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The Scottish Government is contributing up to £2m to the development of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC) at the James Hutton Institute through the Tay Cities Region Deal. The APGC will include vertical growth facilities and perform research on controlled environment agriculture amongst other things.

In July 2021 the Scottish Government agreed a grant of £200,000 to fund an educational vertical farming facility on the SRUC Edinburgh campus at Kings Buildings, to be drawn down in the financial year 2021-2022.

Otherwise, since 2018, no funding has been specifically allocated to vertical farming. The Scottish Government’s next steps for supporting the sector will reflect the evidence gathered on vertical farming in the Local Food Strategy consultation, due to close on the 2nd of December.

In order to understand the role of vertical farming in the context of local food production, the Scottish Government is currently gathering views within our Local Food Strategy consultation. This is due to close on the 2nd of December 2021. Our next steps for supporting the sector will reflect the evidence gathered on vertical farming within the consultation.

We will continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure that we use vertical farming technologies to best effect for the Scottish context.

This Government has a proud record of supporting our rural and land based industries, including our beef producers. From 2018 to now we have supported the industry with a number of schemes including:

The Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme has provided total £118.8 million from 2018 to 2020. An uplift worth £12.67 million was made to this scheme via the convergence payments made in 2020.

The Beef Efficiency Scheme has provided £9.37 million to beef farming businesses since January 2018, while supporting businesses with training events and the use of carbon auditing tools.

The Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) also provides support to specialist beef farmers, for which £144 million has been paid out between 2018 and 2020.

The pilot Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grant Scheme offered financial support to farmers and crofters to purchase specific items of agricultural equipment and technology to support them in the delivery of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions; as well as supporting sustainable farming and land use, improving land and livestock management and encouraging changes to land use to capture more carbon. The scheme proved popular and received 3,735 applications, with over 3,500 applications approved at a total value of £16.95m, of that £10.25m was awarded to 2,267 Suckler beef farmers and crofters.

NHS Boards and Integration Authorities currently spend approximately £9.6 billion across community health and social care. Future year budgets will be determined by the relevant spending reviews and budget processes.

The 2021-22 Programme for Government sets out the Scottish Government's commitment to invest at least £500 million over the life of the Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. We will work closely with The Promise and partners in local government and the third sector to develop the Wellbeing Fund, in line with outcomes from the forthcoming Scottish Budget.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy (7 October) sets out an ambitious policy package to deliver the transition to zero emissions heating, including at least £1.8 billion investment over the course of this parliament to kick-start market growth and support those least able to pay. This includes a minimum of £465 million to support those least able to pay, £200 million to support energy efficiency and zero emissions heat in the public estate, £200 million Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, and £400 million for large scale heat decarbonisation projects. This year we have increased the budget for our Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback Scheme to £21 million. We have also increased the budget for local authority energy efficiency and green heating schemes to £64 million, and for our Warmer Homes Scotland programme targeted at those in fuel poverty to £50 million.

Over the longer term, the Strategy sets out the steps we are taking to develop a market framework that will create demand for zero emissions heating, help consumers overcome investment costs, and help secure private investment. We are committed to phasing out the need for new fossil fuel boilers in off-gas areas from 2025 and on-gas from 2030. We will bring forward legislation during this Parliamentary term which, subject to devolved competence, will include regulatory proposals to require the installation of zero or very near zero emissions heating systems in existing buildings – in both the domestic and non-domestic sectors.

The Strategy identifies energy efficiency, heat pumps and heat networks as near-term strategic priorities. Efficient heat pumps supply renewable energy and heat networks can supply heat from a range of sources. The Scottish Government supports the use of renewable heat in heat networks through a number of mechanisms, including enhanced non-domestic rates relief for networks run from renewable sources. The longer term balance between renewable and other sources of zero emissions heat will be determined by a wider whole systems approach and will be reviewed as part of the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in 2022.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03193 on 4 October 2021. 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
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APD is currently set by the UK Government, with introduction of ADT in Scotland deferred to allow the issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption to be resolved.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a frequent-flier levy. This option was ruled out in the context of a consultation on Air Departure Tax (ADT), on the grounds that it would be disproportionately resource-intensive to administer. The same issues remain now.

The current system of Air Passenger Duty (APD) has the effect of charging tax for each flight purchased, but without the need for recording the number of flights an individual has taken.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has provided final advice on a COVID-19 vaccination booster programme. The primary objective of the booster programme is to maintain protection against severe COVID-19 disease, specifically hospitalisation and deaths, over winter 2021-22, and is aimed at maintaining protection in those most vulnerable and to protect our NHS.

Booster vaccines will be offered to the same groups who were prioritised at the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Winter and Spring 2020-21. Those with asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of systematic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission, as set out in the Green Book will be included in phase 1 of the booster programme.

More information around eligibility for COVID-19 booster vaccines can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) booster vaccination | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

There are a number of Scottish Government programmes that offer a diverse range of training opportunities for people to train, reskill or upskill and access new sectors:

• Employability Fund - offers employability and skills training for unemployed individuals across Scotland. The Employability Fund cease in March 2022 with future associated funding transferring to No One Left Behind.
• Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships – learn on the job to gain the experience people need and work towards a recognised qualification.
• Individual Training Accounts – to help unemployed people or those on low income to develop the skills they need for work or to progress their career. Individual Training Accounts provide learners with a contribution of up to £200 towards a training course.
• National Transition Training Fund - supports people aged 25 and over, who have been made redundant, who are in at risk jobs/or sectors or whose sectors have been most impacted by Covid 19 or EU Exit, to access funded training to help them transition into new employment in growth sectors or where there are regional job opportunities.
• A wide range of short courses at Further and Higher Education level, including online provision, are available through colleges and universities across Scotland. Fully funded courses can be sourced using the Skills Development Scotland’s My World of Work Website course search here: https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/learn-and-train