Chamber and committees

As of 20 July 2021, the First Minister had 3 meetings arranged in the run up to COP26 (31 October 2021), and the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport had 15 meetings planned. It is not currently possible to specify the exact number of meetings all ministers have arranged to take place in the lead up to and during the course of COP26. This is because the number of meetings is continuously rising, as an increasing volume of requests for ministerial involvement are received. Scottish Ministers are committed to maximising the opportunities of COP26, before, during and after the conference.

The Homelessness Statistics team are in the process of collecting, processing and quality assuring data returns from local authorities for the Housing Options (PREVENT1) Statistics in Scotland: 2020-21 publication. As such, we are not yet in a position to confirm a publication date. The statistics will be released as soon as they are considered ready, under the guidance of the Chief Statistician. At this stage we anticipate this will be between October and November.

Once there is more certainty around a publication date this will be pre-announced no later than 4 weeks in advance, in line with the Statistics Code of Practice, on the Scottish Government website: Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

During the charter of the MV Arrow, Seatruck Ferries Ltd, the owner of the vessel, will be responsible for crew rostering as the crew are employed by them and not CalMac Ferries Ltd.

Net costs, that is costs less revenue receipts, falling due to ScotRail are being met by the Scottish Ministers under the terms of the Emergency Measurements Agreement. We do not hold details of the attribution of costs to individual locations or routes.

A review of the energy standards of the Scottish building regulations is currently under way. This is considering options to further improve the energy performance of both new residential developments and all other new buildings. It also considers the energy performance requirements where relevant new construction work is carried out to existing buildings.

The consultation can be accessed at:

Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed changes to Energy Standards and associated topics, including Ventilation, Overheating and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure - Scottish Government - Citizen Space (consult.gov.scot) .

The new energy performance requirements are programmed to take effect in 2022.

In line with the principle of producer responsibility, it is for Circularity Scotland Ltd as scheme administrator of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to put in place policies that will allow it to discharge its obligations under the DRS Regulations.

We are confident that, as set out on page 32 of the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for DRS, our ‘scheme has been designed with features that mitigate the potential impact on smaller producers and retailers’. The BRIA is available here: A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland - Full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (www.gov.scot)

As set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan, we will take steps to improve waste data by working with the UK Government, other devolved governments, and agencies such as SEPA, to develop and implement the electronic waste tracking system. This step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data will support decision-making and underpin the key building blocks required to reduce emissions and drive delivery on existing waste and recycling targets.

A joint consultation is being planned for this summer on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory digital waste tracking should be implemented.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy and makes clear our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by
‎ 2031-32, 70% of which will be for social rent.

Local authorities as the statutory housing authority are responsible for assessing housing requirements in their area and setting out their plans to meet these requirements as part of their Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan.

The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information. The member may wish to redirect their question to Police Scotland who may have data on specific types of scams and rogue traders.

It is not possible to know how many factors have been operating without registration each year.

Where the Scottish Ministers are made aware of a property factor operating without registration we will take action where there is evidence to support the allegation.

Operating as a factor without registration is a criminal offence and as such the investigation of such matters is for Police Scotland. Where concerns have been raised with the Scottish Government and we believe these require investigation by the Police, we will provide information of these concerns to the Police and cooperate with their investigations. We would encourage any property owner who considers that their factor is operating without registration to report the matter to Police Scotland.