Chamber and committees

We are taking forward a range of actions to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Our strategy is set out in detail in our EV Roadmap, Switched On Scotland (www.transport.gov.scot/report/j272736-00.htm). The Roadmap is currently being reviewed, with a refreshed document scheduled for publication by Spring 2017.

With regard to support we provide towards a) the up-front cost, we fund the Energy Saving Trust’s Low Carbon Loan Scheme, which offers interest-free loans of up to £35,000 for individuals and £100,000 for businesses (£35,000 per EV).

Through our Switched On Fleets programme, we’ve also offered £3.7 million in grants across all 32 community planning partnerships over the past three years. We estimate this will result in around 350 new EVs in the Scottish public sector fleet by Spring 2017.

With regards to b) roll-out of preferential road access, we are developing a Scottish framework for local EV incentives, scheduled for publication later this year. This will include guidance for local authorities on measures such as opening up bus lanes to EVs. Furthermore, allowing EVs access to areas where more polluting vehicles are restricted or charged, will be a key consideration as we implement our commitment to putting in place a first Scottish low emission zone by 2018.

The types of HGVs being used to transport goods in Scotland are a commercial matter. Nevertheless, the Scottish Government understands the importance - and challenge - of reducing emissions from across transport, including HGVs, and look to work in partnership with industry to address this.

We do so via our well-established stakeholder group - The Scottish Freight and Logistics Advisory Group (ScotFLAG). Specifically, two ScotFLAG sub-groups have been established - one looking at urban freight deliveries, the second at last mile connections to ports and freight hubs. Both sub-groups, chaired by industry representatives, are considering how to improve the efficiency of, and in so doing reduce emissions from, the transportation of goods across Scotland.

In addition, Transport Scotland is a member of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) – a UK-wide Government/Industry body that exists to accelerate a sustainable shift to lower carbon vehicles and fuels. The Partnership have run specific programmes for the heavy goods vehicle sector, testing a number of technologies that could help reduce future emissions from the sector. In May 2016, in conjunction with LowCVP, Transport Scotland held a workshop for stakeholders looking at the use of alternative fuels in HGVs.

Further action to reduce emissions from Heavy Goods Vehicles will be considered as part of our Climate Change Plan which will be published, in draft, in January 2017.

NHS Tayside Health Protection Team and Angus Council are currently investigating cases of E.coli O157 infection affecting a small number of children in the Angus area. The Incident Management Team for the national outbreak are in contact with those managing this investigation and initial information suggests that there may be a link to the national outbreak and investigations are ongoing. The places of residence of cases with the same strain of E. coli O157 are not being disclosed to protect patient confidentiality.

The four Public Analyst laboratories serving all 32 Local Authorities in Scotland have the capability to identify E. coli O157 in food samples. Two of these laboratories (Edinburgh and Tayside Scientific Services) are also able to undertake the test which allows detection of the presence of stx genes. The Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory also has a role in supporting the Public Analysts by providing confirmatory analysis for the presence of pathogenic E. coli in food samples during the investigation of outbreaks of illness.

As is normal practice for the management of outbreaks such as these Health Protection Scotland (HPS) convened an Incident Management Team (IMT). The IMT is a multi-agency team comprising HPS, Food Standards Scotland, NHS Boards, Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory and Local Authority Environmental Health Teams. Membership was expanded to include Public Health England when cases were identified in England. It is the role of the IMT to consider all available evidence; epidemiological, microbiological, environmental and food chain investigations and to make recommendations based on this evidence to protect the health of the public.

On 15 September the IMT issued a statement summarising some of the investigations to date, which reported that epidemiological investigations have identified Dunsyre Blue cheese as the most likely cause of the outbreak. This was based on consideration of all available evidence including that 19 of the 22 confirmed cases had eaten blue cheese prior to becoming ill. Of these, 15 were known to have eaten Dunsyre Blue while others cannot be certain about the brand of blue cheese they have consumed. Investigations are ongoing on the other cases. Despite extensive investigation, no other common link to a majority of cases could be established.

In food related outbreaks, it is not unusual that the investigation does not directly link all of the cases to the suspected vehicle. This can be for a number of reasons including cases having an incomplete recollection of all the foods eaten prior to becoming unwell, secondary cases (person to person spread) and cross contamination.

During investigations of this nature it is not always possible to isolate the same strain of organism from the suspected food vehicle as from the human cases. There are a number of reasons for this, firstly as the time between the consumption of the food vehicle and the laboratory confirmation of the case can take up to three weeks and even longer in some cases, this means that the food consumed by cases is often no longer available for testing. In addition, not all of those who have eaten an implicated product will become ill because the organism may not be evenly distributed throughout the food.

The IMT has considered all the information available to them, and continue to be of the view that Dunsyre Blue remains the most likely cause of the outbreak.

Decisions taken by Food Standards Scotland are based on consumer protection and it uses all of the evidence available during an outbreak investigation and not on the testing results alone.

Homeowners are responsible for the maintenance and repairs needed to keep their homes in good condition. The maintenance of a tenement is usually governed by rules and conditions set out in the title deeds for the flats within the block. Title deeds may set out who owns the common parts of the tenement and who is responsible for them, how decisions are to be made and how costs are to be allocated between owners.

If there is nothing in the title deeds covering maintenance and repair or they are uncertain, the Tenement Management Scheme under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 makes provision for the maintenance and management of common property in a tenement.

In some cases, maintenance and repairs to tenements may be blocked or delayed by owners who are unable to contribute to common works. Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, local authorities have broad discretionary powers to offer assistance, although this will be subject to local priorities and resources. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced a discretionary power for local authorities to pay missing shares on behalf of owners, and we recently announced the launch of a pilot equity loan scheme to assist owners with energy efficiency improvements and essential repairs.

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, to Scotland since 1975 has been closely monitored by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), with support from land managers and volunteers. In 2015, there were 106 breeding pairs in Scotland. These mainly are in the west, with four pairs in the eastern half of Scotland, and the reintroduction can be considered a conservation success. Background information on the species, including its legal and conservation status and its ecology, can be found on the SNH website at the following link http://www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/species/recent-species-projects/sea-eagle/.

The white-tailed eagle population is in a strong growth period and SNH has commissioned RSPB to model future population growth and geographical spread to assess how the population may develop. This report will be published in due course. Close monitoring work continues in the east of Scotland as the released birds there are now maturing and settling to breed. Such monitoring is important in fulfilling our obligations under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Reintroduction Guidelines.

The species also has the highest levels of protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, being listed on Schedules 1, 1A and A1. Schedule A1 lists bird species whose nests are protected at all times from disturbance, including outwith the breeding season. Schedule 1A lists those bird species which are protected from harassment. As a raptor species, the white-tailed eagle is a priority with the Partnership Against Wildlife Crime Scotland.

Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS), SNH, and other key stakeholders have developed guidance in relation to managing forests for white-tailed eagle to integrate the presence of the birds with commercial forest management.

SNH and the National Farmers Union of Scotland are currently working with a stakeholder group (which includes RSPB and FCS) to develop an Action Plan for white-tailed eagles. The aim of the Plan is to ensure the population continues to recover and co-exist with land management.

SNH operates a Management Scheme to manage conflict between sheep farming and white-tailed eagles. This provides a range of support measures, including call-off contractors who can respond quickly to provide practical advice and support to help mitigate risks to livestock.

An assessment of potential wider economic benefits is recommended where wider economic impacts are likely to occur.

Work was suspended by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) in relation to the planning permission appeal PPA-390-2029 in January 2015 following the announcement of the moratorium on granting consents for unconventional oil and gas developments in Scotland.

Therefore, given that no finalised reports exist, it is not possible to reference this work as part of the commissioned research into unconventional oil and gas including coal bed methane.

However, in any responses that are submitted to the consultation following publication of the research, parties may choose to refer to any of their own research that was undertaken in the course of preparing for the appeal.