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Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is completely unacceptable.

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament, gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

In the current financial year, Migrant Help and the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance will share over £2.1m to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation. We are also providing funding to Justice and Care to support two Victim Navigators who work alongside Police Scotland's National Human Trafficking Unit; funding to JustRight Scotland to support the work of their Scottish Anti-Trafficking Centre, including the provision of early legal advice to potential victims. Furthermore, we are funding Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland to deliver a long-term support pilot to those recovering and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to provide a national psychological trauma support service to adult trafficking victims.

We will continue to work with partners across Scotland and beyond to provide support to victims and combat those who seek to profit from the exploitation of others.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15719 on 22 March 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16883 on 25 April 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/questions-and-answers

Previously the public were able to report flytipping via two parallel mechanisms: the Dumb Dumpers system (whereby reports could either be made online to Zero Waste Scotland, or via a telephone hotline hosted by SEPA) and to local authorities directly. From 1 April 2023, the public can continue to report incidents to the relevant local authority through local authorities’ existing mechanisms.

The change has been made in order to streamline and reduce confusion about public reporting of flytipping incidents; and to aid more accurate analysis of the scale of flytipping.

A range of evidence gathered by Zero Waste Scotland and SEPA highlighted that the previous approach was no longer fit for purpose and should be reviewed. Analysis by ZWS and SEPA has suggested that reports submitted through the Dump Dumpers system accounted for a small percentage of the total number of flytipping incidents in Scotland and the majority of incidents are reported directly to local authorities. A survey of local authorities, undertaken as part of a review of the previous litter strategy, Towards A Litter-free Scotland, highlighted a range of concerns including duplicated reports, delays and inaccurate location information.

Scottish Government’s 2022 consultation on the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy included the proposal to review the Dumb Dumpers system to ensure a fit-for-purpose mechanism for citizens to report flytipping incidents. Only 30% of respondents, and 18% of local authority respondents, supported the system’s continued use.

The recent streamlining of reporting mechanisms will not change how incidents of flytipping are investigated, which will continue to be the joint responsibility of local authorities and SEPA with local authorities handling the majority of cases.

The Scottish Government continues to work with our delivery partners across Peatland ACTION to tackle the many barriers to upscaling peatland restoration in this relatively young sector.

Recent progress to address contractor availability and skills shortages include:

• NatureScot published a Technical Compendium in November 2022 which includes guidance on how to restore peatland; this is direct response to a call for greater standardisation which will help contractors to specify and plan works more efficiently
• A variety of skills initiatives are underway including: on-site demonstration days; a newly launched peatland restoration training course; on-the-job new entrants initiative; and targeted training on topics such as Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) tendering.
• A Peatland Skills, Capacity and Training Group has been established which brings together partners from the Peatland ACTION delivery partners, Skills Development Scotland, LANTRA, Confor, Scotland’s Rural Collage and the James Hutton Institute to develop a collaborative approach to addressing the skills shortages.

Peatland restoration is an industry in its infancy – it is only a few years old and has not yet developed significant supply capacity.

The £250 million multi-year government commitment entered into as part of the Bute House Agreement has increased confidence in the private engineering sector to invest in the people, machinery, skills and training needed to increase delivery capacity, is helping to increase capacity and output, and we expect that trajectory to continue.

The Scottish Government have no plans to remove non-native species from the Forestry Grant Scheme. We are currently consulting on the future Forestry Grant Scheme and seeking views on increasing biodiversity outcomes. Non-native fast growing species are very efficient at locking up carbon quickly, and therefore make a valuable contribution as part of a mixed portfolio, to the Scottish government commitment to reach net zero by 2045. Support is currently in place for all types of native woodland creation and opportunities to create native woodland are maximised through the Forestry Grant Scheme.

Our Sustainable Forest Management practices, ensure all woodland types need to conform to the UK Forestry Standard, and also provide a wide range of other environmental, social and economic benefits such as flood mitigation, health, recreation and biodiversity benefits. In relation to economic benefits, non-native species are the key element of Scotland’s thriving forestry sector and timber industry which contributes over £1 billion a year to the Scottish Economy and employs over 25,000 people in rural areas. Therefore it is essential that we continue to plant the right tree in the right place to deliver multiple benefits and create resilient woodlands for future generations to enjoy.

I previously wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee setting out my current thinking on earnings arrestments. A copy of the letter addressed to the Convenor of the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 15 March 2023 can be found on the Scottish Parliament website.

The Scottish Government does not seek to replicate the work of the Cass Review. However, as we have previously stated, the interim findings of that Review continue to be closely considered by both Scottish Government and NHS Scotland, alongside broader national and international evidence. As part of this, officials and senior clinicians from the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have also met with Dr Cass and members of the Cass Review team to discuss respective approaches.

Our Strategic Action Framework for NHS gender identity service improvement includes a commitment to support the establishment of nationally commissioned Young Person’s Gender Identity Service. Discussions and scoping with NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to consider current and future national provision, are ongoing.

Over the last year, the Managed Service Network for children and young people with cancer (MSN), reviewed the Psychology, Physiotherapy and Dietetic Resource. As a result, we agreed to make the existing provision of psychological service permanent to provide certainty and ensure young people have access to psychological support.

In addition, the Scottish Cancer Network, alongside the MSN, is currently undertaking a broader workforce mapping exercise and have established a short life working group to support this. The MSN’s review will be considered by the short life working group. This group, who will complete their mapping exercise this year, will specifically look at how we can upskill our current workforce as well as looking at wider service needs within this population group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .