The East Kilbride project is delivering an electrified railway to provide more reliable and emission free services, and also a number of significant station improvements.

ScotRail keeps services under continual review to ensure the service levels reflect the changing passenger requirements, which is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail directly.

It is an offence under Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release any type of pig, including wild boar. It is also an offence to allow them to escape from captivity.

The primary responsibility for controlling feral pig populations in the wild lies with land managers who should work in partnership with local communities.

Further information on feral pigs can be found on the NatureScot website at Managing feral pigs in Scotland | NatureScot .

NatureScot commissioned the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to prepare a non-native species risk assessment as part of their feasibility study into options for controlling feral pigs in Scotland.

APHA completed the risk assessment in 2015 and was published in 2022 in NatureScot Research Report 876 - Preliminary assessment completed in 2015 of the feasibility of maintaining, limiting or eradicating feral pigs in Scotland | NatureScot Massei G. & Ward A. 2022.

Following a peer-review of the risk assessment by the Scottish Government Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC), NatureScot updated and published the report ‘Updated non-native species risk assessment of feral pigs in Scotland. NatureScot Research Report 1288’. A copy of the report, which includes information on the distribution and potential impacts of feral pigs in Scotland, can be found on NatureScot’s website at NatureScot Research Report 1288 - Updated non-native species risk assessment of feral pigs in Scotland | NatureScot .

A member of the Scottish Youth Parliament attended the relationships and behaviour summit held on 25 October, on relationships and behaviour approaches.

All three summits included representatives from a range of children’s and young people’s organisations.

Transport Scotland's Transport Assessment Guidance (2012) is the current guidance for conducting transport assessments for planning applications. We are currently monitoring the practical implementation and impact of policies contained within National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and considering whether, and what, amendments to the transport assessment guidance may be required.

In 2020 we commissioned Element Energy to assess the technical feasibility of Scotland's housing stock for low carbon heating. It produced a comprehensive set of housing archetypes considering characteristics such as property type, size, age, levels of insulation and existing heating fuel. The methodology used is set out in the final report, available here: Technical Feasibility of Low Carbon Heating in Domestic Buildings : Report for Scottish Government’s Directorate for Energy & Climate Change (www.gov.scot) . This assessment was made for two time periods: 2017 (assuming current housing characteristics) and 2040 (assuming properties undergo energy efficiency upgrades to achieve the equivalent of EPC C).

The underlying data was published in 2023 and is available here: Low carbon heating in domestic buildings – technical feasibility: archetype appendix - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . These data show that there are around 170,000 off-gas grid properties using high emissions fuels, of which around 40,000 are not suitable for low temperature air-source heat pumps in the 2040 scenario. The technical suitability was assessed using the criteria summarised in the publication. Note that all modelling is subject to uncertainty, particularly future projections. This includes, for example, potential improvements in heat pump technology.

The purpose of our proposals, as set out in our consultation for a Heat in Buildings Bill, is to regulate greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating buildings. We focus on direct emissions to ensure responsibility for eliminating emissions is allocated to those with the ability to act (at the point of use). This approach would place a duty on the building owner to meet the Heat in Buildings Standard.

However in the consultation, we recognise that as a renewable, and potentially net zero, energy source bioenergy may represent the best option to help decarbonise some homes for which clean heating systems are not suitable. We also want to ensure that owners who have taken the proactive step of installing renewable bioenergy systems are fairly treated. This is why, in addition to permitting extra time for those currently using bioenergy to meet the clean heat element of the Standard, we are seeking views on whether a more flexible approach to the use of bioenergy under future regulations is needed. We would need to balance this flexibility with the need to protect and ensure the supply of bioenergy in other sectors of the economy that also rely on bioenergy to remove emissions.

The Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies understand the strategic importance of Scotland’s tech conferences in attracting talents and showcasing Scottish companies to international investors and markets. That is why we have invested almost £600k in recent years to support their continued growth and internationalisation.

Conferences will remain an important focus in 2024-25 and we are particularly keen to form new partnerships with industry to grow the quality and scale of Scotland’s offer.

The vast majority of Link Workers in general practice in Scotland are funded from the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). We have not prescribed a specific employment model for Community Link Workers. It is the responsibility of each Health and Social Care Partnership to decide how it invests its allocation from the PCIF to deliver all of the services set out in the Memorandum of Understanding. Many factors will be taken into consideration such as local need.

The Scottish Government supports new woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme. Planting is recorded in line with financial years. The Scottish Government expects to deliver 9,000 hectares of new woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme in the 2024-25 financial year, and would expect a similar area to be delivered in the 2024-25 planting season.

As the Scottish Government budget has not been finalised for 2025-26 or future years, it is not possible to confirm how much planting will be supported by the Forestry Grant Scheme in future years or planting seasons.