Seòmar agus comataidhean

There were no substantive changes made to the draft of the Temporary Measures Agreement (TMA) shared with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited (‘Serco’) on 25 February 2022.

The changes amounted to the correction of one typographical error, and the inclusion of a minor drafting clarification.

The answer to question S6W-08058 set out the process whereby Marine Scotland Scientists produce estimates of unwanted catch calculated from information collected by scientific observers on board vessels to contribute to the fish stock assessment process run by ICES. Historically it was assumed this unwanted catch was discarded. With the introduction of the landing obligation, the majority of catch should now be landed, unless the fish are non-quota species or subject to a permitted exemption. In addition fish under the Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS) cannot be sold for human consumption. The scientific observers do not try to differentiate between these different portions of catch, and instead group them together into a single category, called unwanted catch.

In terms of actual quantities of discards, under Article 15 of the retained Common Fisheries Policy (1380/2013) vessels are obliged to record both fish that has been discarded under a permitted exemption and fish below MCRS that is landed. Information on recorded levels of discards under permitted exemptions is provided in response to question S6W-08825 on 8 June 2022.

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 current provisions for felling permissions are set out in the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 and associated regulations, last updated in 2021.

Felling trees for the purposes of carrying out development, authorised by planning authorities, is exempt from the requirement for a Felling Permission. Here the Scottish Government’s Control of Woodland Removal Policy applies.

This policy includes a presumption in favour of protecting woodland. Removal should only be permitted where it would achieve significant and clearly defined additional public benefits. Where woodland is removed in association with development, developers will generally be expected to provide compensatory planting. The Scottish Government has no imminent plans to review its policy on the control of woodland removal.

The Scottish Government published a report to Parliament on 29 March 2022, outlining progress in developing the new Environment Strategy for Scotland ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/environment-strategy-scotland-progress-report-parliament/ ). This report provided a summary of key areas of Scottish Government policy and action that are already contributing to the goals of the Environment Strategy and outlined some of the challenges and opportunities in realising the strategy's vision. The Scottish Government does not plan to publish an additional response to the 'From Rhetoric to Reality: Revisited' report, but remains in ongoing dialogue with Scottish Environment LINK as a valued stakeholder.

In 2022, the National Events Programme, which has now closed for applications, would allow an eligible airshow to apply for EventScotland funding of up to £25,000. EventScotland are supporting the Largs Viking Festival (27 Aug – 4 Sept) and the Making Waves festival in Irvine (22-24 July). Both festivals include an air display as part of their event and are receiving funding via the National Events Programme.

For future years, the Resource Spending Review (RSR) published on 31 May provides a high level direction of travel and sets out Scottish Government priorities. The RSR delivers what certainty the Scottish Government can against the challenging context of the spiralling cost of living, Covid recovery and the Ukraine crisis and within the limits of the fiscal framework. The Scottish Government will work with the events sector and our public bodies on the detail of the spending review and what this means for budgets for individual programmes and projects.

There is already a substantial body of evidence which shows that the areas with the highest levels of deprivation are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to health inequalities. For example, Healthy Life Expectancy data shows that those living in the most deprived communities spend on average 24 years fewer in good health than those living in the least deprived communities. Those in the most deprived areas also die younger and spend more than one third of their lives in poor health. Evidence also shows that the cost of living is considerably higher for households in the lowest income deciles compared to those with higher incomes. These households will therefore be hit hardest by any increases in the cost of living.

The Scottish Government is taking action to offset these challenges and minimise these harms, for example, by tackling child poverty and supporting households and businesses with the cost of living through £22.9 billion for social security assistance, increasing the Scottish Child Payment from £10 to £25 and expanding eligibility by the end of this year, providing universal free school meals to primary school children in P1-5 and expanding provision beyond that and uprating devolved benefits.

The Scottish Government works with other organisations such as Public Health Scotland and other stakeholders to ensure that our evidence base is as up to date as possible and focused on current and emerging priorities and challenges including work to understand the nature and impact of inequalities on health.

We are carefully considering all recommendations made in the report on the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy, and will set out our initial response in June. This includes the recommendation that industry, local authorities and the Scottish Government should do more to make data around waste in general, and around incineration in particular, more transparent and accessible for all stakeholders.

The UK Government regularly publishes data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2 .

Publications include information broken down by devolved administration and local authority area: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority .

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with epilepsy are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Decisions on local staffing requirements are the responsibility of individual NHS Boards, such as NHS Western Isles which is reviewing its method of delivery for all people with neurological conditions, including epilepsy, across the island groups.

The Scottish Government and COSLA recently published a National Workforce Strategy on 11 March 2022. The Strategy commits to publishing new workforce projections in the autumn, once we have had the opportunity to consider Health Board and Health and Social Care Partnerships' three year workforce plans. The staffing needs for services and professional specialties across NHS Scotland will be, in partnership with stakeholders, factored into the development of those projections.

In 2019 we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action 2020-25 , which sets out a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition, including epilepsy, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms. Since October 2020, we have invested £324,500 in funding via the Framework to projects which specifically improve the health and wellbeing of people with epilepsy in Scotland.

The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) continue to work with Health Boards to support their planning and the safe delivery of immunisation services.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HPV and teenage booster programmes were delayed due to school closures. Pupils who were not offered their vaccines or who missed the immunisation sessions at their school, were offered the vaccine during catch-up sessions arranged by their Health Board. Health Boards have confirmed that these catch-up sessions have now been fully completed.

Therefore, all Health Boards have returned to a routine vaccination schedule for HPV and teenage boosters for the 2021-22 academic year.

Public Health Scotland collate data on the HPV vaccination programme for the previous school year every autumn. Data for school year 2021-22 will be collated in autumn 2022 and published in December 2022.

The most recent PHS publications can be found online: Publications - Public Health Scotland