Chamber and committees

No meetings have taken place with The National and the Sunday National since the beginning of the current parliamentary session.

The following table provides the information held on the number of closures due to roadworks and incidents on the M8 between junctions 13 and 26 between July 2017 and July 2021. We have been advised by our operating Company that figures for 2016/17 are currently unavailable. However, these are being sourced and will be forwarded to you once received.

Government budgets contribute to alleviating the climate emergency through a range of investments, including spend that reduces greenhouse gas emissions towards net zero, spend that delivers emissions reductions through a fair and just transition, and spend focussed on adapting to the effects of climate change.

The 2021-22 Budget increased low carbon capital investment across government to over £1.9 billion, comprising 36% of overall capital spend. This proportion has risen from 29% in 2018-19, when reporting began. In March, following budget negotiations, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance committed to a further £40 million in capital investment for active travel and energy efficiency initiatives that align with our green recovery and net zero ambitions. These figures that we track on low carbon capital investment, as mentioned above, provide only a partial picture of the wide range of investments across all government spend that contributes towards alleviating the climate emergency.

Some of our key commitments on climate change in this budget include increasing our Heat in Buildings investment by £30 million to £213.4 million; increasing forestry investment by £26.9 million to £121.2 million; committing £40 million for our Agricultural Transformation Fund to assist the sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and committing the first £165 million of our £2 billion Low Carbon Fund, including: £14 million for the Green Jobs Fund, £25 million for bus priority infrastructure and £15 million for zero emissions buses.

A review of the energy standards of the Scottish building regulations is currently under way. This is considering options to further improve the energy performance of both new residential developments and all other new buildings. It also considers the energy performance requirements where relevant new construction work is carried out to existing buildings.

The consultation can be accessed at:

Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed changes to Energy Standards and associated topics, including Ventilation, Overheating and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure - Scottish Government - Citizen Space (consult.gov.scot) .

The new energy performance requirements are programmed to take effect in 2022.

The Scottish Government looks forward to a successful COP26 in November that delivers increased global ambition to net zero in a way that is fair and just. Scottish Ministers have engaged widely on COP26, and will continue to do so in the run up to, during and after the conference.

Between 1 January 2020 and 20 July 2021, all Scottish Ministers (excluding the First Minister) attended a total of 36 meetings in relation to COP26. Between 1 January 2020 and 28 July 2021, the First Minister attended 4 meetings in relation to COP26. The majority of meetings included in these figures are external engagements, including meetings between the previous Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change And Land Reform Ms. Cunningham and the UK Government. Whilst meetings referenced here include those with COP26 as a specified focus of the engagement, a significant amount of climate- related Ministerial meetings since Glasgow was announced as the COP26 host city are likely to have included discussions of COP26 to some extent.

This is a reserved policy area. Responsibility for security of supply sits with National Grid ESO (the GB electricity system operator), which works closely with generators and network operators across Scotland to ensure that there is always enough electricity to meet demand.

This includes preparing for the closure of individual generators several years in advance, to ensure that closures do not impact electricity supplies. National Grid ESO has worked closely with EDF, owners of Hunterston and Torness, and with Scotland’s electricity network owners, to ensure that the network is able to respond to and support the closure of these nuclear power stations in the coming years.

National Grid ESO is currently overseeing a “Stability Pathfinder”, the second phase of which is looking at network and commercial options to replace the various network stability requirements currently provided by existing generation. This is designed to ensure that the networks are ready for the greater share that Scotland’s renewable resources will constitute in the future.

The latest data cut of 22.07.2021 showed 262 active Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland. On that date there were 22 Covid-19 suspended Cancer Clinical Trials.

13,743 homes, which is 36% of homes assessed against benchmarks, have sought grant funding in excess of the relevant benchmark over the last five years. These homes were spread across 476 projects. All projects seeking grant funding in excess of the relevant grant subsidy benchmark will have been subject to more detailed value-for-money assessment. The tables showing the Affordable Housing Supply Programme Homes and Projects Approved Above Published Benchmarks have been placed in SPICe under BIB number 62586.

The tables contain data submitted by delivery partners through our digital programme management system called HARP (Housing and Regeneration Programme) and provide the breakdown as requested. The analysis is based on information provided at tender approval stage which is when projects are assessed against benchmark subsidy levels. Only projects which have a relevant benchmark have been included i.e. social rent homes provided by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), social rented homes provided by Local Authorities, and affordable homes for Mid Market rent provided by RSLs and their subsidiaries.

It is not possible to accurately quantify the future associated with COVID-19 related health problems at this time, as we are still in the midst of the pandemic. Some of these impacts may not be tangible immediately but are likely to become more evident over time.

We need a better understanding of the frequency, nature and impact of health complications caused by COVID before an assessment can be made of future costs. This includes the cost of providing support for people with long COVID.

The Scottish Government has invested £2.5 million funding for nine Scottish-led research projects relating to the long-term effects of COVID-19. We continue to engage with NHS Boards to identify their support needs in relation to delivering care and support to people with long COVID.

The legislative requirements for an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) are set out on the Road Traffic regulation Act 1984 and the relevant procedures as contained in the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999 (for local roads) or the Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1987 (for trunk roads).

If a Roads Authority wish to make an ETRO a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), the procedures set out in the relevant regulations shown above must be followed.

As part of the ongoing review into TRO procedures we have published a public consultation to gather feedback on some proposed changes to the Experimental Order Procedures and this can be found at Consultation on Traffic Regulation Orders - Scottish Government - Citizen Space ( https://consult.gov.scot)