Chamber and committees

Flood Risk Management Strategies were published by SEPA in 2015. These set out proposals for 42 flood protection schemes which were prioritised according to their cost benefit ratio and taking into account a series of additional criteria, encompassing the environmental and social impacts of flooding.

It is for local authorities to commission and take forward these Schemes. In July 2016, it was agreed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA that 80% of the flood component of the General Capital Grant would be distributed according to the SEPA prioritisation of flood protection schemes set out in the Flood Risk Management Strategies. 40 of the prioritised schemes were deemed to be eligible for grant funding.

Of the 42 prioritised schemes 9 are complete, 5 are under construction and the others are at various stages of development. 7 other schemes commissioned by local authorities prior to 2016 have also been completed since 2016.

The financial support we have made available to businesses has, in the main, been predicated on the restrictions in place on specific businesses through legislation agreed by the Scottish Parliament rather than on sectoral classifications. Businesses were grouped by sectoral classification for the purposes of distributing the January Top up Grant and the Business Restart Grant but these grants were similarly awarded based on the impact of Regulations.

Eligibility for support can be found on the Scottish Government’s website including those businesses classified as Retail, Hospitality and Leisure businesses for the purposes of determining these top up payments. As Kennels and Catteries were not required to close or subject to any specific legislative restrictions on their operations, they were not eligible for support through the Strategic Framework Business Fund or associated schemes.

We did, however, set up the £120 million Local Authority Discretionary Fund specifically to support those businesses which were financially impacted due to COVID but did not qualify for other forms of financial support.

The level of capital investment in digital infrastructure in each financial year since 2015-16 is provided in the following table:

Reducing flood risk is a priority for this Government and we will continue to support authorities to deliver actions that protect our communities. The Scottish Government engages regularly with local authorities, including Falkirk Council, on a wide range of flood risk management issues to ensure Scotland is resilient to the challenges of flood risk and climatic pressures.

Flood Risk Management Strategies and Plans are published every six years, as part of the duties of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (“the Act”). National and local working groups provide a forum for discussion on issues in relation to implementation of the Act including monitoring progress of the actions resulting from the Strategies and Plans. Most recently the Scottish Government met with local authorities at the SCOTS Flood Risk Management Group, which included Falkirk Council, at the end of May 2021.

Rollout of mobile telecommunications infrastructure is predominantly led by commercial operators. The Scottish Government neither holds nor receives data on how many commercial mobile telephony masts have been installed..

Through the Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) Programme, the Scottish Government is investing £28.75 million (including £11.27 million of ERDF funding) to create future-proofed 4G mobile infrastructure at up to 55 mobile “notspots”, areas with no coverage from any commercial mobile network operator (MNO).

As of 28 June 2021, a total of 15 S4GI masts are currently providing 4G service to communities is as follows:

We are committed to increasing the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to £20m by the end of this parliament and the profile for this is currently being considered as part of the ongoing budget.

The SLF provides important support to communities and between 2016 and 2021, 232 groups were awarded a total of £39m. However, it is not the only source of funding available and we would encourage any community to consider all avenues when seeking to fund acquisition.

The reports of a possible decline in the capercaillie population are concerning and underline the need to continue to focus efforts on partnership work to tackle threats to the species. We recognise the central importance of biodiversity and our commitment to addressing the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change is unwavering.

We are taking action to address the decline in capercaillie by providing specific support from the forestry grant scheme with funding of over £300,000 between 2016 and 2025, as well as funding of £780,000 through the previous rural priority scheme’s capercaillie package.

NatureScot is also supporting the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project, which is piloting innovative community-led capercaillie conservation. Empowering local communities to develop solutions to recreation management in capercaillie woods is a new approach that has real potential to help the birds. NatureScot will also review the scientific evidence on the key factors affecting capercaillie and feed this into its work with all project partners going forward.

MV Glen Sannox was launched in November 2017. For Hull 802, much of the outfitting will be carried out before launch, making the work more efficient. As a result 802 will weigh over 1,000 tonnes more than Glen Sannox, meaning the tide conditions will be critical. Detailed engineering analysis is required to balance the tide, launch arrangement and weight to find the most effective combination.

The Scottish Government stepped in to take ownership, to ensure a viable future for the yard, its workforce and completion of the much needed vessels. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the yard to explore all possible options to ensure a viable future for the business.

Full details of Scottish Government budget allocations, including those to Local Government can found in the Scottish Government annually published Scottish Budget at Publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).