The outcome which the Scottish Government anticipated would be delivered through its appointment of a Chief Entrepreneur was to have someone with exceptional experience of growing start-up companies to scale with the credibility and influence necessary to command the respect of industry, investors and public sector leaders to take on a key role at the heart of government which covers designing, advising on and supporting effective programmes to successfully embed entrepreneurship across all sectors of the Scottish economy. This current appointment achieves that outcome. Under the terms of his contract, the Chief Entrepreneur will be in post for an initial term of two years.

Alongside the other UK governments, we are working to reform the producer responsibility system for batteries to increase battery recycling and make it easier for consumers to dispose of batteries responsibly. The four governments will be consulting on our approach in due course.

We recently consulted on proposals to increase household recycling quantity and quality, as part of our Waste Route Map. This included a co-design process with local authorities, waste service operators, and residents to develop better service design and delivery standards. This process will consider the scope for potential materials for future recycling services, such as batteries, alongside available markets and reprocessing capacity for collected materials.

The most recent official statistics published by SEPA and available at [ Waste data for Scotland | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) ] show that in 2018 the amount of total waste going to landfill in Scotland has reduced by nearly a third over the past decade, with 32% of all waste landfilled, and that Scotland recycled 61% of all waste. Please note data for 2019/2020 is not available due to a cyber attack on SEPA, but further statistics will be published in 2023.

Our proposals for a Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map, published earlier this year, set out actions that Scottish Government and others could take to accelerate progress towards Scotland’s 2025 waste and recycling targets and deliver a circular economy in Scotland in a way that maximises carbon saving potential.

The woodland carbon market is making an important contribution towards our Net Zero targets. Scottish Forestry manages the Woodland Carbon Code which is a UK-wide carbon standard and underpins integrity in the woodland carbon market. The number of validated carbon credits from creating new woodlands in Scotland under the Woodland Carbon Code has risen by over 60% since March 2020. There has been a similar increase across the UK. These figures show that the 50% target has already been met. At the end of September 2022, 6.3 million validated credits had been generated across 249 woodland creation projects in Scotland. This means that these projects are predicted to sequester at least 6.3 million tonnes of CO2 over their lifetimes.

After competitive tender, a contract was awarded to Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP to obtain expert independent advice on the implications of VAT on the NCS and associated Care Boards. This work is ongoing. We are also engaging with HMT. No decisions have been made at this point and a full understanding of the impact of all options will be considered after the co-design process has been completed. The co-design will involve COSLA and Local Authorities as well as people accessing care and support and care workers.

The Scottish Government published its new draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy on 13 December, outlining 26 priority actions needed to achieve our vision of halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing the trend by 2045. This 25 year strategy will be supported by rolling 5 year delivery plans, and the Natural Environment Bill which will include statutory targets for nature recovery. We are working with NatureScot to develop the delivery plan and targets.

Our continued commitments to restore peatlands, introduce at least one new National Park, ensure Nature Networks in all local authority areas, and protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030, will all contribute to our 2030 and 2045 vision for Scotland.

The new strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-biodiversity-strategy-2045-tackling-nature-emergency-scotland/ .

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including how much money has been spent by Historic Environment Scotland on the repair of Properties in Care, are best answered by Historic Environment Scotland.

All retailers have obligations to be a return point, unless they apply for and are granted an exemption. The choice of whether to operate a reverse vending machine, or alternatively to operate a manual takeback service, is a commercial decision for individual retailers. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many reverse vending machines there will be across Scotland or their likely locations.

The purchase of reverse vending machines is a matter for individual retailers. There are a number of companies who will manufacture reverse vending machines to the specifications provided by Circularity Scotland Ltd.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on ill-health retirement of officers due to mental health reasons. Staffing issues are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

The Scottish Government welcomes the support provided by Police Scotland to its workforce through initiatives such as the "Your Wellbeing Matters" programme which covers psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing.