Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government participated actively in the June 2016 examination conducted in Geneva by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and welcomes the emphasis placed by the Committee to the need for practical action to protect and progress the right to food.

The Scottish Government’s response to the report of the Independent Short Life Working Group on Food Poverty will be published in the near future.

The 2016 Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) Technology survey showed that only 4% of farmers had engaged with the programme. This evidence suggests that the programme has a strong record on delivering for those farmers who have taken part. Our focus now lies on helping more farmers access practical advice on sustainable and profitable voluntary measures.

The UK Climate Change Committee have recommended further steps to assess the effectiveness of Farming For a Better Climate, and we are in discussion with them regarding this.

Control of airspace is reserved to Westminster and governed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It is for Edinburgh Airport to ensure that their Airspace Change Programme complies with all relevant legislation.

We announced the introduction of compulsory soil testing last year, and since then we have been working on the detail with a range of scientific, environmental and industry stakeholders. We are considering options for compulsory soil testing to be part of the package of measures to reduce emissions from agriculture in the Climate Change Plan, the third report on policies and proposals which will be published in draft in January next year.

The Scottish Government grant funds the Energy Saving Trust for a range of transport programmes, which includes fuel efficient driver training sessions. These sessions are promoted to organisations through the local EST transport advisor network and are usually promoted with further advice to businesses on reducing the carbon impact of their transport. Additionally, individuals can book a session through the Home Energy Scotland advice line.

These sessions are free to the participant and up to 3,000 places a year are funded. Each session lasts approximately 50 minutes. Sessions are also available for Electric Vehicle drivers, which last approximately 2 hours. More information is available at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/businesses-organisations/transport/fuelgood-driver-training

While aviation policy is largely Reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government ensures that all its policies are compliant with all legal and international obligations through a robust policy development and impact assessment process including Environmental Impact Assessments and public consultations.

The Scottish Government is encouraging the uptake of agroforestry through a new grant as part of the Forestry Grant Scheme within Scotland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. This is the first time a grant specifically for agroforestry has been available in Scotland. It is also working closely with farming stakeholders to encourage greater levels of woodland planting as part of farming enterprises.

It is for those individual companies wishing to export fish or fish products to the US to seek their own legal advice on compliance with the relevant US regulations.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 require separate collection of dry recyclable materials and, with the exception of specified rural areas, food waste.

Our circular economy strategy “Making Things Last” was published earlier in 2016, and sets out our ambitions and priorities to keep products and materials in high value use for as long as possible. We have set out an ambition for every household in Scotland to have access to a food waste service, and we will be discussing with local authorities how best to achieve that outcome. We will also be working closely with local authorities, including those in rural and island areas, on the implementation of the Scottish Household Recycling Charter, which will make it easier for people to recycle.

As already stated in the answer to question S5W-02631 on 15 September 2016, there is legislation in place to prevent the deliberate killing of marine mammals.

It is a matter for individual companies wishing to export fish or fish products to the US to seek their own legal advice on compliance with the US regulations.