All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Currently, Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) outlines that development plans should set out the criteria that will be considered in deciding all applications for wind farms of different scales – taking account of the considerations set out at paragraph 169 of SPP which include landscape and visual impacts.

The Revised Draft National Planning Framework (NPF4) makes clear the Scottish Government’s support for onshore wind energy other than in National Parks and National Scenic Areas. Criteria for assessing proposals are included in draft policy 11, and impacts on communities, nature and other receptors, including significant landscape and visual impacts, remain important considerations in the decision-making process.

I published and laid the Revised Draft NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament on 8 November 2022 for Parliament’s consideration and approval. If approved and adopted, NPF4 will form part of the statutory development plan and will replace SPP.

We have made an initial £3 million available from our £10m long COVID Support Fund over this financial year to provide NHS Boards and partners with additional resource to respond to the needs of people with long COVID in their areas.

Territorial NHS Boards’ 2022-23 funding from the long COVID Support Fund has been split into two tranches. The first tranche (70%) was provided to NHS Boards in June. The second tranche (30%) will be made later in the financial year following progress reporting.

This is a well-established practice for the allocation of health board funding to account for any slippage in programme delivery, and is used across a range of policy areas.

The following table outlines the organisations to which funding has been made available for 2022-23, and the associated amounts. The full amount spent for 2022-23 will only be known at the end of the financial year.

This information is not held centrally. Public Health Scotland do not hold the information that would allow us to identify individuals who have been referred to other countries within the UK.

There are different forms of active management of vegetation on deep peat including muirburn, cutting and grazing.

As far as muirburn is concerned, NatureScot published research earlier this year which reviewed the evidence on the impacts of muirburn on wildfire prevention, carbon storage and biodiversity: NatureScot Research Report 1302 - Reviewing, assessing and critiquing the evidence base on the impacts of muirburn on wildfire prevention, carbon storage and biodiversity | NatureScot

Following on from the research, the NatureScot Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) have been asked to provide advice on the circumstances under which muirburn, including muirburn on peat could be permitted under licence, and where it would not be appropriate.

The Scottish Government will take in to account evidence from the NatureScot research and the SAC advice alongside information provided by stakeholders.

Further information on impacts of grazing and cutting are available in NatureScot guidance:

https://www.nature.scot/doc/peatland-action-peatland-management-guidance-grazing-and-muirburn

https://www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-muirburn-code#Cutting

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.

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.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12895 on 16 December 2022. 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 .

The Scottish Government has been working closely with the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council’s Collaborative Framework Working Group, which is comprised of all active offshore wind developers in Scotland, the enterprise agencies and ORE Catapult, to develop a Strategic Investment Model (SIM). The SIM will deliver on the commitments in the Collaborative Framework Charter, and facilitate timely, strategic investment through the pooling/sharing and coordination of funds linked to supply chain commitments associated with the ScotWind projects. The Strategic Investment Model is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, with further detail to be announced in early 2023.

Network Rail advise that of the 359 operational railway stations, 214 currently have platform edge tactiles installed. As the second phase of the installation programme is underway some stations where work has been completed may not yet have been captured in this data.

The list of stations is as follows:-