Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering up to £85 million to support a range of projects across the south through the BorderlandsInclusive Growth Deal.

All bat species found in Scotland are classed as European protected species. They receive the highest level of species protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994.

This protection also extends to bat roosts. As bats return to the same places every year, a bat roost is protected even if no bats are present. Any action taken which might disturb or damage a bat roost requires a licence from NatureScot.

NatureScot bat workers and Licensing staff advise residents on bat species protection and how to manage the bat roosts within their homes in line with this protection through the Bats in Houses helpline or, for more complex cases, a home visit. NatureScot staff encourage residents in the first instance to retain these roosts, though in some circumstances they need to be excluded under licence because of the public health issue they can pose to residents. The licence to exclude bats contains conditions for the actions to safeguard the bats during the exclusion.

The approximate average length of time, since 2015, for a section 36 energy consent application to receive a determination is as follows.

Onshore proposals over 50MW:

• Onshore wind – 33 months
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) – 14 months
• Hybrid (Solar and BESS) – 13 months
• Hydro – 18 months
  Offshore proposals:
• Offshore wind - 11 months
• Wave & Tidal - 24 months

It should be noted that these timeframes include the time taken for Public Local Inquiries, should they be necessary, and also any delays caused by missing or additional application information being required from developers, such as that under EIA legislation.

NatureScot holds data on the type of roosts recorded by bat workers during visits to homes, including the number of bats present, and whether the roost was retained or excluded under licence.

In 2023, in Bats in Houses, a total of 74 bat roosts were excluded from properties across Scotland, following householder requests to do so due to Health & Safety requirements:

All new parents are entitled to infant feeding support regardless of how they feed their babies. Appropriate assessments will be carried out by qualified staff where there are feeding issues that could impact growth and development.

Information on feeding issues including tongue tie, and where to seek help, is available on national on-line platforms such as Parent Club Tongue-tie | Parent Club and through local resources.

There are three licensed Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use (CBPMs) available on the NHS in Scotland to treat specific conditions. These are:

• nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, as an add-on treatment for adults with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting;
• Sativex®, a combination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol for moderate to severe spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis;
• and Epidyolex®, a cannabidiol for treating seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)

The decision on whether to make a licensed medicine routinely available on the NHS in Scotland is made by healthcare professionals and other experts who make up the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), following an application by the manufacturer. This is independent of Scottish Ministers. If a medicine is recommended for use,- Health Boards’ local Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees will consider and decide whether to include it in their prescribing formulary.

Clinical guidance does not recommend the prescribing of unlicensed CBPMs, other than in clinical trials. The biggest barrier to the prescribing of other CBPMs on the NHS is that most products remain unlicensed with a limited, or non-existent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence base for their use.

The performance of the Energy Consents Unit has recently been considered through the Onshore Wind Sector Deal and the Transmission Network Short Life Working Group. Work is ongoing to implement the actions derived from the recommendations of both groups. At an individual level, all members of the Energy Consent Unit have agreed work objectives which are reviewed as part of our performance management process.

Yes – this funding is specifically for the provision of diabetes technologies and will be managed by a central team. A small part of this investment will cover costs of infrastructure to enable delivery at scale.

Scottish Government International Climate Change Officials are attending the 60th Sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Scottish Ministers are not in attendance.

Although Scotland is not a UN member state, the Scottish Government is resolute in our commitment to utilise our convening and influencing powers wherever possible in order to drive forward climate action internationally.

Working across Government and together with our partners, we continue to take action to address labour and skills shortages, including better aligning the education and skills system with the needs of employers and the economy.

We remain committed to supporting a high-quality post-school education, research and skills system with over £2.4 billion investment, including more than £133 million of this investment focused on Modern Apprenticeships. There is also significant progress being made to reform and improve key areas of the post-school learning system covered by James Withers’ review Fit for the Future, including on apprenticeships, skills planning and simplification of the funding body landscape.

I provided the latest update on progress in a letter to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 27 March 2024, available at Update to Committee - Post school reform | Scottish Parliament Website . Other action includes Scotland’s Migration Service which was launched in March 2024. The new service provides information and offer individual appointments to help people with moving and settling into life in Scotland. It also supports businesses to navigate the immigration system, including advice from qualified advisors.

No One Left Behind is the Scottish Government’s shared approach to delivering an all-age, place-based, person-centred model of employability support in Scotland. It sees Scottish and Local Government working together, with partners from the third, private and wider public sectors to support both individuals and employers with their labour market needs.