Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the question S6W-02013 on 22 August 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 .

I refer the member to the question S6W-01692 on 16 August 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 .

I refer the member to the question S6W-01692 on 16 August 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 .

Scotland’s councils have been allocated an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government finance settlement.

Furthermore in 2020-21, the Scottish Government replaced £972 million of Non-Domestic Rates Income for the cost of COVID-19 reliefs with additional General Revenue Grant of the same amount, effectively protecting this important income stream for local government and at the same time providing rates relief for businesses. In 2021-22 the Scottish Government replaced a further £726 million of Non-Domestic Rates Income with additional General Revenue Grant of the same amount for the same reason.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. Local authorities must use their resources as efficiently as possible and deliver services effectively to ensure the best possible value. Decisions on the level of reserves and how reserves are used, are also rightly the responsibility of individual councils. In light of this, how much of this additional funding local authorities have allocated and to which services is not yet available and similarly how much remains within local authority reserves is not held by the Scottish Government. All of this information will be provided in the annual Local Financial Returns (LFRs) which individual local authorities complete and return to the Scottish Government. The summary of these returns is subsequently published on the Scottish Government's website.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to the decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet, including vehicles used in the Government Car Service.

The 2019/20 Programme for Government outlined our commitment to phase out the need for all petrol or diesel cars in the public sector fleet by 2025 and for all other new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. Investment in ultra-low emitting and electric vehicles is necessary to meet that commitment.

Prior to procuring any replacement vehicles, evaluations and trials are conducted to identify potential future options for fleet replacement. This approach identifies vehicles that are fit for purpose, meet current and expected future business requirements and ensure that the Scottish Government continues to honour its commitment to decarbonisation.

At the time they were purchased, Tesla Model 3s had been identified as the most suitable fully electric vehicle capable of meeting operational needs. The Scottish Government will continue to investigate available options before purchasing any further vehicles for its vehicle fleet.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01690 on
‎ 16 August 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

From 2017 to the end of 2021 we have received a total of £194.8m in EU Exit preparation consequentials.

Spend, both in preparation and post-EU Exit, has been on staff supporting activities such as legislative preparations, and supporting stakeholders and partners, including businesses, cultural bodies, higher education institutes, local government and the third sector.

We have consistently targeted our spending responsibly and appropriately to mitigate against the negative impacts of exiting the EU and this last year we have allocated our spend to deal with the concurrent impacts of Covid and EU exit. An example of this is the £100m Winter Support package which was announced to support those on low incomes, children, and people at risk of homelessness or social isolation in coping with winter weather and the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and Brexit.

One of the three overarching objectives within Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-29 is to Increase the contribution of forests and woodlands to Scotland’s sustainable and inclusive economic growth , with Improving efficiency and productivity, and developing markets identified as one of the six priority areas for action.

Scotland’s Forestry Strategy Implementation Plan 2022-22 includes a commitment to: Support the Scottish Forest and Timber Technologies Industry Leadership Group to deliver its strategy “Roots for Further Growthand increase the sector’s contribution to inclusive economic growth ; and a further commitment to: Work with construction industry professionals and others to identify opportunities to increase the use of wood products in construction .

As part of the current Programme for Government, we are committed to increasing the annual volume of Scottish timber going into construction from 2.2 million cubic meters in 2018 to 2.6 million cubic meters by 2022. We are working in partnership with the forestry sector to deliver this target by supporting research into timber engineering, increasing the understanding of timber as a building material among architects and supporting efforts to increase demand for home grown wood products through the Wood for Good initiative.

No meetings with Yes.scot campaign employees have taken place with the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, or Special Advisors.

No meetings have taken place with The National and the Sunday National since the beginning of the current parliamentary session.