Chamber and committees

The latest estimates from the Farm Business Survey suggest that in the accounting year 2020-21, the average Farm Business Income (FBI) for businesses in the survey was £39,347. This represented an increase of 20 per cent (£6,517) in real terms from 2016-17, when the average income was £32,830. FBI includes income from grants and subsidies; when these are excluded farms are, on average, not profitable. Figures for other years are shown in the following table.

We continue to engage with Crown Estate Scotland on this matter and consideration is ongoing. Timescales are dependent on the 2023-24 Budget process, which will not conclude until the 2023-24 Budget Bill is passed.

The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 Act places a broad general duty on the Scottish Ministers to improve health in Scotland and confers functions which assist in performing that duty. However, that duty and those functions cannot be viewed in isolation. Per the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Ministers cannot exercise their functions in a manner which would be outside of devolved competence.

Although the Scottish Government is taking a public health approach to drug dependence, if the Scottish Ministers were to exercise their functions (including functions which relate to health improvement) in a way which conflicts with the subject matter of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 then that would be outside competence.

The work being done by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership to explore the possibility of a Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Scotland, within the current legal framework, has been done carefully with the benefit of their independent legal advice. In the event of a positive outcome to work carried out by partners, we will quickly establish a Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Glasgow.

£10.3million a year has been made available to ADPs for the implementation of the 10 MAT Standards. This is the specific funding for MAT implementation, and is in addition to the general funding for specific MAT-related activities such as outreach and near-fatal overdose pathways.

This year’s safety performance of the A9 has been a concern for everyone and our thoughts remain with those affected by these tragic accidents.

I can advise today that this Government is taking forward a package of safety measures, valued at £5M, to help address the trends identified recently.

As well as the three safety schemes which are already scheduled for delivery, an additional £600,000 of works and campaigns will also be delivered by April, focussed on the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

This will include enhanced road markings with acoustic properties, illuminated road studs plus signage and improvements to highlight single carriageways and the transitions at dualled sections. Variable message signs will also be deployed along this part of the route.

For 2023-24 and 2024-25, the scope and extent of these works will be expanded between Perth and Inverness, delivering significant and important investment to improve roads safety.

I will also be working with the car hire sector and key local and regional partners to examine how tourists and foreign drivers can be better educated on Scotland’s roads. This will aid our wider campaign work on “Drive on the Left” and will also highlight the necessity for taking regular breaks, tackling driver fatigue.

Having met with MSPs from across the chamber following the debate on A9 road safety last month, I will convene a meeting with members, Transport Scotland, Bear Scotland and Police Scotland in the New Year to talk to these vital improvements and address any questions members will have. The next A9 Safety Group will convene in February 2023.

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the Building a new Scotland paper, A stronger economy with independence , are set out in the following table.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the report, one of numerous recent ones on carbon capture utilisation and storage. As the report highlights, CCUS is an aggregate of technology applications that have been applied across varying sectors. As Scotland develops our ambitions for carbon capture and storage it’s crucial that we continue to expand the evidence base and build upon the lessons that have been learned over decades of CCS technology and projects.

Public Health Scotland is working with partners to develop and publish data on the prevalence rate for problematic drug use in Scotland. The next publication will include an estimate of the number of people with problematic opioid use during 2018-19 and this will be published by the end of 2023.

The most recent figures on the prevalence rate for problematic drug use in Scotland were published in 2018 and covered 2015-16.

Data is not collected in this way, because many firms engaged in e-commerce are likely to also be trading in other ways. However, the Digital Economy Business Surveys (DEBS) carried out in 2017 and 2021 offers some insight. These surveys contain estimates of the proportion of total business sales were made via e-commerce in the previous 12 months.

Data is not collected in this way, because many firms engaged in e-commerce are likely to also be trading in other ways. However, in 2021, 35% of businesses in Scotland made sales via e-commerce, compared to 30% in 2017. (Source: Digital Economy Business Surveys (DEBS); 2017 and 2021. DEBS has been carried out approximately every three years since 2014. Note that sole traders were not included in these surveys.)