Chamber and committees

Earlier this year I asked the Committee on Climate Change to provide independent, expert advice on the best way forward to support our net-zero targets and to ensure a green recovery for Scotland following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee on Climate Change set out six recommendations, including a shift toward long-term behaviours and tackling the wider ‘resilience deficit’ on climate change.

We are considering the Committee’s recommendations and we will also have the benefit of recommendations by the Economic Recovery Advisory Group which has been examining the opportunities of a green recovery as part of its work.

The potential for effective deer management as part of a green recovery will be considered as part of our consideration of the recommendations by the independent Deer Working Group.

Cycling Scotland delivers Bikeability, the national cycle training programme for schoolchildren, using Transport Scotland grant funding. Despite the restrictions imposed by lockdown, Cycling Scotland were able to work with schools in nine local authorities to support the continuation of the Bikeability programme in childcare hubs for the children of key workers. As major restrictions begin to ease, Bikeability will be made available to every school in participating authorities that requests it in academic year 20-21. All Bikeability Scotland training resources have been made available to all local authorities as digital downloads and resources are available for parents and carers, including training videos, games and activities. Cycling Scotland have also prepared guidance for tutors and instructors on the safe delivery of training while Coronavirus restrictions remain in place.

Through the Spaces for People programme, administered by Sustrans, we have made up to £30 million available for local authorities to build temporary walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure to enable physical distancing. With the capacity of public transport severely restricted, active travel is a good option for every day short journeys such as the school run and this fund can be used by local authorities to enable safer travel to and from schools.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been working with the Scottish Government to consider the recommendations made by the Deer Working Group and, without prejudice to the government’s response to the report, will be taking forward some of the recommendations where these are aligned to current SNH deer management activity. This will include, for example, work on deer vehicle collision risk and mitigation.

A response to the report by the independent Deer Working Group will be published in due course.

The Scottish Government has been collecting daily information from local authorities in relation to the provision of support for children and young people through hubs since March 2020. The Vulnerable Children Report, published on 15 May, contained some of the information gathered through these returns from the 27th of March until 14 May. The report is available from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2020/05/vulnerable-children-report-15-may-2020-scottish-government-and-solace/documents/vulnerable-children-report/vulnerable-children-report/govscot%3Adocument/vulnerable-children-report.pdf .

It is intended that beginning next week, further information from these returns in relation to the provision of support through hubs will be published on a weekly basis.

We know that COVID-19 and our response to the pandemic is, in some aspects, disproportionately impacting on women. This is particularly so in relation to the labour market and the provision of unpaid care, with women disproportionately absorbing additional childcare as a result of school and nursery closures, impacting on their ability to undertake paid work. Women are also more likely to be in precarious work which is less resilient to economic disruption, more likely to be on zero hours contracts and in lower paid or part time work.

The Scottish Government recognises that implications for women's equality as a result of COVID-19 are potentially significant, though not immutable. Embedding a gendered analysis and equality considerations into our decisions and actions will be critical to ensure that we mitigate impacts on women, including in relation to longer-term economic recovery.

Scottish Natural Heritage issued 40 licences for the lethal control of beavers in 2019. One of the lethal control licences was revoked before any action was undertaken because mitigation was subsequently installed at that site which removed the need for any other action. Licence returns have been received for all the licences issued in 2019 (as is a requirement of the licence).

Of the 39 active licences for lethal control, beavers were shot under 16 of these licenses. The returns detail that a total of 87 beavers were killed in 2019. Of the licences issued which permitted lethal control, 60% were not used for that purpose.

15 beavers were trapped and translocated under licence (between 1st May and 31st December 2019). Scottish Natural Heritage plans to work with licence holders to see what more can be done to make this option practicable as an alternative to lethal control.

Further details of the beaver translocations carried out in 2019 are provided in the Scottish Natural Heritage Beaver Licensing Summary report which was published on 28 May 2020 and is available on their website at https://www.nature.scot/snh-beaver-licensing-summary-1st-may-31st-december-2019 .

Together with Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Government will consider opportunities for conservation translocations of beavers from high to low conflict areas within existing catchments to improve the resilience of existing populations. We will also consider alternative measures as part of a wider beaver national strategy.

Scottish Natural Heritage licences which permit the use of lethal control specify as a condition that ‘Lethal control or removal of mature dams (over 2 weeks old) during the Kit Dependency Period (1 April to 16 August) must only be carried out in exceptional circumstances i.e where there is an imminent threat of serious damage or to public health or to a public interest’.

The Scottish Natural Heritage licensing team must also be notified within 7 days of the action being undertaken.