Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09901 on‎ 15 August 2022. 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

There is an existing Ferries Plan in place until December 2022.

The Scottish Government recognises the huge pressures the cost of living crisis is placing on households, particularly on those who rent their home. That is why we have committed to protecting tenants by freezing rents and imposing a moratorium on evictions – at least until 31 March. Our intention is also to take action to prevent immediate rent increases.

We are working at pace to agree expedited processes to deliver any legislation necessary to achieve this with the Scottish Parliament and the UK Government, to ensure these crucial changes are brought about as soon as possible. We will engage with stakeholders and others, as we develop the emergency Bill.

We are taking urgent action to protect tenants in Scotland, well ahead of rest of UK. Our PfG announcements for emergency legislation, is part of our ambitious reform programme for the New Deal for Tenants.

The amendment put forward by Labour back in June was not workable and would have been at much higher risk of legal challenge. We have taken the time needed to ensure that the legislation we bring forward to freeze rents and introduce a moratorium on eviction is legally robust and will ensure tenants are protected.

Our emergency legislation must, by definition, be temporary. But given the huge uncertainty as to what the next 6 months holds, we intend to review very carefully whether and how any measures might be extended; and how what we do now paves the way for longer term reform – which we have already committed to.

A Housing Bill in the year ahead will give new and strengthened rights to tenants, improve affordability, and deliver key policies relating to short term lets and the prevention of homelessness.

Meanwhile, in Wales, the one part of the UK where Labour could actually act as the Scottish Government is acting, we see very little sign of the ambition we have outlined this week or indeed of the ambition to reform renting as we have in Scotland over the last 10 years.

In our 2021-22 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government pledged to take forward work to develop and consult on a ban on the sale of peat-related gardening products as part of our wider commitment to phase out the use of peat in horticulture. We are working with industry to understand exactly where transitional issues lie so that we can remove peat from horticulture. We will soon launch our consultation, which will inform ambitious timescales for phasing out the use of peat in horticulture.

Safety and security on our railways is reserved to UK Government and as such it would be inappropriate for Scottish Ministers comment on enforcement measures. Your office may wish to contact British Transport Police BTP (D-Division Scotland) directly, who can advise on the information you are requesting.

We are aware that employers across many sectors across the country, including, the meat processing sector, are experiencing challenges in attracting and retaining workers. These significant workforce challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic and the impact of Brexit. We are working with business organisations and industry representatives to better understand the challenges we face and to develop mitigating activity, with a focus on employability, skills and fair work, investing an additional £500m over the course of this Parliament to support new jobs and reskill people for the good, fair and green jobs of the future.

However, we do not have control of all the levers we require to support the food and drink sector, including migration. While the UK Government introduced temporary visa routes for pig and poultry workers in the run up to Christmas last year, only a tiny proportion of butchery visas and less than half of poultry worker visas had been issued by mid-December. We continue to call on the UK Government to revise its restrictive migration policy, and to establish a specific Labour Market Shortages Taskforce with the Devolved Governments to enable constructive discussion on the measures required to tackle labour shortages

We have supported many of our abattoirs with grants through the Food Processing, Marketing & Cooperation Scheme. The scheme provides grant funding to businesses (or groups of businesses) within the Scottish food and drink sector which includes the meat processing sector.

Throughput for abattoirs is vital to ensure that plants are fit for purpose and have a viable future, however it is a commercial decision as to what abattoir producers wish to use for processing their animals. As any commercial arrangement is between producers and processors, the Scottish Government does not decide or influence the number of animals processed in a particular plant, which may be to the detriment of others. In addition, the size of the abattoir and its layout and structure will be decisive factor in establishing the abattoir’s throughput.

Changing ownership of an abattoir is an entirely commercial decision, therefore the government has no influence on it. There could be no interested parties in the uptake of the abattoir, as was highlighted in the closure of the abattoir in Orkney, where the local council were also involved, and provided a £50k challenge fund which did not entice anyone to come forward.

In 2019 we commissioned a feasibility study which provides details of what would be required to operate mobile abattoirs in Scotland, including the regulatory framework, and offers a cost-benefit analysis of possible operational models. However, the report also highlights the difficulty in achieving a sustained economic return from a mobile abattoir in Scotland. The full report can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/assessing-viability-sustainability-mobile-abattoirs-scotland/

I met with Cumbrae ferry stakeholders on 1 June 2022 to discuss a range of ferry issues. It was agreed that Transport Scotland and CalMac would consider if books of tickets could be offered to islanders under the new ‘Ar Turas’ ticketing & reservation system.

The intention is to provide users of the Largs-Cumbrae service with the option to purchase a convenience 10-journey ticket product online or at the Largs ticket office. I await an update from my officials in Transport Scotland and CalMac on this matter.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10619 on‎ 26 September 2022. 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

The £300,000 allocated to the Islands Bond this financial year will now be used to shape a range of tests to help inform policy in an islands context, based on the feedback gathered through our engagement on the Islands Bond since October 2021, (including meeting over 100 island residents across 12 island communities in spring 2022).

These Practical Policy Tests (PPTs) will help to inform the development of our action plan to address depopulation as set out in our 2019 National Islands Plan, and also help to inform our future funding requirements so that we can tackle the depopulation challenges across our islands.

This work complements the £8.3 million provided to implement the National Islands Plan in the current financial year. This continues our record of delivering significant investment in key island-based projects, such as our £1.3 million contribution towards the rebuild of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, and the £550K transformational Kerrera Road project.

Annual budgets will continue to be set through the annual parliamentary budget Bill process and the annual budget will be based on the latest fiscal information.

The Scottish wildcat and its breeding places are fully protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 .

All management activity on Scotland’s National Forests and Land is independently certified to international standards of best practice and all Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) forest operations adhere to the principles of sustainable forest management outlined in the United Kingdom Forestry Standard. All FLS work is planned and delivered according to these policies with significant consideration given to all protected species including Scottish wildcats.

At a site level, all operations are carried out in accordance with existing legislation and best practice. FLS directs particular care and attention to avoid deliberate and reckless actions that could impact negatively on wildcats. All work sites are subject to pre-operational surveys by FLS Environment staff and camera traps are routinely deployed for periods of two weeks or more. Where evidence of cats is found, mitigation is enacted. This includes rescheduling of works, such as harvesting, to avoid the wildcat breeding season as specified in FCS Guidance Note 35d: Forest operations and wildcats in Scotland.

Furthermore, FLS frequently seeks advice on mitigation from wildcat experts in NatureScot and Saving Wildcats, and has recently funded research on wildcat biology to inform forest management.

Table 1 presents the gross estimated income from the higher property rate, by property class.

The figures presented are gross amounts and do not take account of reductions in liability due to reliefs awarded in 2022-23. This is due to the application of a £27,500 cap per ratepayer on retail, hospitality and leisure relief in 2022-23 which means that it is not possible for the Scottish Government to robustly estimate the breakdown of net figures by property class.

Figures in Table 1 are broken down by property class as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and may not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

Table 1: Estimated gross HPR income, by property class in 2022-23