Chamber and committees

Details of the number of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) staff for whom deer management is the majority of their work is set out in the following table. There are other SNH staff who undertake work on or related to deer management.

In addition, other members of staff will undertake aspects of deer management work as part of their wider roles within SNH.

The proposed budget for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for the next financial year will be set out by the Scottish Government when it publishes details of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2017-18 in December. There are no plans to submit a budget revision to the SNH budget during 2016-17. A report of the review into deer management in Scotland is due to be submitted to Scottish Ministers by the end of this month. Scottish Ministers will consider the report carefully and respond to it in due course.

Estimates of Scottish Natural Heritage costs attributed to deer management are provided in the following table:

*includes project and paybill costs but excludes indirect costs such as vehicles, Travel and Subsistence, accommodation.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on the number of re-arranged hospital appointments in NHS boards.

In 2015, the Scottish Government funded Energy Saving Trust to commission an assessment of the barriers and issues preventing SMEs in rural areas from maximising opportunities from the energy efficiency market. The report can be found here: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/EST%20remote%20rural%20and%20island%20supply%20chain%20research%20March%202015.pdf

We have designated the energy efficiency of buildings as a national infrastructure priority – Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP). This will deliver a number of economic benefits including opportunities to create a substantial Scottish market and supply chain for businesses of all sizes and from all parts of the country. There will be consideration of the skills and training required to develop the necessary capacity in the sector as the new SEEP programme is piloted and developed.

The development of SEEP will complement learning already gained from the previous research and from the Scottish Government’s existing programmes of support to SMEs on energy efficiency, such as:

The Energy Saving Trust supply chain support programme. Through ongoing seminars and training events at different locations, and a social media network, this programme provides networking and collaboration opportunities for SMEs on a range of topics that can support their effective participation in the market for energy efficiency and small-scale renewables measures. This has included the development and publication of a procurement guide to help SMEs bid for public sector contracts in the energy efficiency and renewables marketplace. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/businesses-organisations/supply-chain

The Resource Efficient Scotland advice and support service, SME resource efficiency loans, and the Green Business Network, which provide advice, networking and financial support to SMEs to improve their own energy efficiency and install renewables.

The contract for the Scottish Government’s flagship national fuel poverty scheme Warmer Homes Scotland which was awarded to Warmworks Scotland in May 2015. Warmworks have a supply chain of 32 installation contractors made up of:

4 Large firms (250+ employees)

9 medium firms up to 249 employees

19 small firms up to 49 employees

Of the small firms, five are micro business with ten or fewer direct employees. Ten of the 32 installers are based in rural locations, mainly across the islands and the highlands and borders regions.

Our area based fuel poverty schemes provide funding to all of Scotland’s local authorities which in turn provides economic opportunities to smaller and rural business across the country.

Further information on our investment in energy efficiency will be included in the draft Budget Bill which will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament later in 2016.

The Scottish Government has identified priority catchments where woodland should be planted to help prevent flooding and assist in water basin management. This information is available on the following website at: http://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-maps/. This however does not specify the area of woodland needed to meet these objectives.

In 2016-17 the Scottish Government has allocated a budget of £30 million towards the costs of woodland planting including a bespoke ‘Woodlands for Water’ grant that provides an increased level of grant in priority catchments equivalent to 90% of standard costs.

19 local authorities submitted applications to the SEEP Pathfinder Fund and 11 are being offered funding. An announcement on successful pilot projects receiving support from the SEEP Pathfinder Fund will be made in the next few weeks once contracts are finalised.

The Programme for Government set out that Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme will be a 15-20 year programme to improve the energy efficiency and increase the use of low carbon heat in Scotland’s homes and our public, industrial and commercial buildings. Resources to fund this programme will need to come from a mix of public and private sources and further detail on the programme will be set out in the draft Energy Strategy which will be subject to public consultation at the end of the year.