Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government works closely with Ofgem and the network companies to ensure timely network investment adequate to support the transition to net zero across all sectors, including heat in buildings. In March this year the Scottish Government published a set of principles for the development of Scotland’s gas and electricity networks, developed in partnership with Ofgem and network companies. These principles can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/principles-development-scotlands-gas-electricity-networks/

We have set up a new Heat Electrification Strategic Partnership with the Scottish Distribution Network Operators and continue to work with them as they prepare to submit final business plans to Ofgem this December. Once approved, these plans would unlock over £3bn investment in local electricity networks to support decarbonisation of heat and transport over the period 2023- 2028.

We are working with local government towards ensuring Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies are in place by the end of 2023 for all local authority areas, providing a strategic plan for network companies to draw on in targeting their investment.

Scottish Government only hold procurement records for its own fleet. A breakdown of purchases of petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles is provided in the following table.

The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland has engaged with Renfrewshire Council to discuss and agree the design of Transport Scotland’s proposals for upgrading the existing path alongside the A8 from West Ferry to Langbank and how this will integrate with the route along the local road network.

The current extent of the upgrade to the Clyde Coastal Path is within Renfrewshire Council area therefore no engagement with Inverclyde council has taken place.

Further engagement with other stakeholders will be undertaken as part of the detailed design.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04100 on 15 November 2021. 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

We have provided over £33 million of grant funding directly to local authorities since 2014 to enable procurement of zero and ultra-low emission vehicles and associated charging and refuelling infrastructure. The following table provides the detail of funding awarded to each local authority in each year from 2014.

As referenced in the answer to question S6W-01360, we had invested £47M since 2014 to assist with the decarbonisation of public fleet vehicles. We have continued to support public sector fleet decarbonisation and the value of support provided is now over £50 million, enabling innovation and trialling of harder to reach vehicles.

A breakdown of this funding (in response to point a) can be seen in the following table.

Public bodies and local authorities will use a combination of vehicle purchase and lease for fleet operations. Vehicle fleets also go through replacement cycles and periods of rationalisation. It’s not possible to determine how many vehicles funded are still in service.

There are no plans to hold a further Ferry Industry Advisory Group (FIAG) meeting. Ministers are grateful to former FIAG members for their contributions to the work of the group, which was wide ranging. But by mutual consent of the parties following the last meeting on 17 October 2019, a more targeted approach is now adopted to stakeholder engagement. This continues to ensure that policy decisions are informed by the knowledge and experience of international ferry industry best practice, alongside views of local authorities and the communities served by the ferry services operated on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

Our significantly improved approach to community engagement for new vessel projects is evidenced in positive feedback from the Islay community on their new vessels. We are also working closely with Ferries Community Board to ensure community input into policy development such as regarding fares and managing demand.

In April 2019, we published the Waste Markets Study which assessed the treatment options for Scottish biodegradable municipal waste. The study is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/waste-markets-study-full-report/

We have also commissioned work to assess the residual waste treatment capacity needs up to 2025, in light of our commitment to end the practice of landfilling biodegradable municipal waste by 2025. This work is ongoing and we will publish it in due course, independent of timelines for the review of incineration.

The review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland will be led by an independent chair who will determine the detailed scope and process of the review. As such, decisions regarding the process of gathering and selecting evidence that is relevant to the scope of the review will be made by the independent chair.

People can show their COVID-19 vaccine status either via:

1. NHS Scotland COVID Status App via Google Play or the App Store;

2. Download a PDF of the vaccination status record via NHS Inform website; or

3. Request a paper copy of the vaccination status record by calling the Freephone COVID Status Helpline on 0800 196 8565.

People should allow plenty of time to access their certificate; and if using paper certificate allow at least 14 days for any letter to arrive.

If the helpline is busy then they may wish to call back at later.