Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on‎ 4 October 2021 which is 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on‎ 4 October 2021 which is 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 .

Under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act (2004), all public bodies in Scotland are required to further the conservation of biodiversity when carrying out their responsibilities. The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act (WANE Act) (2011) introduced a further requirement for all public bodies in Scotland to provide a publicly available report every three years, on the actions which they have taken to meet this biodiversity duty.

Scottish Ministers hold regular meetings with SEPA on their strategic objectives, responsibilities and programmes of work, including pollution control, which are central to addressing the biodiversity crisis.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on‎ 4 October 2021 which is 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on‎ 4 October 2021 which is 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on 4 October 2021 which is 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 information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as this is an operational matter for the independent Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). I have therefore asked SEPA’s Chief Executive to write to the Member to provide details.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03232 on‎ 4 October 2021 which is 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 have continued to ensure that the sites of standalone ATMs in rural areas are exempt from rating. Other ATMs may benefit from as much as a 100% rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, each local Council has wide-raging powers to create rates reliefs to reflect local needs. This may apply to a sole business, sector or area. The relief may be an adaptation of an existing national relief scheme or a unique standalone scheme.

Although the UK Government retains legislative and regulatory responsibility for banking and financial services, the Scottish Government stands ready to work constructively with banks, regulators and the UK Government to ensure that the ability to freely and easily access cash is maintained. The Scottish Government has repeatedly requested that the UK Government appoint a regulator with sole responsibility for cash infrastructure.

The High Level Group on Planning Performance aims to improve the performance of the planning system for all types of development. It does not have a workstream which focuses specifically on the processing of windfarm applications. As highlighted in the response to S6W-02645 on 14 September 2021, the resourcing and performance of the planning system remain key priorities, and we recently recommenced work looking at increasing the financial resources available to planning authorities through changes to the planning fees regime.

The latest planning statistics published in July 2021 indicate that timescales for major applications for electricity generation are 10 weeks faster than the Scottish average for all types of major development. With regards to local applications for electricity generation, although timescales are 4 weeks slower than the Scottish average for all non-householder applications, over 52% were determined within the statutory timescale. The average decision time for local electricity generation developments has varied substantially over the last seven years but prior to 2020-21 the overall trend showed a decrease in average decision time.

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