Chamber and committees

Home haemodialysis is provided for people who need this. Any reimbursement for increases in utility bills as a result of home haemodialysis would be the responsibility of the NHS Board. Individuals who wish to pursue reimbursement of living costs should contact their local NHS Board in the first instance.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund – established in 2020 and tripled to £30 million for 2023 to 2024 - is a critical plank in our support to people who are struggling with their energy costs.

I refer the member to my answer to S6W-17651.

We are committed to transparency and openness in our administration of the Deposit Return Scheme. The Scottish Government is carefully considering the recommendations from the latest review, and has committed to sharing the recommendations and its response with the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee in due course.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of investment to prepare for the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme across a range of businesses and the value of this is now at risk unless an Internal Market Act exclusion is put in place urgently to enable the final preparations for a launch on 1 March 2024.

The exact figures on investment are held by industry themselves but various published estimates suggest that retailers will invest up to £200m, and producers have invested around £100m for the scheme. Alongside this contractors to Circularity Scotland, such as Biffa, will have invested significant funds with some estimating this at around £80m.

The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) comprises £65 million for the current Parliamentary term. In 2022-23, the Nature Restoration Fund made its annual allocation of £13.5 million available through two main strands, each of which is further sub-divided, as follows:

• The competitive strand, which is subdivided into;

- ‘ Helping Nature ’ projects less than £250,000 lasting 1-2 years

- ‘ Transforming Nature ’ projects greater than £250,000 lasting 2-4 years

• The Edinburgh Process strand, which is subdivided into;

- Direct allocations to Local Authorities and the National Parks

- A competitive top-up fund open to Local Authorities only

In 2022-23, the competitive strand comprised approximately £7 million (details of which can be found on NatureScot’s website at https://www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/scottish-government-nature-restoration-fund-nrf ); and a further £6.5 million was distributed through the ‘Edinburgh Process’ strand. I also refer to my answers in response to S6W-17674, S6W-17675, S6W-17677, S6W-17678 and S6W-17679 on 18 May 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 and delivery partners such as Circularity Scotland, SEPA, and Zero Waste Scotland have regularly engaged with businesses on the Deposit Return Scheme. There are a number issues which businesses are working with partners on to ensure all involved are ready for launch on 1 March.

We have taken action to address a number of matters which are within our control and which businesses had raised concerns about. These include, but are not limited to:

• needing more preparation time to ready their business for the launch - we have given businesses an additional six and a half months to prepare for the scheme launch.

• impact on the hospitality industry - we exempted all premises that sell 90% or over of their drinks products for consumption on the premises from acting as a return point.
• impact on small producers – we completely excluded from the scheme products that sells fewer than 5,000 items a year.
• miniatures and other smaller containers may cause problems at return points – we completely excluded from the scheme all drinks containers under 100ml.
• administrative burden for retailers applying for exemptions – we have simplified the online process for retailers to apply for an exemption from operating a return point.

As we continue to prepare for a successful launch of the scheme we continue to wait on the UK Government to take any action to agree an exclusion from the Internal Market Act.

I refer the member to Scottish Government’s publication on 28 February 2023 of the timeline and process for securing an Internal Market Act exclusion for the Deposit Return Scheme: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/correspondence/2023/02/internal-market-act-correspondence/documents/timeline-and-process-for-securing-an-internal-market-act-exclusion-for-drs/timeline-and-process-for-securing-an-internal-market-act-exclusion-for-drs/govscot%3Adocument/DRS%2BTimeline%2Band%2BProcess.pdf

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17748 on 18 May 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

Our ambitious 10-year cancer strategy, due to be published in early summer, will be under-pinned by action plans which will evolve with the changing cancer landscape. The strategy will take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

It will encompass a new earlier cancer diagnosis vision for Scotland and will continue to focus on those cancer types that are the largest burden and have poorer survival, in particular the less survivable cancers, including liver cancer.

Phase 1 of fleet renewal was authorised to prepare the necessary details for procurement in 2022 and work continues accordingly. Work is under way to define future phases, reflecting the budget position set out in December 2022, the condition of ScotRail’s fleet and the necessary related investment in the infrastructure.