Chamber and committees

Developing a net zero or decarbonisation plan can help businesses to understand how they can change their practices to reduce their carbon emissions and the benefits they can gain from doing so. The Enterprise Agencies provide a range of support to help businesses develop net zero plans and to transition to net zero. Since 1 November 2022, Scottish Enterprise grant funding has been provided on the condition that the recipient business either has a net zero action plan in place, or commits to developing one within twelve months of accepting the grant. Scottish Enterprise retains a record of those organisations which have a net zero plan in place.

The following table shows capital expenditure per head of population for the 32 local authorities shown.

In any given year, capital expenditure per person varies substantially between local authority areas. This will in part reflect the different priorities of local authorities. However it also reflects differences in the timing of capital projects. Expenditure on capital projects can be highly variable as some projects can be high-value and infrequent, and expenditure per head in local authority areas will move, possibly substantially, from year to year as projects begin or wind down.

Capital expenditure information is excluded from the table for Valuation Joint Boards, Tay Road Bridge and Transport Authorities (HITRANS, NESTRANS, SESTRAN, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), SWESTRANS, TACTRAN and ZetTrans).

See Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics ( Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) for more information.

Capital Expenditure (£) per head of population by Local Authority, 2011-12 to 2021-22

Sources:

LFR CR & LFR CR Final. Various Years.

NRS Population Estimates Time Series Data.

The Scottish Government has not explored potential applications for artificial intelligence (AI) specifically focused on the development and delivery of services for the Armed Forces and veterans community. However, Scotland’s AI Strategy , published in 2021, set out a clear vision for Scotland to become a leader in the development and use of trustworthy, ethical and inclusive AI and to do this in a way which offers benefits across all Scottish communities.

The Strategy was written with a desire to look behind the technology and to consider the role and impact which AI has on our people. We want the public to be assured that the products, services and decisions enabled by AI are safe and secure and protect their rights. It is important that we ensure that Scotland is well prepared to maximise the potential economic and social benefits of AI, but will do this in a way which protects and benefits our citizens.

As part of the development of the Deposit Return Scheme, Zero Waste Scotland has undertaken various pieces of work for the Scottish Government. This includes impact assessments, including the Business Regulatory Impact Assessment, and managing the return point operator exemption process.

Zero Waste Scotland did not receive specific payment for performing these functions as they receive funding through annual grant awards from the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste budget.

The Scottish Government also used independent third party contractors to undertake services associated with consultation, publication of regulations and associated documents, evaluations, independent reviews and assurance. The total paid for these services was £224,956.05:

• £54,331.80 in 2018-19
• £30,758.37 in 2019-20
• £9,614.00 in 2020-21
• £88,307.64 in 2021-22
• £15,647.50 in 2022-23
• £26,296.74 in 2023-24

Planning applications are determined by planning authorities locally in the first instance and are not recorded centrally. The information requested is not held centrally.

Transport Scotland has contracted Hagar Environmental & Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT) to deploy remote sensing equipment on both local and trunk roads in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Remote sensing equipment uses laser spectroscopy to measure the real-world emissions of vehicle exhaust plumes as the vehicles pass underneath.

This equipment has been deployed in the Glasgow City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Aberdeen City Council and Dundee City Council areas. As the equipment was at times deployed simultaneously in each city, there were up to four of these sensors deployed in each year since 2021.

The deployment of remote sensing equipment in Scotland from 2021-2023 was the most comprehensive use of this equipment by any country in Europe.

HEAT have partnered with the ICCT (International Council for Clean Transportation) and Element Energy to deliver this project.

The Scottish Government has not assessed the potential for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production or supply in Scotland by specific dates. However, we continue to explore options for incentivising the production and use of SAF including the support the Scottish Government could provide. We will take account of proposed UK Government action on SAF, recognising that significant levers remain reserved. In considering options, we are drawing on the responses to our consultation on the aviation strategy and the main findings from Scottish Enterprise’s recent SAF supply chain study. We will also involve stakeholders as appropriate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22954 on 23 November 2023. 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

The Scottish Government has commissioned several pieces of research to consider biofuel feedstock production in recent years.

The report Perennial energy crops and their potential in Scotland: evidence review examines the potential for a sustainable expansion of perennial bioenergy crop production on low-grade agricultural land or underutilised land, focusing on short rotation coppice, miscanthus and short rotation forestry.

The study Comparing Scottish bioenergy supply and demand in the context of Net-Zero targets considered how biomass can contribute to negative emissions when deployed as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), including reviewing domestic supply.

Transport Scotland commissioned independent research to understand the role that low carbon or alternative fuels, which include biofuels, can play in supporting transport decarbonisation

Research currently underway is considering the economic opportunities from energy crops in Scotland for rural communities.

An underlying principle of producer responsibility policies for packaging, covering the existing package recovery notes (PRN) system, reforms to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, and the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single use drinks containers, is that a producer should not be double-obligated for the same item of packaging.

This means that drinks containers in scope of DRS will not be in scope of EPR reforms. Packaging EPR reforms will replace the existing PRN system for household packaging waste. All three producer responsibility systems operate across the whole of the UK.

Impact assessments have been conducted for both DRS and packaging EPR. Consideration is given to cumulative effect of the proposed reforms and any interactions they may have with other regulations. Impact assessments are available at:

Packaging EPR: Impact Assessment (defra.gov.uk)

The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)

DRS: Deposit return scheme - Managing waste - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)