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The Scottish Government is grateful to Special Constables who are an integral part of Police Scotland’s workforce mix.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on Police Scotland’s Special Constable programme. Statistics on Special Constable numbers and recruitment are a matter for the Chief Constable.

Whilst Police Scotland are actively recruiting they have in recent years focused their investment on fully trained Special Constables who are willing to deploy regularly and able to fully support officers in our communities.

As I announced in my statement to the Scottish Parliament in December 2021, the publication of Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan sets out our ambitious objectives aiming to improve the overall condition of Scotland’s water environment from 66% currently classified at good condition to 81% by 2027. Our position has not changed and the Scottish Government remains committed to meeting this target. In comparison, England’s water environment is currently classified at 16% in good ecological status only.

I am grateful to WWF Scotland for this contribution to the important discussion on how we cut emissions from our homes and buildings while – critically - ensuring a just transition for all households. The WWF is an important stakeholder, and a strong supporter of the outcomes that the Scottish Government is determined to achieve. The report aligns with our focus on the importance of energy efficiency and on heat pumps and heat networks. Our targets are ambitious, given the seriousness of the climate emergency and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. We will continue to do everything in our power to meet these targets, and to make Scotland’s homes more comfortable and affordable to heat.

Scotland’s homes and buildings currently account for around a fifth of all our greenhouse gas emissions, and we are committed to taking bold, ambitious steps to ensure we reduce these emissions to meet our climate obligations. Our Heat in Buildings Strategy sets a hugely ambitious vision to cut carbon and improve energy efficiency across Scotland’s homes over the coming years and the report notes that the policies and targets set out in the Strategy will meet our overall objective for 2045.

We recognise that this is a decisive decade for action which is why, since the Strategy was published, we have been working to support and speed up the delivery of zero direct emission heating systems: ensuring the sector is ready to accelerate and that households have the appropriate information, financial support and incentives to switch to climate-friendly heating systems. I look forward to consulting on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill in the coming months, and seeking views on our plans for regulation to accelerate green heating installation and higher energy efficiency standards in Scotland’s homes and buildings.

The Scottish Government remain committed to making regulations which will enable marriages to change to civil partnerships. As part of this work, we need to ensure that as well as providing mechanisms so marriages can change to civil partnerships, provision is made to protect couples’ rights and responsibilities. Some of these rights and responsibilities are reserved which is why we need consequential legislation at Westminster. The UK Government is considering our proposal for an Order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998.

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce will publish the interim report in spring this year. This report is one of a number of documents relating to Heat in Buildings that will be published this year, such as the Consultation on Proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, introducing powers to create a regulatory framework which drives energy efficiency and zero direct emissions heating across Scotland’s building stock.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving ferry services for our island and remote communities and I am open-minded to all practical and affordable proposals from our ferry operators to address current operational challenges.

I have previously approved time charters of the MV Arrow to add resilience and capacity to both the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of homes in the South Scotland region delivered through the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, broken down by local authority area.

The homes provided through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.

The following table provides a breakdown of the spend on the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund in the South Scotland Region each year since its introduction in 2016-17, broken down by local authority area. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and others while complementing the significant delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords in rural and island areas .

The Scottish Government does not hold information on work being carried out in either new or old housing developments to support bat conservation.

All bats in Scotland are protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 and therefore any development work, including housing, has to take into account the conservation and protection of the species and ensure that there will be no adverse impacts on their conservation status.

In the 2021-22 Programme for Government and as part of the Bute House Agreement, the Scottish Government committed to undertake an in-depth analysis to better understand our energy requirements as we transition to net zero. Following a procurement process, EY was appointed as independent contractor to carry out this work and an independent panel provided challenge and scrutiny. Independent Panel members have globally recognised expertise across the oil & gas industry, climate science, the energy sector and Scotland’s economy. They are Laura Cozzi: Chief Energy Modeller, International Energy Agency; Professor Gabi Hegerl: Chair - Climate System Science, University of Edinburgh; Professor Paul de Leeuw: Director of the Energy Transition Institute, Robert Gordon University and Professor Mairi Spowage: Professor of Practice and Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute. Whilst they provided feedback on the outputs and reports throughout their preparation, the panel has remained entirely objective and the report in no way represents the views of the respective panel members themselves, or of their institutions.

Work is now complete and the analysis, which includes a detailed assessment of oil and gas production in Scotland; a study of energy demand; and assessment of the just transition implications of the energy transition has been published on the Scottish Government website today. This work is a significant contribution to the evidence base for future policy making and we are therefore extending the consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan by five weeks, to 9 May, to allow stakeholders sufficient time to engage with this material.