Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18660 on 13 June 2023. 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

Reflecting that commercial deployment of 5G is ongoing and that telecoms remains reserved to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Government has no current plans to establish a 5G infill programme.

As set out in our 5G Strategy for Scotland, our policy approach on 5G is currently focused on maximising public and private sector use of the technology to ultimately realise social and economic benefits. This work is being advanced through the work of the Scotland 5G Centre's 5G Innovation Hubs network.

Health Boards are responsible for managing the NHS estate and the issues with RAAC were communicated to them by Health Facilities Scotland at least as early as November 2019. A national survey programme was established to provide additional assurance that all instances of RAAC in the NHS estate are known, that the condition of the RAAC has been properly assessed and that appropriate management plans are in place. The Scottish Government will support Health Boards through this process.

The Scottish Government has directly engaged with justice stakeholders to seek updates on the current position across the justice estate. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) undertakes a regular rolling inspection regime of the buildings in its estate. There is an on-going programme of condition surveys underway to inform the programme of works needed over the short (1yr) medium (2-5yrs) and long (6-10yrs) term to undertake maintenance or remedial work identified on a managed risk basis.

In order to ensure a rigorous assessment in relation to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) the SCTS conducted desk-based and visual surveys of its estate over the summer and is conducting detailed structural surveys of the 10 buildings on its estate that were either constructed or had major works carried out during the time period in which RAAC was in use. These surveys will confirm whether or not RAAC is present in any facility and, if so, its condition and whether any remediation is required. At this point RAAC has been identified in one building – Airdrie Sheriff Court. No immediate signs of risk or deterioration of structural integrity have been identified. SCTS are conducting further work to identify any medium or longer term arrangements that may be required to ensure continued safety. The building is safe and the detailed survey will make recommendations to ensure that remains the case.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) based on their knowledge of the SPS estate, do not believe that RAAC is present within the prison estate. SPS is however conducting a further evidence based scoping exercise to identify any buildings that cannot be categorically ruled out as containing RAAC. Any buildings identified will require further investigation and may need more intrusive testing/inspection by specialist consultants. The initial scoping exercise is due to be concluded by 30 September 2023.

In April 2023, Police Scotland undertook visual inspections of 65 sites across its estate, resulting in 36 sites being confirmed as not containing RAAC. The remaining 29 sites were inspected by structural engineers, and RAAC was confirmed as present at 3 of these sites in Edinburgh, Perth and Baluniefield.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are not aware definitively of any RAAC buildings in their estate, however, COPFS have engaged surveyors to carry out a desktop study of their owned and leased estate. At this stage, of the owned 8 assets, only one; Dumbarton, may fall within the RAAC age band, suggesting it may require further investigation.

The Scottish Government’s response to PQ S6W-21348 on 27 September 2023 provides the member with a response to the question “To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of any fire station buildings that contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)”.

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

Despite the most difficult public spending environment since devolution, we maintained college resource budgets for 2023-24 at 2022-23 levels. The Audit Scotland report highlights that challenges and opportunities lie ahead as a result. The Scottish Funding Council also provided greater flexibility in the funding for colleges for academic year 2023-24.

On 13 September 2023, at the initiation of the Scottish Government, Ministers and senior officials from across the UK met to discuss single use vapes. They discussed the available evidence, recognised shared challenges, and committed to work together on a range of options to tackle the impacts, up to and including a ban.

The Scottish Government has engaged on the issue of single use vapes from an early stage with governments across the UK, acknowledging the potential impact of the Internal Market Act, and indicated the potential future requirement to raise relevant issues related to the Internal Market Act for consideration within the Resources and Waste Common Framework.

On 13 September 2023, at the initiation of the Scottish Government, Ministers and senior officials from across the UK met to discuss single use vapes. They discussed the available evidence, recognised shared challenges, and committed to work together on a range of options to tackle the impacts, up to and including a ban.

The Scottish Government has engaged on the issue of single use vapes from an early stage with governments across the UK, and indicated the potential future requirement to raise relevant issues for consideration within the Resources and Waste Common Framework.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the restoration of 250,000 hectares of degraded Scottish peatlands by 2030. Earlier this year the First Minister’s policy prospectus ‘New Leadership - A Fresh Start’, reaffirmed this commitment with an interim target -promising to deliver up to 110,000 hectares of restored peatland by 2026.

As well as our commitment of £250 million of funding over ten years, through our Private Investment in Natural Capital programme, we are working to attract increased private investment in peatland restoration as a nature-based solution for climate change and biodiversity loss.

We are fully committed to delivering the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste on 31 December 2025. As part of preparations for the ban, we are continuing to support and work with those local authorities without a solution for their residual waste when the ban comes into force, to ensure they can comply with the ban.

I met with Argyll and Bute Council on 26 July 2023 to discuss possible options to overcome challenges in complying with the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste associated with their public private partnership contract for waste services.

Discussions between Scottish Government, SEPA, and Argyll and Bute Council are ongoing and we will continue to work with the council in relation to these challenges.

We recognise the financial challenges facing colleges and understand the need for greater flexibility in college sector funding. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) implemented a series of flexibilities for colleges in both academic years 2022-23, and 2023-24.

The Scottish Government and SFC are working with the sector to explore whether there are further flexibilities that could assist the sector in the short to medium term, while ensuring robust public accountability is safeguarded.