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We recognise the significant impact on people, businesses and communities in areas affected by storm Babet. The Scottish Government is committed to playing its part in helping them through this horrible experience which has destroyed so many people’s property and belongings and established the Storm Babet Ministerial Taskforce to co-ordinate its support for local recovery efforts.

The package of support Scottish Government is providing includes Flood Recovery Grants to assist people whose homes and businesses have been flooded; initiating the Bellwin Scheme to help all Councils cover eligible expenditure for urgent repairs; grants for farmers affected by severe flooding in parts of Scotland to help repair man-made flood banks; and an additional £100,000 for Angus Council’s homelessness prevention efforts to help those families who have lost everything to resettle and rebuild their lives.

Letters offering additional funding have been supplied to each Storm Babet local authority within the red warning area for rain. Residents and businesses impacted can claim grants of £1,500 for damage to their homes and property, businesses can claim £3,000, and should contact their Local Authority for advice.

Details on the Flood Recovery Grants were posted on social media and published on the Scottish Government website on 30 November 2023. The grants and information on how to apply were also publicised on Local Authority websites.

Across Scotland, safety cameras are deployed through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme primarily at locations where they have the greatest potential to reduce injury collisions, and where there is evidence of both collisions and speeding.

National management of the Programme is shared between Transport Scotland and Police Scotland. Operational delivery of the Programme is the responsibility of Police Scotland and is managed through three regional Safety Camera Units, North, East and West. The following data is based on information submitted by Police Scotland to Transport Scotland.

The Renewables Installer Finder tool, funded by Scottish Government, provides information on Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified companies who operate in Scotland and wish to list their information on the tool. The tool can be found at: Renewables Installer Finder (est.org.uk) According to the MCS, the certified companies typically have, on average, an estimated workforce of three installers. Since MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement for heat pump contractor companies, these figures will not capture all companies in Scotland.

The pace of the Heat in Buildings transition requires a substantial growth in supply chains, including heat pump installation and maintenance. Supporting Scotland’s current and future workforce to develop the skills needed for the net zero transition is a priority for this government. Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan sets out practical steps that we will take to support the growth of the green heat sector. We continue to work in partnership with the sector to ensure that the appropriate support and training provision are aligned at a local level with business needs and future local demands.

Training provision is available across both the public and private sector with scope to increase capacities to match increase in demand. In many cases, existing workers can be upskilled through relatively short training courses. For example, there are currently 4475 businesses listed on the Gas Safe Register in Scotland, with 8651 distinct engineers in Scotland qualified to work on domestic central heating. Many of these engineers will be capable of transitioning to heat pump installations through short training courses.

The consultation on a Heat in Buildings Bill will help to provide the certainty that industry has asked for to invest in skills. Ministers will host a supply chain round table as part of the consultation, to hear from the supply chain directly.

Our consultations on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill and a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard are designed to reduce emissions and improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s buildings – helping to deliver a just transition that protects those living in fuel poverty by reducing their energy bills.

We are asking for views on a minimum energy efficiency standard for privately-owned homes and rental properties. This standard would not need to be met by owner occupied homes that have ended their use of polluting heating by 2033.

For those that do need to meet the standard, they could do so by installing a list of straightforward measures (such as loft insulation and draught-proofing) or, alternatively, based on the result of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment.

The list of measures would prioritise those that could have most impact on reducing a home’s energy demand and therefore energy bills, with the lowest amount of cost and disruption.

According to the most recent representative data from the Scottish House Condition Survey conducted in 2019, the number of dwellings that do not meet the current EPC C or better are:

• Owner occupied: 910,000
• Private rented: 187,000
• Social rented: 281,000

We estimate that a majority of homes would need to take no or very limited action to meet the proposed standard because they will have either already installed as many of the proposed list of measures as are appropriate or possible for their property type, or already meet the minimum level of fabric efficiency. We are undertaking further analysis to quantify the total number of properties across all tenures that will need to take action.

Some homes will have specific characteristics which might affect their ability to meet the standard. For example, traditional properties, which make up a significant proportion of Scotland’s homes and buildings, may have different requirements based on their construction type, location or status (e.g. listed buildings). We are working with partners, including Historic Environment Scotland, to find the best solutions for these buildings while being sympathetic to their character and features.

The Scottish National Investment Bank (the Bank) is extensively engaged in work to understand the market gaps and areas of opportunity in the offshore wind supply chain.

Details of each of the Bank’s investments are published online in the Bank’s portfolio webpage. This webpage provides a breakdown of the Bank’s investments by primary mission and also provides further details on each investment such as listing any co-investors and a summary of what the investment will achieve.

The Bank has, to date, made investment commitments of £463.2 million across 29 investments. As the Bank’s Impact Report 2023 sets out, from launch to 31 December 2022 these investments have generated approximately 1.8 GWh of renewable energy, powering the equivalent of 472 homes in a year.

The Bank has concluded a number of offshore wind supply chain investments.

The £35m investment into the Port of Aberdeen (concluded in January 2022) to support the development of the new South Harbour facility. This expansion will provide greater land and water access for offshore wind developers, playing a vital role in the ScotWind supply chain.

The £50m investment into North Star Renewables (concluded in December 2022), as part of a wider £140m finance facility, to build service operation vessels. These vessels are critical in supporting the installation, operation and maintenance of wind farms as they increase in size and distance from shore.

Furthermore the Bank’s £6.6m investment in Verlume (concluded in April 2023) demonstrates the importance of innovative technology in supporting offshore wind developments. Verlume uses intelligent energy management to deliver a constant output of power from renewable sources and minimises energy loss from electricity generated from offshore wind.

NHS Grampian is responsible for providing care in its area and making any assessment of the impact supporting refugees and asylum seekers has had on local health services.

The extent of any potential pollution in the Grangemouth area would be dependent on the extent and depth of any flood event and any damage caused.

The 2009 Flood Risk management Act allocates clear roles and responsibilities for managing flood risk in Scotland. In accordance with this the Scottish Government works in in partnership with local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring local accountability by leading on the preparation of local flood risk management plans, which supplement the national strategies prepared by SEPA and ensure actions are locally targeted and delivered.

The Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme is exceptional in terms of scale and financial cost. As such it requires careful consideration and the Scottish Government will continue to work with Falkirk Council to ensure that the scheme brought forward delivers for the local community and economy.

Public Health Scotland records inpatient admissions to hospital as a result of a dog attack.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21589 on 5 October 2023, which contains data from Public Health Scotland on the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog attack (bite or strike) was recorded, from 2010 to 2022, in Scotland.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W- 23353 on 14 December 2023, and reiterate the points made in that response.

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