Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14939 on 1 March 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 number of employers supported was especially high in 2020-21 as this was when employers submitted HR1 notifications as they thought they would have to make large numbers of employees redundant as a result of the pandemic.

Full details are as follows.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes the latest data and information on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland, including the number of people temporarily housed on the MS Ambition. As published on 23 February, there were around 995 guests onboard the MS Ambition as at 14 February 2023, occupying 475 cabins. The next update is expected to be published in late March.

The data are provisional management information from live operational systems and are subject to change. The number of displaced people from Ukraine in welcome accommodation on M/S Ambition is reported directly by operational teams.

The published tables and accompanying methodology notes for the February publication can be found here: Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

All applications for a European Protected Species (EPS) licences must provide the number of individual animals affected by the proposed work, and applicants must show how this number was calculated.

Marine Scotland has published a document that provides guidance and advice for any aquaculture production business that wishes to apply for a licence to disturb EPS as a result of ADD use - faq_adds_and_eps_including_annex_1_and_annex_2_-_version_5_-october_2021_-_final.pdf (marine.gov.scot) . The guidance provides links to how areas are defined and the cetacean abundance estimates that should be used for calculations, While this document focuses on finfish farms, the information provided can be of use to anyone applying for an EPS licence.

While not published yet, Marine Scotland are in the process of updating its guidance on the use of finer scale distributions to account for uneven densities of marine mammals across SCANS blocks. Previously, the block estimates from SCANS III (Hammond et al. 2021) were recommended, however finer scale density surfaces are now available: Modelled density surfaces of cetaceans in European Atlantic waters in summer 2016 from the SCANS-III aerial and shipboard surveys (Lacey et al. 2022) . These estimates can be downloaded as shapefiles for each species here , and are considered the best available density estimates to use in EPS license assessments. Finer scale density estimates allow for a better characterisation of uneven distributions within SCANS blocks however the issue of temporal effects remains a challenge. For a specific site, there may be other, more suitable information on the cetacean species likely to be present along with their densities. However, MSS would only recommend using robust, effort-related survey data that is appropriate for absolute density estimation.

Marine Scotland bases its decisions on the best available scientific evidence at any particular time including any relevant peer reviewed literature. Any such literature is subject to a critical review to determine its applicability. Marine Scotland’s decisions will reflect the outcome of this process as well as consideration of information provided by the applicant and any expert advice received.

Marine Scotland is currently updating the above guidance to include finer resolution species density surfaces and this will be published in 2023. All applications for EPS licences will be expected to follow the updated guidance.

The 'Bringing Home the Bacon: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Scottish Pig Sector' report was part of the Farmer-Led Group initiative to develop advice and proposals for the Scottish Government on how to cut emissions from agriculture. The Scottish Government is grateful to the Pig Industry Leadership Group and the other Farmer Led Groups (FLGs) for the work they undertook in short order to provide recommendations to support our ambitious vision for Scottish agriculture.

The recommendations of the FLGs informed the 'Agricultural Transition in Scotland' consultation, which was carried out between August 2021 and November 2021. This consultation has informed policy development to support the progression of our forthcoming agriculture bill.

To continue our co-design process with industry as part of the Agriculture Reform Programme we established the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB) to advise on progressing the broad recommendations of the FLG's and support implementation of policy reform. The ARIOB is comprised of representatives from all key Scottish agricultural sectors including members of the Pig Industry Leadership Group.

In the Bringing Home the Bacon report there was a reference to the role of Carbon Audits in supporting businesses to reduce emissions. As part of the National Test Programme we are funding farmers to undertake carbon audits which establish a business’s carbon footprint, and identify areas where emissions can be reduced.

The report also refers to the need for investment in on-farm slurry storage and management. Through the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) the Scottish Government funded investment in slurry management equipment for farms in 2022 and in 2023 support for slurry storage is available through the Agri-Environment Climate scheme.

The Scottish Government does not plan to develop a strategy to tackle pensioner poverty. We already work closely with partners, including through the Older People’s Strategic Forum on a range of issues related to age equality. This includes the Strategic Action Framework ‘A Fairer Scotland for Older People, in which Ensuring Financial Security is a priority area. In addition, the forthcoming Human Rights Bill will include provision for older people.

Our Cost of Living website contains dedicated information on the support available for older people, including benefits and travel.

This is an operational decision for Boards. We continue to work closely with them to ensure delivery of the CAMHS waiting times standard and implementation of the CAMHS Specification.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes the latest data and information on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland, including the number of people temporarily housed on the MS Ambition. As published on 23 February, there were around 995 guests onboard the MS Ambition as at 14 February 2023, occupying 475 cabins. The next update is expected to be published in late March.

The data are provisional management information from live operational systems and are subject to change. The number of displaced people from Ukraine in welcome accommodation on M/S Ambition is reported directly by operational teams.

The published tables and accompanying methodology notes for the February publication can be found here: Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Dog owners must take responsibility for their pet and responsible behaviour is central to the concept of exercising access rights. Increasing awareness is a key factor in the prevention of livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is clear on the rights and responsibilities of land managers and those exercising access rights, and is widely publicised.

Further to this the Scottish Government previously undertook an awareness raising digital campaign, in partnership with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to promote responsible dog ownership. The campaign was re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in September and December 2021, to further emphasise the importance of training pet dogs correctly. Reportedly NFU Mutual have estimated the cost of dog attacks on Scotland’s livestock fell by almost a third in 2022, indicating greater awareness on this matter.

The Scottish Government established the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of violence against women and girls services to develop a new funding model to ensure victims have access to high-quality, accessible specialist support.

The call for written evidence is one part of the overall data collection process undertaken by the Review team, which includes around 80 engagement sessions with stakeholders. The final report will be considered by Ministers once complete, and it would be premature to comment on the views expressed by those who submitted responses before the Review has analysed all data collected and made recommendations.

Our Equally Safe Strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls emphasises the importance of challenging the underpinning attitudes which enable such violence to take place, including in education settings. That is why we provide over £900k per year of funding to support education-based programmes and initiatives aimed at preventing gender-based violence including Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Sexual Violence Prevention Programme, Equally Safe at School, and the Mentors in Violence Prevention peer education programme. Our Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group is also developing a framework to carry forward this work.