Through the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), to date, The Scottish Government has awarded the following proportion of the SIETF; (a) micro 3%, (b) small 12% , (c) medium-sized 17% and (d) large 68%.

After coming into public ownership, ScotRail has created 24 posts for Revenue Protection Officers whose role is to prevent ticket fraud and provide support at the stations. The number of these posts will rise to 42 in the coming months.

There are no plans to hold a public consultation regarding staffing requirements at ScotRail stations and booking offices.

ScotRail officials advise that, independently from ScotRail Peak Fares Removal pilot, it is working to reduce the number of current vacancies by introducing a new recruitment method to advertise externally with more general adverts now being used rather than advertising for specific roles. This will enable ScotRail to recruit for various roles simultaneously to speed up the process of filling vacancies.

ScotRail has also secured additional external support to work alongside its internal recruitment team, which is now in place.

Issues of RAAC competence and capacity building were discussed at the RAAC Cross-Sector Working Group meeting of 22 September. Minutes from that meeting are published on The Scottish Government Website at: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross Sector Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Out with Working Group engagement, officials have reported no specific queries from organisations or local authorities on the cited topic.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows:

"Typically, monitors are designed to measure the duration of spills and not flow or volume. Scottish Water is not required to measure the volume of spills other than in a specific limited number of locations where specific equipment is in place to do this. Where Scottish Water is required to measure this, it provides data to SEPA on an annual basis.

The new Event Duration Monitors that are being installed under the improving urban waters routemap will give spill numbers and durations, and not flows or volumes."

However, it should be noted that volume data is not always meaningful as spills are dependent on factors beyond Scottish Water’s control, most notably the weather. The more important metrics are the quality of water in receiving water bodies and as the member is aware, comprehensive monitoring of water bodies is already undertaken by SEPA to assess water quality, water resources, physical condition and aquatic ecology which are combined to produce an overall classification of the water environment. 87% of Scotland’s entire water environment is assessed by SEPA as having a ‘high’ or ‘good’ classification for water quality and Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) have measures in place to achieve 92% ‘good’ water quality by 2027.

By the end of 2023, we intend to confirm the future scope of SIETF applications, taking into account the needs of Scotland's industrial base and the remaining allocated funding at that time. The decision will be informed by liaison with the UK Government regarding responses to the IETF consultation and consideration of options to extend the fund.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 October 2023. 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

Scottish Ministers are currently processing applications from SSE Renewables (via its project company Berwick Bank Wind Limited) for the construction and operation of the proposed Berwick Bank offshore wind farm. This process includes consultations with statutory and non-statutory consultees, as well as the opportunity for the public to make representations.

SSE Renewables has also submitted proposals to compensate for the potential adverse environmental impacts of the proposed wind farm, if a derogation under the Habitats Regulations is required. This includes a proposal regarding the guga hunt, which SSE Renewables has submitted on a without prejudice basis.

As this is a live application, it would be inappropriate to comment on the application further.

In determining an application for any project, the Scottish Ministers will consider a wide range of issues, including the environmental impacts it may have and whether a derogation under the Habitats Regulations is required. Any derogation under the Habitats Regulations, will include an assessment of the feasibility of compensation measures.

There is no specific qualification required to investigate and confirm the presence of RAAC in a building. The Institution of Structural Engineers note on their website that: “Identification can be undertaken by an experienced estate/ maintenance manager/ or building owner”.

It is recommended that the investigation and assessment of RAAC, once identified, should be undertaken by a suitably competent structural engineer.

Issues of RAAC competence and capacity building were discussed at the Cross-Sector Working Group meeting of 22 September. Minutes from that meeting are published on The Scottish Government Website at: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross Sector Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

In the period 10-10-13 to 9-10-2023 there have been 43 public local inquiries held by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) in respect of onshore wind farm proposals exceeding 50 megawatts which require consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Parties involved in planning proceedings are expected to meet their own costs. DPEA meet the costs of the reporter and administrative staff; advertisement of the case and the cost of the inquiry venue if necessary; and the general administrative costs of the case. DPEA do not record staff costs as reporters and administrative staff normally deal with a number of different case types at the same time.

DPEA began recording venue and advertisement costs from April 2019. The costs of inquiries from that date onwards are provided in the following table.

*The pattern of meeting types detailed in the information below reflects inquiries which took place during covid-related restrictions which meant that DPEA had to introduce virtual events. As covid restrictions have lifted, DPEA has transitioned back to holding some events in-person, some virtually, and some a mix of the two