Chamber and committees

Applications for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme can be made through getyournec.scot in all local authorities. Additionally, each local authority is responsible for providing alternative application route(s) for their residents.

The application routes for each local authority in the Highlands and Islands region are outlined in the following table.

A species control agreement (SCA) is a voluntary agreement between a relevant body and a land owner or manager. NatureScot has not issued any species control agreements within that period. Scottish Forestry has issued a single species control agreement for Rhododendron ponticum, while SEPA issued a species control agreement for North American signal crayfish in 2019. The Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) issued four species control agreements for Didemnum vexillium in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

A species control order (SCO) is a compulsory instrument which can be used to compel certain actions in regard to invasive non-native species and these may be used in situations where an SCA has failed. None of the relevant bodies have needed to make a species control order because there has never been a situation where an owner has failed to cooperate with a species control agreement.

Flood Risk Management Plans for the period 2022-2028 were approved by Scottish Ministers in December 2021 and published by SEPA in January 2022. They coordinate the efforts of all organisations that tackle flooding to where the risk of flooding and benefits of investment are greatest. They state the objectives, as agreed by responsible authorities, for tackling floods in areas at risk of flooding. Actions that will then deliver these objectives are described and prioritised in six-year planning cycles.

The plans contain proposals for a number of new flood protection schemes. Local authorities are now in the process of preparing Local Flood Risk Management Plans (LFRMPs) which are due to be published by the end of December 2022. The LFRMPs will provide more detail on how, and when, the actions set out in the Flood Risk Management Plans for 2022-2028 will be delivered.

Scottish Forestry is leading a review of the UK Forestry Standard in partnership with the other UK administrations. Stakeholders are currently being consulted on a revised draft of the Standard which includes a proposed reduction in the maximum threshold for use of a single species from 75% to 65%. This change will help enhance the resilience of Scotland’s forests to a changing climate and increasing threats of pest and diseases. It will not alter the balance of objectives and does not change the proportion of fast growing conifers that can be used.

The Scottish Forestry Strategy is based on the international principles of Sustainable Forest Management which require all forests and woodlands to contribute to biodiversity. Of the six Priorities for Action in the Scottish Forestry Strategy the following three promote the safeguarding biodiversity as well as priority species and habitats:

• Increasing the adaptability and resilience of forests and woodlands,
• Enhancing the environmental benefits provided by forests and woodlands.
• Expanding the area of forests and woodlands, recognising wider land-use objectives;

The Scottish Forestry Strategy emphasises the importance of taking wider land use objectives into account when expanding our woodlands and forests, and one of the key objectives considered is when doing so is food security, which is further recognised in wider Scottish Government Strategies and Plans.

The Strategy also states that ‘we will focus on achieving greater integration between forestry and other land-based businesses, such as crofting, farming, and estate management’. The latest Forestry Strategy Implementation Plan (2022-2025), includes actions to promote greater integration of land use including the farmer-led

Integrating Trees Network which promotes the benefit of woodland creation on farms, such as providing shelter for livestock, enhancing biodiversity and a source of income.

The decision to escalate or de-escalate an NHS Board is based on a combination of evidence. Escalation addresses complex issues and an element of judgement will always be required. In order to support robust decision-making in this sphere, the Scottish Government regularly convenes the National Planning and Performance Oversight Group which considers a range of data and intelligence relating to the delivery of health and social care across Scotland and the performance of our health boards. Should there be a requirement to escalate any additional NHS Boards, for any reason, I will update Parliament in the first instance.

Work has been undertaken throughout 2022 to scope a Clyde Metro Programme Level Business Case. This is being undertaken collaboratively, led by Transport Scotland and its partners Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. A Delivery Plan will be prepared following the completion of the Programme Level Business Case.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The New Scots Core Group brings together key stakeholders and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing progress against the overarching outcomes of the strategy. The Core Group is chaired by Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow.

The Core Group usually meets four times a year. This year, the group undertook a two-part workshop in January and February, as part of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project. The Core Group then met in June and in October, with the final meeting of the year set to take place in December.

The workshops in January and February were run by our external evaluator and looked at the Theory of Change for the New Scots strategy as part of the external evaluation. Details of these workshops will be made available in a wider ScotCen evaluation report which is due to be published in March 2023.

We will publish the minutes from the Core Group’s June meeting shortly.

Current COVID-19 priorities include Test and Protect, vaccinations and PPE provisions.

In line with the Test and Protect transition plan, testing remains in place to support patient treatment and care, protect those in highest risk settings, monitor prevalence and the risk of new variants, and respond to outbreaks.

Covid-19 and extended flu vaccination programmes also continue to provide protection for at-risk cohorts and to help control the spread of the virus. Vaccination programmes may also require acceleration depending on Covid-19 prevalence.

Similarly, PPE provision continues to be informed by infection prevention and control guidance. NHS NSS currently hold sufficient pandemic PPE stock to supply NHS Scotland well into 2023-24 based on current usage rates. Social Care PPE provision continues to be available in case of emergency PPE being required and for unpaid carers and personal assistants.

There have been a number of significant changes to Public Health policies in relation to Covid over the summer, resulting in the profile of Covid spend reducing significantly compared to when funding was provided to IJBs.

In response to this, surplus Covid reserves will be redistributed across the sector to meet current Covid priorities, including Test and Protect and PPE provisions.