Chamber and committees

The following table shows the level of Mode Shift Revenue Support grants awarded by the Scottish Government since the introduction of the scheme plus details of the committed traffic.

The National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG) will review the use of Anastrozole, Tamoxifen and Raloxifene as a preventative treatments for post-menopausal women at a moderate or high risk of breast cancer at a rescheduled meeting in Autumn 2024.

In anticipation of potential NCMAG advice, Scottish Government is considering how these drugs may fit in to a chemoprevention care pathway within NHS Scotland, including patient identification and monitoring.

Permitting is a matter for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), who make this information available in the public domain here: Find an Authorisation Document | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) .

Scottish Forestry maintains very close working relationships with the relevant Local Authority and timber businesses in this region. Whilst we are aware of the closure of the Aboyne Bridge, and there have been discussions with local forest businesses around the implications of further deterioration on the adjacent Dinnet Bridge, Scottish Forestry has not received a request from the Local Authority for support towards reopening the Aboyne Bridge currently.

Scottish Forestry recently awarded £101,000 from the Strategic Timber Transport Fund to support £202,000 of improvements to the nearby B976 Birsemore to Dinnet Bridge Road through collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council.

The Scottish Government participates in the UK Hydrogen Propulsion Manufacturing Taskforce. The taskforce works to develop recommendations on how government and industry can maximise investment opportunities for the UK manufacturing of hydrogen propulsion systems. This has included reference to the opportunities for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The taskforce has been paused during the pre-election period for the UK general election.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy alongside battery electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when battery electrification is challenging. However, it is up to individual bus operating companies to determine what type of zero emission vehicles best suits their particular circumstances, and for manufacturers to respond to that demand in the way that they think is most appropriate.

The waste hierarchy already has provision for different types of thermal treatment technology. For example, while incineration without energy recovery is classed as disposal, energy from waste processes (producing usable electricity and/or heat) can be classed as recovery of energy.

Moreover, there is scope within the waste hierarchy for technologies that produce products to be classed as recycling if appropriate. For example, where the Anaerobic Digestion of food waste is undertaken to appropriate standards to produce a usable product, this is already classified as recycling in the Official Statistics published by SEPA.

We, therefore, are not considering making additional provisions through the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) regulations 2012 (“the PPC regulations”).

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Section 7 of the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019 requires management of Crown Estate Scotland assets to be undertaken in a manner that is likely to contribute to the promotion or the improvement of social and environmental wellbeing in Scotland.

Section 9 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 describes the sustainable procurement duty requires the contracting authority to consider how it conducts the procurement process to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the authority's area.

In addition to this, for the ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds, CES required a statement of commitment which requires a company to abide by the law in Scotland and relevant domestic law, safeguarding against a company that has been convicted of unlawful conduct in relation to sustainability from being able to operate in Scotland.

We will continue to review the leasing requirements for future leasing rounds informed by best practice to deliver the best outcomes for Scotland and in line with our social, economic and environmental principles, including the need for any legislative changes to support the updated leasing conditions.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27757 on‎ 7 June 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .