Chamber and committees

The detailed information requested is currently being collated in consultation with the regional transport partnerships. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 63013).

The following table presents the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. However, the information on the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2021 are only available up to the date stated in the table.

The Scottish Government already offer bespoke and targeted advice and support to rural, remote and islands communities through a number of its delivery programmes, and the Heat in Buildings programme will take into account the distinct challenges facing these communities. The Scottish Government launched on Wednesday 15 December a further funding call to support heat decarbonisation and energy resilience in Scotland’s more remote, rural and island off electricity grid networks. Information on this can be found on the website, by accessing this link.

The Scottish Government currently provide support for community groups and organisations to explore their renewable heat options through the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) delivered by Local Energy Scotland on the Scottish Government’s behalf. CARES provides advice and support including funding support (grants and loans) to community groups and organisations, rural SME’s, and other eligible organisations seeking to explore their renewable energy options.

The Scottish Government will be consulting in 2022 on its draft Islands energy strategy. This will set out an approach to decarbonisation for Scotland’s island communities that will support them to develop renewable energy solutions that promote resilience, enhance sustainability and meet their energy needs now and in the future. As part of this work, where not already in place, the Scottish Government intend to explore the evidence base and options for an islands specific uplift, as part of our commitment to provide additional support for rural and island homes for heat and energy efficiency.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS can provide the following information in response to the questions asked:

(a)Recruitment of prison staff between 1 December 2020 and 30 November 2021, by prison establishment.

The table below outlines the number of external appointments made into the SPS for requested date range, detailed by establishment and role type (either non-operational or operational):

Table 1

Throughout Storms Arwen and Barra the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division maintained daily contact with the power companies and close engagement continues.

It must be noted that resilience of the electricity networks is reserved and is the responsibility of the UK Government. The Scottish Government will be engaging with both the upcoming Ofgem and UK Government Storm Arwen reviews.

In addition, the Deputy First Minister requested that the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division begin work on the scope and terms of a review into the Storm Arwen response on 30 November 2021, and on 14 December 2021 he formally commissioned the Scottish Resilience Partnership to collate evidence from local resilience partnerships to inform the findings of the review.

The Scottish Government will also gather evidence from other relevant groups, for example the voluntary sector and utilities companies, including power companies.

‎This work is already well underway and we aim to publish a review paper with recommendations in mid-January.

Scotland’s resilience response structures involve very well established mechanisms for coordinating clear public communications during emergencies, and organisations involved in the response will work together to ensure swift and accurate advice is provided across a range of media.

The specific emergency alert system in place in other countries, used for example to warn of earthquakes, utilises a technology known as Cell Broadcasting. Activating this capability on the UK telecoms network is a matter reserved to the UK Government, and we note that the introduction of this technology, initially anticipated for summer 2021, is now scheduled for early 2022. Scottish Government officials are working with their counterparts in the UK Government to ensure that the deployment of any such capability reflects the devolved responsibilities of our responder organisations.

Resilience structures in Scotland are designed to be adaptable and responsive to a wide range of risks.

Ministers regularly receive briefing on specific risks or emergencies throughout the year and the Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements constantly monitor for emerging issues and threats.

In the autumn of 2021, recognising the heightened risk of concurrent events – including COVID, winter weather, and supply chain issues – additional reporting and monitoring arrangements were put in place to ensure Ministers retain a close oversight of the complex and overlapping risk picture. Since 30 September, this has included daily reporting and weekly meetings of SGORR, with assessments on the key concurrent risks facing Government and planning activity being taken.

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget was published 9 December and is available here: Scottish Budget 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The Just Transition Fund will be drawn from the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Portfolio. Level 3 information detailing the budget line for the Fund is given on page 86.

For the years 2018 to 2020, the average monthly sales income has been calculated for fishers employed on Scottish Vessels. This is given in the following table:

Monthly average sales income for fishers on Scottish registered vessels, 2018 - 2020

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04578 on 10 December 2021. 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.