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Insights gathered to date indicate that families find it difficult to navigate the childcare system. In response we have been considering what a digital service to simplify that process might look like.

The Scottish Government has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Danish Government to promote collaboration on zero emissions heat, heat networks and energy efficiency, plus onshore and offshore wind energy and hydrogen economy.

In September 2023, I led a trade delegation of Scottish companies to Denmark to promote the Scottish renewables sector, exchange best practice, and develop key stakeholder relationships.

During meetings with the Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Parliament’s Climate, Energy and Supply Committee the onus on developers to provide meaningful community support, engagement, and benefit was discussed. In meetings with industry, this was further raised, with me impressing the importance of developers needing to develop proposals that deliver lasting tangible benefit to local communities when proposing new projects.

I was interested to hear about the work taking place in Denmark on cooperative and community ownership. Scottish Government officials are working with Danish Government officials to share lessons and better understand the Danish model, to inform Scottish Government thinking.

The Scottish Government recognises that bycatch and entanglement in any type of fishing gear can pose a risk to our iconic marine life and we remain committed to continuing to tackle this issue in our waters through our various domestic and international obligations. Relying on observer monitoring programmes and mandatory reporting already underway to record bycatch and entanglement events across the fishing fleet, we will build on the proactive steps that industry has taken in this area to explore effective measures that can be taken to minimise such instances. The Future Catching Policy will review technical measures which are already in use through both regulation and voluntary good practice as well as any promising, innovative solutions to determine potential improvements.

Using our core stakeholder engagement group, FMAC and our dedicated Future Catching Policy Subgroup, we intend to host technical and spatial workshops to develop a suite of measures in step with Scotland's unique and diverse geographical and fishing challenges and on a fleet segment basis, to avoid blanket approaches to technical measures and ensure a more tailored and effective suite of measures which match the unique issues faced by each fleet segment. Once we have developed a suite of measures collaboratively with stakeholders we will then consult again before taking forward legislation to implement these measures.

I refer to recent answers regarding the Clydebridge site in Cambuslang, in particular my answers to written questions S6W-17169 on 4 May 2023 and S6W-17708 on 16 May 2023.

The Clydebridge site is not currently operational and no staff are currently employed at the site. The future of the site, including any plans for development, is an operational matter for Liberty Steel.

Scottish Government maintain an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and have a number of regular meetings with them. We are not aware of any plans to install an electric arc furnace at the Clydebridge site at this time.

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 Scottish Government is providing almost £3 billion in this financial year to help families and households face the increased cost of living. We continue to do everything we can within our limited powers to support those worst affected by the Cost Crisis.

This includes tripling the Fuel Insecurity Fund to £30 million this year, which supports anyone who is at risk of self-disconnection or self-rationing their energy use, regardless of which home they live in or fuel type they use. The Fuel Insecurity Fund continues to be a vital lifeline for many struggling households.

The Scottish Government is also taking action to support longer term ambitions for heat, energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures, including £119m targeted at fuel poor households. This will continue to be delivered through a package of support via long-standing programmes that have already supported over 150,000 households in or at risk of fuel poverty.

With subsidised support under the Energy Price Guarantee ending in July, the UK Government now has the means and opportunity to provide targeted support for those that need it the most. As the UK government holds the necessary levers, the Scottish Government has consistently called for the provision of meaningful, targeted support to those who need it most – which is why we support the call for the introduction of a social tariff to help the most vulnerable in our society.

Where house or pet-sitting does not involve payment for services, or other commercial considerations such as benefits in kind, that activity is classed as an ‘informal arrangement’ between individuals. There is no requirement for a short-term let licence.

Where that activity is performed as a paid service by a professional, there would be no requirement for a short-term let licence - if the accommodation is provided for the principal purpose of facilitating the provision of work or services by the guest.

Home exchanges are within scope of the short-term let licensing legislation - they include a commercial consideration in the form of a benefit in kind. The mandatory set of safety standards at the heart of the scheme, such as gas safety certificates and appropriate electrical equipment, still apply to homes being swapped. Anyone interested in using accommodation will wish to be assured that it meets required standards. Additionally, it is beneficial for ‘home swappers’ allowing guests to use their home to be able to advise those guests that the accommodation is licensed and complies with relevant conditions.

The Scottish Government-funded Farm Advisory Service (FAS) is and will continue to offer a range of high-quality generic and bespoke consultancy and specialist advice to Scottish farmers, crofters, and land managers. This includes advice on sustainable practice at its core.

Current and future advisory services will be monitored and contractually required to prioritise inclusion and accessibility for all support, including the uptake of sustainable practices.

The Scottish Government is open to the use of technological advances to improve the selectivity of fishing gears, including static gear, within our inshore waters. We intend to use the fora of our FMAC Group and the RIFG network to explore how use of such technologies could compliment policy currently being developed.

The Scottish Government is currently supporting the development of a European standard for recyclability and circularity in fishing and aquaculture gear, (CEN/TC 466). This standard will provide guidance and encourage designers, makers and users to adopt best practice and available technologies to ensure that gear stays in use for as long as possible, including retrieval in the event of it being lost.

The following number of people in Scotland made a non-directed kidney donation in the last five years:

Revenue from Council Tax is retained in full by councils and is not part of the Scottish Government’s funding allocation to local government. Council Tax is expected to contribute around £2.9 billion towards the funding of local public services in 2023-24. The consultation has closed, the responses will be considered carefully along with the analysis and no decisions have been taken.