Chamber and committees

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published stakeholders consultation https://consult.defra.gov.uk/joint-nature-conservation-committee/911c8988/ , including a list of provisional recommendations regarding the addition, retention, regrading or removal of each species on 08 November 2021. Those proposed recommendations do not include the removal of schedule 5 legal protection for mountain hares.

We will carefully consider the JNCC recommendations of the seventh Quinquennial Review. Before making any recommendations regarding species removal from schedule 5, we must be satisfied that there would be no detrimental impact to the individual species or to the wider biodiversity and environmental landscape in Scotland.

Mountain hares are now a protected species following the passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act in June 2020. The protection came into force on 1 March 2021, meaning that the species can no longer be taken for sporting or recreational purposes. We will also continue to work with several partner organisations to continue to improve our understanding of mountain hare populations across Scotland, along with other work, to support the conservation status of this iconic species.

Development and implementation of the IT systems required to deliver Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is a matter for the individual organisations that will play a role in delivering DRS, including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Circularity Scotland Ltd, and businesses.

SEPA is currently preparing to register producers that fall under the regulations. This includes developing a new digital registration service, which has been designed through targeted user research with expected users of the service. Producers who wish to place scheme articles on the Scottish market will be able to register with SEPA directly or via the Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd.

The Scottish Government is working intensively to develop and agree a plan to deliver the scheme that the Scottish Government, the industry and stakeholders can have confidence in. As my statement set out once a timeline is agreed, clear milestones for delivery by Circularity Scotland will be published. However it must be noted that consistent with other producer responsibility schemes, the responsibility for practical implementation of DRS resides with individual retailers and producers, not the Scottish Government.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

NHS staff on duty within prisons will provide a clinical response to an overdose in custody, including the administration of naloxone during the day.

To date a total of 272 operational night shift staff across the prison estate have received training in the administration of naloxone (This figure also includes staff trained who work in the private prisons - HMPs Addiewell and Kilmarnock).

Research carried out by the Fraser of Allander Institute found that Scotland’s renewable activities support 22,660 full-time equivalent jobs in Scotland 2019.

 https://www.scottishrenewables.com/assets/000/001/718/2021_FAI_Economic_Impact_of_Scotland_s_Renewable_Energy_Sector_original.pdf?1622564058 ).

No data is available to provide additional geographic breakdowns below the Scotland level at this time.

The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for independent assessors, and the Scottish Government has no locus to interfere in that independent process. We have no current plans to alter the specific treatment of ATMs in the non-domestic rates system.

The Scottish Government provides the most generous non-domestic rates regime in the UK, and in 2021-22 delivered an unprecedented reduction in the poundage mid-revaluation; returning it to pre-COVID levels, which saves Scottish Businesses over £120 million compared with a standard inflationary increase.

We already deliver a number of non-domestic rates measures that support ATM sites and the buildings they are located in, such as shops. This includes up to 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief, which is the most generous such relief in the UK. ATM sites in rural areas are exempt from rating in Scotland, and therefore are not liable for non-domestic rates.

Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, each local Council has wide-raging powers to create rates reliefs to reflect local needs. This may apply to a sole business, sector or area. The relief may be an adaptation of an existing national relief scheme or a unique standalone scheme.

It is understood the proposed lifetime cap on care costs to be introduced in England will apply only to personal care costs. Free personal care has been available in Scotland for adults aged 65 or over since 2002. From 1 April 2019 this was extended to adults of any age, no matter their condition, capital or income, who are assessed by their local authority as needing this service.

Scottish Government officials have been engaging, and continue to engage, closely with a range of businesses to reach an implementation timetable for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) that is both ambitious and deliverable.

The new statutory scheme is for bus travel only and does not extend to ferry travel. The soon to be published Island Communities Impact Assessment will discuss this in more detail and ferry fares are being reviewed as part of the forthcoming Islands Connectivity Plan.

We are also committed to taking forward our Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares, looking at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry. The review will look at both cost and availability of services.

Internal ferries, including the setting of fares and holding information about services and travellers, is wholly the responsibility of the local authority. However, recognising the challenges this brings, the Scottish Government has provided over £50m to local authorities in the last four years on top of the local government settlement to support internal ferries.

The Scottish Government and NatureScot are currently considering the wider implications of the Court of Session judgment in relation to licences issued for the purposes of beaver management.

Of the five complaints under consideration by the Court, four were rejected entirely. The fifth point, which was accepted by the Court, relates to the inclusion of a statement of reasons for licences issued. This finding will be reflected within licensing procedures going forward and reasons will now be published with all beaver and other European Protected Species licences issued.