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The total number of basic payments made to farmers and crofters by Wednesday 24 February 2016 was 8,846 (49%).

The Scottish Government has agreed to send regular updates on progress to the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs and Environment Committee.

The material that local authorities send to landfill will attract landfill tax, including any disposals arising from the recent flooding events. The Scottish Government has provided a £16 million aid package in response to the flooding, principally providing grants to individuals and businesses but also supporting councils with reparation costs, which might include Scottish landfill tax liabilities.

The Scottish Government currently has no estimate on the quantity of waste material produced, and amount that will be landfilled as a result of the recent flooding events. We will be monitoring the situation closely.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has no plans to put the Museum of Fire collection in storage. The SFRS is committed to finding a new home for the collection in Edinburgh and is currently in discussion with the City of Edinburgh Council and Museums Galleries Scotland to explore possible solutions.

Powers for compulsory purchase of land for the provision of allotments are not included within the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and local authorities will not be able to purchase land for allotments compulsorily once Part 9 of this Act has been implemented. Scottish Government officials are reviewing the position on the need and justification for compulsory purchase of land for allotments, using compulsory purchase orders, and this important work is currently underway.

UK Ministers took powers in the Energy Act 2013 to close the renewables obligation across Great Britain to all new capacity. The UK Government lodged an amendment to the Energy Bill with no prior consultation with the Scottish Government or Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government published a letter from the Energy Minister, Mr Ewing, to the former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, dated 1 November 2013, concerning the closure of the renewables obligation. This can be found at the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/ElectricityMarketReform/Letter01-Nov-13.

The Scottish Government has not made any estimate of how much it would cost electricity consumers in Scotland to maintain the renewables obligation on the basis that we do not have powers to keep the renewables obligation scheme open.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29562 on 9 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

All new staff recruited by the Scottish Government participate in a corporate induction programme that introduces them to the core values of the Scottish Government and gives them the opportunity to explore how these values, including our commitment to human rights, are translated into the development and implementation of policy. This is supplemented by locally-led induction and by spending time with colleagues and stakeholders to build subject-specific knowledge and understanding. As an organisation, we encourage all staff to discuss and plan their learning and development on an on-going basis with their line manager. Our learning support is designed to help people develop their skills and knowledge through experiential learning, classroom based learning and coaching or mentoring support.

Staff providing legal advice have an in-depth professional knowledge of the law of Scotland, including the important human rights dimension to the devolution settlement. Skills, knowledge and awareness are further developed through a combination of on-the-job training and supportive supervision by experienced colleagues, as well as through personal learning which, for example, ranges from the use of regular human rights case updates for Scotland, the UK and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to participation in internal and external seminars and workshops.

Ministers confirmed formally the appointment of Bob Downes as Chair of the Board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and of Martin Hill as a board member, on 15 January 2016. Further details are available at http://www.appointed-for-scotland.org/news.