Seòmar agus comataidhean

The legislative changes recommended by the completed Review of the Storage and Spreading of Sewage Sludge on Land in Scotland are being implemented via the forthcoming Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF) regulations.

The proposed changes are designed to strengthen SEPA powers to ensure effective management practices are implemented and followed by operators within the industry.

A consultation on the proposed IAF regulations is due to be published early next year and stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals relating to sewage sludge.

I am pleased to confirm the publication today of the Scottish Government’s fourth thematic report on implementation progress following Dame Elish Angiolini’s Final Report. This not only includes a narrative, context and additional information about key recommendations but, importantly, also has a tracker showing what progress has been made.

This shows that 55 of the non-legislative recommendations are now complete leaving only 16 non-legislative recommendations still in progress and one to be kept under review.

Through their leadership and commitment, policing partners have delivered major business transformation and service redesign to improve how complaints are handled, bringing greater transparency, fairness and accessibility to systems, policies and processes.

Building on this and as announced in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will introduce a Police Complaints and Misconduct Handling Bill in this Parliamentary year to further strengthen public confidence in policing in Scotland.

I commend Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland for their dedication to this important work.

The report can be accessed here: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781805252610

The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with the culture sector, who have been clear that the impact of rising costs are significantly hampering their ability to recover following the Covid-19 pandemic.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6O-01540 on 16 November 2022, which is available on the Parliament’s website Official Report - Parliamentary Business : Scottish Parliament .

The Scottish Government’s ability to respond to the cost crisis is limited by the inactivity of the UK Government and the financial restrictions of devolution. The Scottish Government budget is largely fixed.

The Scottish Government will continue to urge the UK Government to take a different approach to public finances in order to ensure sufficient support is made available for Scotland’s culture sector.

The Scottish Government intends to lay an affirmative Scottish Statutory Instrument in January 2023 that will seek to amend The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022. Subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, this amendment will extend the deadline by which existing hosts must apply for a short-term let licence from 1 April 2023 to 1 October 2023.

This is a one-off 6 month extension recognising the wider economic circumstances of the cost of living crisis that is placing pressure on existing short-term let hosts and businesses. It will not unduly delay our primary aim of ensuring that all short-term lets across Scotland meet consistent safety standards and are provided by fit and proper people.

Applications for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme can be made through getyournec.scot in all local authorities. Additionally, each local authority is responsible for providing alternative application route(s) for their residents.

The application routes for each local authority in the Highlands and Islands region are outlined in the following table.

A species control agreement (SCA) is a voluntary agreement between a relevant body and a land owner or manager. NatureScot has not issued any species control agreements within that period. Scottish Forestry has issued a single species control agreement for Rhododendron ponticum, while SEPA issued a species control agreement for North American signal crayfish in 2019. The Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) issued four species control agreements for Didemnum vexillium in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

A species control order (SCO) is a compulsory instrument which can be used to compel certain actions in regard to invasive non-native species and these may be used in situations where an SCA has failed. None of the relevant bodies have needed to make a species control order because there has never been a situation where an owner has failed to cooperate with a species control agreement.

Flood Risk Management Plans for the period 2022-2028 were approved by Scottish Ministers in December 2021 and published by SEPA in January 2022. They coordinate the efforts of all organisations that tackle flooding to where the risk of flooding and benefits of investment are greatest. They state the objectives, as agreed by responsible authorities, for tackling floods in areas at risk of flooding. Actions that will then deliver these objectives are described and prioritised in six-year planning cycles.

The plans contain proposals for a number of new flood protection schemes. Local authorities are now in the process of preparing Local Flood Risk Management Plans (LFRMPs) which are due to be published by the end of December 2022. The LFRMPs will provide more detail on how, and when, the actions set out in the Flood Risk Management Plans for 2022-2028 will be delivered.

Scottish Forestry is leading a review of the UK Forestry Standard in partnership with the other UK administrations. Stakeholders are currently being consulted on a revised draft of the Standard which includes a proposed reduction in the maximum threshold for use of a single species from 75% to 65%. This change will help enhance the resilience of Scotland’s forests to a changing climate and increasing threats of pest and diseases. It will not alter the balance of objectives and does not change the proportion of fast growing conifers that can be used.

The Scottish Government proposes to take a phased approach to the alignment with the recast Drinking Water Directive. This prioritises the health based standards that can be implemented now and recognises that some parts of the Directive apply at a later date.

A more detailed description of the approach to alignment is provided in the policy note which accompanies The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2002 (draft). This is contained in the Clerk’s papers for the 32 nd Meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee ( 4647 (parliament.scot) ).

Consultation will be undertaken with relevant stakeholders as the various parts of the Directive are introduced to ensure that they are proportionate and in Scotland’s interests.

This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the Care Inspectorate.