Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold any data on the area of renewable energy projects, as described.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes a quarterly Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD)[1] that lists renewable energy projects at the following stages: inception, planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning. This dataset is limited geographically, in that it provides a single grid reference point for a site. And while it does provide significant data on the planning, commissioning and construction of the site, it provides no information on the area covered - as indicated in this interactive map[2].

Prime land for agriculture is defined by the James Hutton Institute’s Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) measure[3]. LCA 1 to 3.1 is considered ‘prime’ land suitable for arable production. LCA 3.2 to 7 ranges from land considered suitable for mixed agriculture through to land suitable for various types of grazing.

It is possible to plot renewable energy project sites in relation to land capability for agriculture, but such analysis only gives the number of sites registered on prime agricultural and other agricultural land, not the specific locations of the infrastructure and the areas involved. The Scottish Government has explored this for ground mount solar and onshore wind using 2022 data. For operational onshore wind and ground mount solar the number of sites on different types of land and their generation capacity is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Onshore Wind and Ground Mount Solar by Land Type, 2022 1

Scottish Water engages extensively with academia and the private sector to explore the potential for new recovery solutions. As examples Scottish Water is:

1.Working in partnership with the Hydro Nation Chair and Glasgow Caledonian University to investigate advanced technologies for energy recovery solutions from wastewater.

2.Currently designing a resource recovery factory in Alloa with links to the Hydro Nation Chair, Glasgow Caledonian University, the James Hutton Institute and Forth Valley College.

3.Working with the private sector on the trial of ammonia recovery at Cumnock Wastewater Treatment Works, exploration into the use of recovered ammonia as a fertiliser and, phosphorous recovery.

‘The Adults with Incapacity Amendment Act Consultation’ published on 25 July 2024 consults on four out of seven power of attorney (PoA) recommendations at section 13.3 of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review. Although not part of this consultation, the remaining PoA recommendations will be considered as part of the longer term reform programme.

Although it is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate, the Scottish Government is providing them with significant funding towards improving their school estate.

The £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. It follows on from the successful £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme which completed in 2021 and delivered 117 new or refurbished schools.

Our latest school estate statistics, published on 10th September 2024, show that the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 62.7% in April 2007 to 91.7 % in April 2024. Investment through the Learning Estate Investment Programme will build on this remarkable progress.

The Scottish Government has provided record funding of over £14 billion to local councils this year – a real-terms increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year. This includes £145.5 million to maintain teacher numbers and £242 million to support previous teacher pay deals.

We have also made available £29 million to support the 2024-25 teachers’ pay deal.

We value the teaching profession which is why Scotland has the most teachers per pupil and the highest paid classroom teachers in the UK.

From 2021-22 through to the end of period 5 in 2024-25 a total of £28,730,224 has been spent on work related to the National Care Service.

In Scotland, employability services are delivered through the No One Left Behind approach. Through this approach, Scottish and Local Government are working together with public, private, and third sector organisations to design and deliver place-based, person-centred employability services in Scotland.

Self-employed people on low-income and experiencing poverty, particularly parents, are eligible for support through our No One Left Behind offer.

Our services recognise self-employment as a positive destination for participants, with 400 people achieving this outcome between April 2019 and March 2024. Services will ensure on-going support is available to those supported to enter self-employment.

At the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 11 September, I updated members on the challenges of the current timeframes for all four UK nations in relation to developing quality, credible Fisheries Management Plans and confirmed that I will be writing to the Committee formally in due course regarding the statutory deadlines associated with the plans. I expect to do this shortly and will be happy to update the member further following this communication.

It is important to remember that we already have a strong suite of measures in place to manage our fisheries and safeguard our fish stocks.

Seafish have supported Defra to deliver Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) for English waters. We have also utilised their expertise in Scotland by asking them to support the development of the two Nephrops FMPs.

Seafish have been asked to support evidence gathering, collaborative development through sector-specific working groups, as well as delivery of engagement events and workshops.

Seafish have a wealth of experience and knowledge, and have been well placed to carry out stakeholder engagement in relation to Nephrops, and to produce drafts of the FMPs.

As set out in question S6W-29963 which was answered on 24 September 2024, there are 107 entries in the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme. Entries in the pilot can comprise a single block or building, or a development, or part of a development consisting of multiple blocks or buildings.

Only a Single Building Assessment meeting the Scottish Standards can identify what cladding if any, a building has and further identify whether the cladding is unsafe.

Developers, homeowners or other organisations could have commissioned assessments without informing the Scottish Government. Therefore, the true number may be higher and could increase as further information becomes available.

In terms of the health service, there are no hospitals in Scotland with significant evacuation challenges and unsafe cladding.

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.