Community Ownership : For the purposes of answering this question Community Ownership is where a community develops owns and operates the renewable energy asset.

CARES Funding : The Scottish Government’s main mechanism for supporting community energy projects is the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) which provides loan and grant funding to assist community groups in developing renewable energy projects which support the growth of community and locally owned energy in Scotland.

Funding for wind energy projects in the last ten years under CARES is as follows:

Crown Estate Scotland manage leasing of the Scottish seabed, and we will ask their Chief Executive to write to you directly with this information.

This information is not held centrally for onshore wind projects however the Scottish Government continue to be encouraged by the onshore and offshore wind industries' commitment to developing on Scottish land and in Scottish waters and are aware of some developers establishing headquarters and/or additional offices located in Scotland.

Scottish Renewables, as the renewable industry representative body in Scotland, hold a directory of their members, which may be useful in collating this information. The Scottish Government would also suggest that further detail could be obtained by contacting Scottish Renewables directly.

Crown Estate Scotland manage leasing of the Scottish seabed, and we will ask their Chief Executive to write to you directly with this information.

The Scottish Government are aware of the UK Government Renewable Energy Planning Database which will hold information on the operator of individual sites across the UK. This information can be accessed via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract and the most recent update took place in December 2021.

Scottish Renewables, as the renewable industry representative body in Scotland, hold a directory of their members which may be useful in collating this information. The Scottish Government would also suggest that further detail could be obtained by contacting Scottish Renewables directly.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of profits that are paid out from community benefits from onshore or offshore wind energy projects.

Our updated Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments (2019) continues to promote community benefits at a national level, equivalent to £5k per installed MW per annum index linked for the operational lifetime of the development.

To aid transparency in the community benefits process, the Scottish Government established a voluntary Community Benefits Register, maintained by Local Energy Scotland. According to the Register, as at March end 2022:

• Offshore Wind Community Benefits over the previous 12 months was £149,999.80, representing 0.7% of the total sum of Community Benefits paid across all renewable technology projects and;
• Onshore Wind Community Benefits over the previous 12 months was £22,412,274.49, representing 98% of the total sum of Community Benefits across all renewable technology projects.

We have not funded research on vermiculture in the current Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme (2022-7), nor in its previous programme, (2015-22).

In the previous programme however Scottish Government did fund research on green manure and municipal waste compost as part of a programme to monitor soil and plant nutrients, sustainable soil, and water management, as well as in research projects on alternative approaches to sustainable land management.

The Scottish Government’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS) is available to help support farmers, crofters and land-managers realise their potential through quality, innovative, and largely free advice, and we would encourage businesses to get in touch.

The Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture was published on 2 March 2022. The vision outlines our aim to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

We see opportunities to include more nitrogen-fixing crops in our pasture and arable rotations to reduce our requirements for nitrogen fertilisers and we will be considering how to encourage wider use of nitrogen-fixing crops as we continue to develop the National Test Programme. We would urge all farmers to take up the Programme’s support for soil sampling and analysis under the first phase of Track 1, ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming,’ which aims to help farmers and crofters to prepare their farms to meet the conditions of future agriculture policy and support and is open to all. Further information on PSF is available on the Scottish Government website , including comprehensive guidance for those seeking to get involved.

In line with the waste hierarchy, the Scottish Government’s focus is on measures to promote reusable alternatives. For example, in 2019, Zero Waste Scotland launched its “Trial Period” behaviour change campaign to raise awareness of the benefits and encourage uptake of reusable alternatives to menstrual products. Further information on the campaign can be found here: Trial Period | Zero Waste Scotland .

As part of Scotland’s Baby Boxes initiative, a voucher is included in all boxes to encourage new parents to try reusable nappies. The voucher can be used for a free reusable nappy and a pack of liners.

In terms of recycling absorbent hygiene products, the Scottish Government’s £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund is open. The Fund aims to accelerate progress towards 2025 waste and recycling targets by strengthening and improving local authority recycling infrastructure resulting in improvements to the quality and quantity of material collected. This fund provides scope for local authorities to improve collection of problematic materials, including absorbent hygiene products.

The information in this response has been provided by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS).

The reports listed in the following table are currently being assessed to determine if further quality assurance/peer review is required to ensure data remains valid and useful. This assessment includes liaising with any relevant partner organisations

The Scottish Government does not hold this information broken down by referral type.

I refer the member to the answer to PQ S6W-08279 on 10 May 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

We have continued to monitor and engage with industry. We are aware that the sector is still under unprecedented pressure due to the backlog of pigs and the shortages in skilled labour, compounded by the more recent situation with Ukraine and increased input and energy prices. Given this, I can advise that we have made the decision to further extend the Pig Producers Hardship scheme and the sector will now have an additional £410,000 of support made available, this will bring the scheme total to just over £1.8 million. The scheme extension announcement was made on 9 May.