Chamber and committees

As outlined in the recently published Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan, it is our expectation that alternative traction trains will be deployed on the Stranraer rail route.

Transport Scotland is currently working closely with Scottish Enterprise and rail industry partners to explore how battery and fuel cell trains may most practically be introduced to rail services in Scotland. This is consistent with our aim to decarbonise rail traction energy through the removal of diesel passenger trains from the Scottish network by 2035.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31345 on 2 September 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government is committed to the establishment of Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs).

In 2019, Scottish Ministers asked the Scottish Land Commission to take forward work to prepare advice on the establishment of RLUPs. The Commission has written an interim report, and are currently conducting further stakeholder engagement and analysis.

The final report is due to be submitted in September and we do not think it prudent to pre-empt this. The Scottish Government will respond to the advice following careful consideration of the recommendations and the matters raised by the Member.

The Scottish Government is committed to the establishment of Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs).

In 2019, Scottish Ministers asked the Scottish Land Commission to take forward work to prepare advice on the establishment of RLUPs. The Commission has written an interim report, and are currently conducting further stakeholder engagement and analysis.

The final report is due to be submitted in September and we do not think it prudent to pre-empt this. The Scottish Government will respond to the advice following careful consideration of the recommendations and the matters raised by the Member.

The Scottish Government is committed to the establishment of Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs).

In 2019, Scottish Ministers asked the Scottish Land Commission to take forward work to prepare advice on the establishment of RLUPs. The Commission has written an interim report, and are currently conducting further stakeholder engagement and analysis.

The final report is due to be submitted in September and we do not think it prudent to pre-empt this. The Scottish Government will respond to the advice following careful consideration of the recommendations and the matters raised by the Member.

The Scottish Government is committed to the establishment of Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs).

In 2019, Scottish Ministers asked the Scottish Land Commission to take forward work to prepare advice on the establishment of RLUPs. The Commission has written an interim report, and are currently conducting further stakeholder engagement and analysis.

The final report is due to be submitted in September and we do not think it prudent to pre-empt this. The Scottish Government will respond to the advice following careful consideration of the recommendations and the matters raised by the Member.

The UK Government’s Nature for Climate Fund is intended to increase peatland restoration and tree planting in England. It is understood that details of the funding strategy are yet to be announced.

The Scottish Government declared a global climate emergency in April 2019, one of the first governments to do so, and has been taking forward its own arrangements, including those set out in our Climate Change Plan, to address the linked challenges of the climate emergency and the loss of biodiversity. These include delivering nature-based solutions through peatland restoration and woodland expansion.

The Scottish Government and partners in the public, private and third sectors have been delivering a peatland restoration programme since 2012 to restore 250,000 hectares of Scottish peatland by 2030. In February this year, we announced a commitment to invest more than £250 million on peatland restoration over a ten year period and on 20 July we announced the launch of a new application round for peatland restoration projects to take place this year or over coming years. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to biodiversity and flood mitigation, the report of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery highlighted the importance of restoring degraded peatland to a green economic recovery.

Scotland’s Climate Change Plan also includes ambitious targets for woodland creation, in support of our legally binding target of net-zero emissions by 2045. We aim to increase forest and woodland cover from around 18% to 21% of the total area of Scotland by 2032. In our Programme for Government 2019-2020, the target for new planting was increased to 12,000 hectares per year, which will then increase incrementally to 15,000 hectares per year by 2024-2025. In 2019-2020, over 80% of all new woodland creation across the UK was in Scotland. Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 aims to improve the resilience of Scotland’s forests and woodlands and increase their contribution to a healthy and high quality environment.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for the Scottish Government and schools play a key role in supporting positive mental health. To support education authorities and schools, the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group published continuity in learning guidance on 5 June. The guidance recognised that there will be a need for increased support for mental health and wellbeing due to COVID-19 and provided tools and guidance to further strengthen support to children and young people. This is also reflected in the guidance on preparing for the start of the new school term in August 2020.

Learning on positive mental health is delivered through Personal and Social Education (PSE) and can also be supported through whole school approaches to positive mental health and wellbeing. To support schools deliver learning in PSE, a resource for education practitioners has been published on the National Improvement Hub which collates all of the resources available to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. This resource provides schools with a comprehensive package of information, resources and organisations which are freely available to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

We recognise that young people’s mental health and wellbeing will have been affected during lockdown and know how important it is for schools to stand ready to play a prominent role in supporting their pupils. Supporting and improving pupils’ mental health has therefore been at the heart of planning for reopening schools on 11 August and is set out clearly in our guidance on continuity in learning, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-continuity-in-learning/

In terms of funding support, in July we announced £80 million funding to recruit more teachers and support staff to enable schools to intensify support for children and young people as they return to full time face-to-face education. The final numbers will of course be dependent on the precise needs of each school however, this investment provides local authorities with the assurance they require to progress plans immediately.

Excellent progress has been made during lockdown and authorities have well-developed whole-school and targeted interventions, including support from educational psychologists and counsellors. We also collated and published the resources available to schools to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing on Education Scotland’s website, which can be accessed here: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/resources-for-school-staff-to-support-positive-mental-wellbeing-of-children-and-young-people/

We will continue to work hard and in partnership to ensure a safe and welcoming start to the new term for all pupils and staff.