other inflation-related costs are putting on the sector. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has established a Ministerial Advisory Group to ensure we collaborate effectively to meet these challenges.

Many of the policy and economic levers that would help reduce the pressures on care homes are reserved to Westminster and the Cabinet Secretary recently wrote to the UK Government (and the other UK nations) to again raise these matters.

Within its existing remit, in August the Scottish Government increased its support for SMEs by investing £300,000 to expand the capacity of the Business Energy Scotland advice service, and doubled the energy efficiency cashback element of the SME Loan Cashback scheme to £20,000.

Question reference: S6W-13269

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential costs to local authorities resulting from the roll-out of its Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-13268

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies to purchase reverse vending machines as part of the Deposit Return Scheme and, if so, how many.

Question reference: S6W-13129

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on its commitment to send no more than 5% of remaining waste to landfill and to recycle 70% of remaining waste by 2025.

The most recent official statistics published by SEPA and available at [ Waste data for Scotland | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) ] show that in 2018 the amount of total waste going to landfill in Scotland has reduced by nearly a third over the past decade, with 32% of all waste landfilled, and that Scotland recycled 61% of all waste. Please note data for 2019/2020 is not available due to a cyber attack on SEPA, but further statistics will be published in 2023.

Our proposals for a Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map, published earlier this year, set out actions that Scottish Government and others could take to accelerate progress towards Scotland’s 2025 waste and recycling targets and deliver a circular economy in Scotland in a way that maximises carbon saving potential.

Question reference: S6W-13126

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its pledge at COP26 to curtail deforestation, whether it will provide an update on progress towards its target to increase the woodland carbon market by at least 50% by 2025.

The woodland carbon market is making an important contribution towards our Net Zero targets. Scottish Forestry manages the Woodland Carbon Code which is a UK-wide carbon standard and underpins integrity in the woodland carbon market. The number of validated carbon credits from creating new woodlands in Scotland under the Woodland Carbon Code has risen by over 60% since March 2020. There has been a similar increase across the UK. These figures show that the 50% target has already been met. At the end of September 2022, 6.3 million validated credits had been generated across 249 woodland creation projects in Scotland. This means that these projects are predicted to sequester at least 6.3 million tonnes of CO2 over their lifetimes.

Question reference: S6W-13128

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards its target of halting nature loss in Scotland by 2030 and reversing it by 2045.

The Scottish Government published its new draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy on 13 December, outlining 26 priority actions needed to achieve our vision of halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing the trend by 2045. This 25 year strategy will be supported by rolling 5 year delivery plans, and the Natural Environment Bill which will include statutory targets for nature recovery. We are working with NatureScot to develop the delivery plan and targets.

Our continued commitments to restore peatlands, introduce at least one new National Park, ensure Nature Networks in all local authority areas, and protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030, will all contribute to our 2030 and 2045 vision for Scotland.

The new strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-biodiversity-strategy-2045-tackling-nature-emergency-scotland/ .

Question reference: S6W-13164

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any set criteria for a maximum travel time or distance that people should have to travel to access a reverse vending machine.

There is no set criteria on maximum travel time or distance. All retailers will be required to be a return point operator unless they are granted an exemption. The choice of whether to operate a reverse vending machine, or alternatively to operate a manual takeback service, is a commercial decision for individual retailers.

Scottish Ministers may grant an exemption from acting as a return point if they consider that there is an alternative return point located within reasonable proximity to the premises, and the operator of that return point has agreed to accept the return by consumers of items of scheme packaging on behalf of the retailer, and they consider that, if the exemption is granted, this will still provide consumers with reasonable access to a return point. The Scottish Government’s exemption application guidance states that a reasonably accessible distance is generally considered to be approximately 400 metres from an alternative return point.