Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the private sector action required to deliver a just transition to net zero. Our Global Capital Investment Plan outlines these opportunities and we are expanding our Green Investment Portfolio to bring together market-ready projects worth £3 billion as well as establishing an investor panel to attract investment to a pipeline of projects.

In the North East, we engaged extensively over Spring 2022 on the design of the £500 million Just Transition Fund to understand how it can have maximum impact in the region. We are also a full partner in the Aberdeen City Region Deal, which is stimulating private investment through partnership with Opportunity North East and has already seen £59 million of private investment committed to the region for digital infrastructure.

During the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, representatives of the Scottish Government Animal Disease Control Branch have had daily interactions with Defra and the Welsh Government regarding all manner of policy matters relating to the outbreak, including the impact of avian influenza on the game industry.

In addition to this, the Scottish Government, along with Defra, the Welsh Government and DAERA (NI) Officials have hosted twice-weekly meetings with the GB Avian Diseases Core Group (with representatives from industries impacted by the outbreak), which includes the Game Farmer’s Association.

These discussions have included consideration of how government could assist with the shortage of gamebird hatching eggs available for import into the UK from France, which had been hampered by the unprecedented number of outbreaks of HPAI across a number of French regions, in particular the Vendee and Loire Atlantique areas, where the majority of French game farms are located. These areas had been accordingly subjected to strict restrictions on the movement of game birds and hatching eggs, including restricting exports to other countries.

In response to this and in acknowledgment of the dependency of our game sector on imports from these affected French regions – and also to the narrow window of this part of the breeding cycle for game birds – the Scottish Government, along with Defra and the Welsh Government, worked with the French government (including the Chief Veterinary Officer of France) and industry officials to develop a temporary strategy whereby gamebird hatching eggs from HPAI restricted zones in France could be licensed for landing at ports in the UK.

Under this scheme, a new model health certificate for the import of hatching eggs, other than ratites, from France had been developed to accompany consignments that would be imported under licence, and which would require adherence to a set of strict biosecurity requirements throughout the transfer process.

However, the scheme was not taken forward at the request of French authorities and industry, who reported that weather conditions at the time in France, in the form of extremely high temperatures, had not only had a significant impact on egg production levels, but also presented challenges for the safe and successful transportation of gamebird eggs.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the game industry, along with the poultry and other captive bird sectors, to minimise the spread, and the social and economic impact, of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Scotland.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on contractual arrangements for waste services.

However, based on information from local authorities, we understand that Highland and Scottish Borders Councils have shorter-term options, for example to 2030, to extend their current landfill ban compliant contracts

The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of any proposed benefits of introducing compulsory microchipping of cats.

The Scottish Government is aware of the DEFRA consultation and report on the microchipping of cats which was published on 4 December 2021. The Scottish Government will give full and careful consideration to the outcomes of that consultation and the UK Government response in due course.

If the member could share more detail on the specific concerns and services she is referring to then I would be happy to write directly to her.

The Rural and Islands Housing Fund (RHIF) has been described as a ‘game changer’ for community-led housing development helping increase the supply of affordable housing in rural and island areas. Taken together with our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, this Fund helped deliver more than 6,000 affordable homes in these areas between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

In November 2020, we announced that the RIHF would be extended beyond March 2021, with up to £30 million made available to support the development of affordable homes in rural and island areas across Scotland in the current Parliamentary term. Given this is a demand led fund, the monies made available in each year reflect the level of activity requiring to be funded in that year.

The Rural and Islands Housing Fund (RIHF) provides an additional funding route for organisations, such as community trusts, who are not able to access traditional affordable housing funding to further increase the long term availability of affordable housing in rural Scotland.

The RIHF has been described as a ‘game changer’ for community-led housing development helping increase the supply of affordable housing in rural and island areas. Taken together with our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, this Fund helped deliver more than 6,000 affordable homes in these areas between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

In November 2020, we announced that the RIHF would be extended beyond March 2021, with up to £30 million made available to support the development of affordable homes in rural and island areas across Scotland in the current Parliamentary term. Given this is a demand led fund, the monies made available in each year reflect the level of activity requiring to be funded in that year.

The following table shows the monies allocated by year to the fund and the actual spend:

Patients referred by GPs or under investigation or diagnosed with brain cancer in NHS Ayrshire and Arran would be automatically referred to the specialist brain tumour service centre at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde.

Statistics on patients waiting to receive treatment, after referral by a GP on the suspicion of a brain tumour are not held centrally by Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland (PHS).

Published statistics relating to the waits patients experience for new outpatient appointments and inpatient or day case admission, broken down by NHS Board and specialty, up to 31st March 2022, can be found in the link below. PHS does not hold information on the condition or diagnosis that patients are waiting to be seen for.

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/ .

The Fair Fares Review was established to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares as we recover from the pandemic.

The review is being undertaken in a phased approach, to enable options to be considered and announced/ trialled or delivered throughout the course of the review. I expect interim options to be presented by Transport Scotland this year, given the cost of living crisis. The full review will conclude in early 2023.