Chamber and committees

In setting the total level of local government support, Scottish Ministers consider local authorities' on-going responsibilities and any new burdens or transfers of responsibility, including those imposed by Parliament through changes in statute. These issues are discussed on a regular on-going basis between the Scottish Government and COSLA.

The report is currently being finalised and will be published later in 2023 once this process has been completed.

The Heat in Building Strategy (October 2021) states that we will build on existing regulations to require existing non-domestic buildings to reduce demand for heat where appropriate, and install a zero emissions heating supply, within the extent of our powers. The Scottish Government is committed to working with commercial and public sector organisations across Scotland to develop the regulatory and support framework that will enable all non-domestic buildings to reduce their direct greenhouse gas emissions. We will consult on primary legislative powers in the coming months. However, we have not, to date, made any proposals around requiring non-domestic rented properties to achieve EPC C by 2028.

The rating on a non-domestic EPC cannot be compared with the relative rating used on domestic EPCs. This is because non-domestic EPCs use fundamentally different calculation methodologies and rating scales. Domestic EPC ratings are currently based on calculated running costs for a dwelling. Non-domestic EPC ratings are based on calculated direct and indirect emissions from the building and estimate a building’s absolute energy demand. We recognise the need for reform of EPCs and first consulted on proposals in 2021. We will consult on finalised proposals later in 2023.

The range of non-domestic EPC ratings for buildings within the Scottish Government Estate reflect their varied use as greenhouses, laboratories, storage units and offices. The variety of activities and building types in the non-domestic built environment will require many different options for decarbonisation - reflecting, for example, the difference between an office in Edinburgh and a laboratory in Aberdeen. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the public sector playing its part and the Bute House Agreement includes a commitment to develop and agree a series of phased targets for all publicly-owned buildings to meet zero emission heating requirements, with a backstop of 2038.

An Estate Strategy for SG Core buildings is under development to support our asset planning and the future investment decisions required to deliver the Heat in Building Strategy and Net Zero targets.

A short-term pilot led by the Refugee Survival Trust and third sector partners in Glasgow commenced on Monday 30 January and will run until July.

The pilot provides free bus travel to people seeking asylum living in Glasgow for three months, along with information and digital support to access and use the pass.

The information gathered from this pilot will help inform options on how to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to consider how best to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum in Scotland.

As of Friday 9 June, 45 members of staff were working in the Deposit Return Scheme Division. The FTE is 43.2

We do not hold information on how many staff have worked on DRS each year since development began as DRS sat within a wider division with staff covering a range of issues. A separate division for DRS was created in March this year.

The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

The identification of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe Valley was announced on 02 June 2023 and is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem.

Following design and assessment work on the options under consideration, a debris flow shelter has been identified as the preferred option for the long-term solution. This option involves constructing a debris flow shelter over a length of approximately 1.4km with an additional 180m of catch pit and protection wall to protect the road and road users from future debris flow events.

Further details on the preferred route option is available from Access to Argyll and Bute (A83) Story Map (arcgis.com) .

Work has now commenced on the next stage in the assessment process which is the detailed development and assessment of the preferred route option and this stage will culminate in the publication of road Orders and Environmental Impact Assessment Report for formal consultation.

ScotRail advise that colleagues are supported from immediately after any incident of this nature. That support comes in a range of ways which includes the offer of professional counselling.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18475 on 16 June 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

This work was produced externally to the Scottish Government. Scottish public sector representatives on the project board were sighted on the methodologies and evidence used to calculate relevant estimates and were involved in discussions with the report authors during the lifetime of the project. As noted in the report, the authors are responsible for the final report.

Scotland’s national forests and land is sub-divided into five geographical management areas, each has a local incident response plan in place.

Each Regional incident response plan covers all potential incidents that may occur on Scotland’s national forests and land, inlcuding wild fires. The incident response plan is produced in collaboration with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other agencies / public bodies and is reviewed annually.

In addition, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has guidance in place for staff regarding how to manage wildfires on Scotland’s national forests and land. The guidace covers roles and responsibilities and how to work in collaboration with SFRS. FLS staff are trained to respond to incidents when required, including wild fires.

FLS produces guidance for staff on the use of helicopters for firefighting, covering how and when to use a helicopter and the roles and responsibilites of FLS / SFRS staff.