No assessment of the potential of semi-closed containment aquaculture to support jobs in rural Scotland has been made by the Scottish Government. Employment opportunities and benefits are considered as part of the statutory fish farm planning process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13304 on
‎ 5 January 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

Marine Scotland Science, as a statutory consultee in the fish farm planning application process and part of Scottish Government Marine Scotland Directorate, provided advice to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Planning Authority and is available to view on the planning portal; 2021/0357/DET | Installation of a Marine Fish Farm and associated development including shore base, slipway and pontoon and road upgrades | Beinn Reithe Loch Long (lochlomond-trossachs.org).

Advice from Scottish Government aquaculture policy unit was provided to the park authority on the national significance of the project, as the first application for a semi-enclosed marine loch fish farm in Scotland. Advice is available to view on the planning portal; 2021/0357/DET | Installation of a Marine Fish Farm and associated development including shore base, slipway and pontoon and road upgrades | Beinn Reithe Loch Long (lochlomond-trossachs.org).

We published our new draft Biodiversity Strategy on 13 December 2022, which sets out 26 Priority Actions to put us on the path to a nature positive future, and halt biodiversity loss by 2030. We are now working closely with public bodies and other stakeholders to develop the first 5 year delivery plan which will support this strategy. The delivery plan, to be published in 2023, will set out how we will achieve the vision and outcomes in the new strategy, and will include further details of key related policies. The strategy will also be supported by a Natural Environment Bill, which will provide a framework for statutory targets for nature restoration.

We will be undertaking further consultation work on the strategy and delivery plan from early 2023.

The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008 enable Scottish Ministers to designate a bathing season in a period where they expect a large number of people to bathe at a designated bathing water. The definition of bathers, in this instance, is exclusive to paddlers and swimmers and does not cover other water users.

For all 87 designated bathing waters in Scotland the bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September each year, in accordance with the traditional period of peak usage. In comparison with the 3.5 month bathing season in Scotland across Europe the season length varies from 2 months in Sweden to 6 months in Cypress.

The aim of the Bathing Waters Regulations is to minimise the risks to human health to swimmers and paddlers from bacteriological impacts whilst bathing. It would be disproportionately costly to monitor bathing waters outwith the current bathing water season when they are not regularly used by large numbers of bathers. General health advice on wild swimming is available from the UK Health Security Agency at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet/swim-healthy , which is also applicable to Scotland

The number of bathing waters in Scotland has increased since last year and now stands at 87, with 98% achieving the bathing water quality standards and more rated excellent than ever before.

As at 1 July 2022, there were 114,880 properties in receipt of 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief and a further 1,140 properties that were in receipt of 100% rates relief as a result of a combined partial award of SBBS relief and another NDR relief – for a total 116,020 SBBS recipients that paid no rates. In 2023-24, due to changes to Rateable Values as a result of the 2023 revaluation and changes to the SBBS relief thresholds announced at the Draft Budget 2023-24, it is estimated that around 106,000 properties will receive 100% relief through SBBS, either solely through SBBS relief or through SBBS relief combined with another NDR relief.

This estimate is based on modelling that underpinned the costing of SBBS relief in Scottish Fiscal Commission’s (SFC) Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022. As noted by the SFC, rateable values were projected and based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, and are therefore subject to change.

Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Higher Property Rate (HPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from HPR after revaluation transitional relief in 2023-24 by property class

Our consultation document on the next Land Reform Bill proposes a series of important changes to the framework of law and policy that govern the system of ownership, management and use of land in Scotland. The proposals are in line with the recommendations of the Scottish Land Commission. They include the introduction of a Public Interest Test (PIT) "to assess whether, at the point of transfer of a large-scale landholding, a risk would arise from the creation of continuation of a situation in which excessive power acts against the public interest." The consultation also set out proposals on the criteria for triggering the PIT, and the possible outcomes of it. The Commission has not recommended the introduction of a cap on the total amount of land that can be owned.

We have received 540 responses to the consultation, and these include a wide range of views on the threshold for land acquisitions that could be subject to the PIT. The responses are being analysed and will be taken into account as we develop measures for inclusion in the Bill.

As with previous land reform legislation, it is imperative that any proposals are fully compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The National Trauma Training Programme (NTTP) consists of a range of training resources, including a framework which details the knowledge and skills required at each of the four practice levels. This Framework was created in part to enable organisations to deliver their own training or identify suitable training providers. As such, there will be a wide range of NTTP-aligned training that has been delivered to many members of the workforce that we do not hold central information about.

Training delivered by NES (NHS Education for Scotland) central team and the Transforming Psychological Trauma Implementation Coordinators (TPTICs) is recorded. Two different processes are used for monitoring and recording information about numbers accessing training, as set out below:

1) Monitoring and recording processes for face-to-face or screen-to-screen training across all four levels (informed, skilled, enhanced and specialist levels)

All information about face-to-face and screen-to-screen training at any level delivered by TPTICs and the central team is recorded by the TPTIC or central team member via an MS form. This includes information about the type and level of training, by whom and where it was delivered, duration, the number of people attending and their area of work. Because of the multi-agency focus of the NTTP, many of the training sessions bring together professionals working across various organisations and agencies. Reporting focuses on broader numbers and areas of work of attendees (whether justice, health, education, etc.), rather than by organisation, and as such does not differentiate between NHS and other public sector workers.

This information is collated centrally, and numbers of staff trained at each of the four levels are reported quarterly for performance tracking purposes.

2) Monitoring and recording of delivery of online training resources across Informed and skilled levels.

Informed (Level 1)

At the Informed level, the use of NTTP animations Opening Doors and Sowing Seeds, and the recorded workshops that accompany them are monitored through the number of views as indicated on the Vimeo platform. The numbers of views of the animations and workshops, and registrations for the workshops notes and tools are measured on a monthly basis.

This information is collated centrally, and numbers of staff accessing each of the informed training resources are reported quarterly for performance tracking purposes.

A key focus of developing the informed, online resources has been on making them easy to access. The animations and recorded workshops are freely available, meaning people accessing them do not need to supply their email address or employer. Likewise, the training resource for the Informed level will have been shown at in-person/online events, and uploaded to/ watched through various platforms, so it is not possible to capture exact numbers and details as to who has accessed this resource and whether they work for the NHS, another public sector organisation or elsewhere.

Skilled (Level 2)

Four modules to support Skilled practice training are provided on NHS Education for Scotland's Turas platform. To access these modules, it is necessary to have a Turas account.

The number of staff completing each of the four skilled workshops is collected from the Turas system on a monthly basis. This information is collated centrally, and numbers of staff completing each of the skilled modules are reported quarterly for performance tracking purposes.

In addition, Turas can provide further information about registered users who have accessed the modules. Two data sources are used by NES to monitor who has a Turas account. First, any individual can register for Turas and upon registration, and they may provide details of their sector, professional role and organisation. Second, richer data is available for the majority of NHS Scotland staff where Turas draws data from workforce information systems – these provide an accurate and up to date information about job role, department and organisation.

Enhanced (Level 3) and Specialist (Level 4)

There are no online training resources at the Enhanced and Specialist level, as this is intensive skills-based training which is delivered face-to-face/screen-to-screen.

In August 2022, NatureScot launched the Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (IRNS) scheme, which provides projects that offer nature-based solutions with technical assistance grants to address investment barriers and develop replicable and scalable business models. Through this work, IRNS aims to build capacity for environmental projects to attract financial investment. The scheme aligns to the Scottish Government’s Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital, which sets out our expectations for a values-led, high-integrity market. Successful applications were announced in November 2022, with £580k of funding awarded to projects across a range of environmental contexts and locations.