The cost of the Agriculture Bill consultation totalled £170,575.56.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Building safety is a matter for the owner - who in this case would be individual local authorities - acting in accordance with the relevant health and safety legislation. Moreover, health and safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government.

It is imperative that there is transparency around the schools where RAAC has been identified and the mitigations that are in place. This is why, on 8 September, a list of the 16 local authorities where reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found in some schools was published in a Scottish Government news release ( Local authorities publish RAAC data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ).

Ministers were provided with an interim analysis on 23 February 2023 prior to a finalised report being provided on 4 May 2023.

Scottish Water does not record groundwater levels or infiltration routinely, however, infiltration may be investigated where an issue is identified at any of their assets. This is due to complexities in how infiltration can be accurately captured on an ongoing basis, bearing in mind the length of the sewer network and number of variables involved.

New technology being trialled will give the company real-time insights into how its network is operating and enable it to be more proactive in how it responds to issues and solve problems before customers and the environment are affected.

The Tax Advisory Group will meet for the second time on 28 September. The third meeting date will be 15 November.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20938 on 26 September 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’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, uses an estimate from the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PIMS) of 23,000 public sector buildings in Scotland.

Since 2015-16, around 180 public bodies have been under a legal requirement to report annually on compliance with their climate change duties. Individual reports are published on the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) website.

The Public Bodies Climate Change Reporting 2021-22 Analysis Report , prepared by SSN with grant support from the Scottish Government, shows total scope 1 and scope 2 emissions were 30.2% lower in 2021-22 compared to 2015-16. In 2021-22, scope 1 emissions were 1,197,089 tCO2e (tonnes of CO2 equivalent) and scope 2 emissions were 567,734 tCO2e. Scope 1 are direct emissions typically from heating of buildings and the use of fleet vehicles, with refrigerants with some other emissions associated with sector specific processes also included. Scope 2 are indirect emissions from grid electricity consumption.

The annual Analysis Report provides some sectoral breakdown of reported information. The Scottish Government does not routinely hold information from individual reporting bodies as the reports are publicly available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20878 on
‎ 26 September 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

We are working to improve neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children and young people can receive the support they need quickly. Our National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People aims to ensure that children and families receive the support that meets their needs at the earliest opportunity, based on the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach.

In terms of the referral process, a diagnosis is not required for children and young people to receive support. The Neurodevelopmental Specification makes clear that support should be in place to meet the child or young person’s requirements when they need it, rather than being dependent on a formal diagnosis. For many children and young people, such support is likely to be community based, and should be quickly and easily accessible. In Lothian for example, Edinburgh’s Citywide Neurodevelopmental Diversity Support is a partnership between Barnardo’s, Tailor Ed Foundation and Autism Initiatives aimed at children and young people who have neurodevelopmental diversity. This service provides one-to-one support for children and young people, and also offers support to parents and siblings.

To support national implementation of the Specification, we have funded five Tests of Change to implement various aspects of the specification. These are taking place in Grampian, East Lothian, Highland, Fife and Forth Valley. We are working to collate and share learnings from these Tests of Change to inform next steps around implementation of the ND specification and support wider roll out across other areas in Scotland.

It is for each individual college, and not the Scottish Government, to determine how best to secure its financial sustainability and therefore operational decisions reside within colleges themselves.

New College Lanarkshire has engaged with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) over its decision to close its nurseries, which will remain open until 31 December 2023. The SFC approved the College’s voluntary severance scheme in May 2023 for some of the affected staff, with the College planning redeployment for the other affected staff members.