Chamber and committees

Spawning and nursery grounds were a key consideration in the planning exercise for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind energy. Existing spatial information on the likely locations of spawning and nursery grounds were incorporated into the opportunity and constraint analysis that provided the basis for the initial identification of areas of search for the planning process. Later, when areas of search were narrowed down, the Strategic Environmental Assessment, part of the wider Sustainability Appraisal, assessed the potential for the plan to negatively impact these spawning areas and outlined suitable mitigation measures, where required. The plan highlights where this may be necessary and where further assessment maybe required at a project-level.

All aspects of marine planning include engagement with the fishing sector representatives, not least of all, the planning process for offshore wind. The Scottish Government’s sectoral marine planning process, the basis for ScotWind leasing, included fisheries representatives on both plan steering groups and provided responses to the scoping and draft plan consultations. Almost all Plan options were modified based on feedback from the fishing community.

The costs of global failure to address the climate emergency would be enormous and the Scottish Government is committed to leading the way in delivering early action to reduce emissions while at the same time positioning Scotland to secure and share the opportunities from the transition. The next Climate Change Plan, a draft of which will be published next year, will include costs of delivering emissions reductions to meet the statutory targets between 2025 and 2040. The Scottish Government has not set out a pathway to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and hence does not yet have a basis for a cost assessment of achieving that goal. The Climate Change Committee suggest “the net costs of the transition (including upfront investment, ongoing running costs and costs of financing) will be less than 1% of GDP over the entirety of 2020-2050”. We believe this is a reasonable estimate while noting that the cost totals and profile for Scotland may differ due to our stricter statutory targets and the likelihood that our pathway to net zero may diverge from that taken by the UK as a whole.

I slanders who are eligible for a Young Scot National Entitlement Card currently receive two free return journeys to the mainland each year.

The introduction of the Road Equivalent Tariff on CalMac ferry services delivered an estimated average 34% reduction in passenger fares and 40% for cars and it continues to save passengers around £25m a year.

The young persons’ free bus travel scheme applies to all young people across the country, including those who live on Scotland’s islands. However, it is important that Government reflects on policy implementation in rural areas and in our island communities. To that end, ferry fares policy and specifically the issue of young people’s access to public transport, will be considered as part of the Fair Fares review.

The Sectoral Marine plan for Offshore Wind Energy was subject to a Sustainability Appraisal that included a plan-level Social and Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA). This SEIA assessed and estimated the levels of positive and negative impact of Plan Options and the plan, as a whole. The SMP-OWE did not specify the number of projects that could progress in each Plan Option and as such, the SEIA assessed the Plan Option under various development scenarios. The SEIA was published for consultation alongside the draft plan and can be found at the following link.https://www.gov.scot/publications/draft-sectoral-marine-plan-social-econimic-impact-assessment/

This refers to the level of fines for some short-term let licensing offences. When we were developing the short-term let licensing legislation in 2020 we consulted on the maximum level of fines for operating without a licence; breaching a licence condition; and for providing false information. Provisions for this will be included in a forthcoming Housing Bill.

Community benefits from renewable energy developments can help generate lasting social and economic benefit for communities across Scotland.

Our longstanding Good Practice Principles for Community Benefit from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments (2019) set national standards, which we encourage all renewable energy developers and communities to utilise, regardless of technology type.

We are keen to see the number of solar installations offering community benefit increase and, as we work with the solar sector towards solutions for its future in our forthcoming draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Strategy, will continue to encourage the sector to consider what packages of community benefit it can offer.

We’re seeing many young people already benefitting from the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme, with well over 20 million journeys having been made since its commencement in January. We have now launched a national marketing campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the scheme and, ultimately, encourage more young people to apply and enjoy the benefits of free bus travel.

Transport Scotland has also provided communications and promotional resources for stakeholders at freebus.scot, and these have been shared with over 300 public, private and third sector organisations who work with young people and families, and within the transport sector.

Transport Scotland does not normally hold this level of detail. Relevant revenue figures will not be available until the annual accounts for ScotRail Trains Ltd. have been audited, verified and published after the end of the financial year 2022-23.

Safety and security on our railways is reserved to UK Government and as such the member may wish to contact British Transport Police in relation to enforcement measures on ScotRail trains.