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Oil and gas exploration and production, including licensing, remains reserved to UK Government. Our position on oil & gas licensing is clear , unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations and meeting the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees. Nor is it the right solution to the real cost of living crisis families are facing, when to reduce energy costs we need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This means investing more in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In Scotland, we are encouraging the expansion of renewable energy, as reflected in the lease options awarded to ScotWind sites earlier this year. The 20 ScotWind projects which have secured lease options now total up to 27.6 GW with initial supply chain commitments indicating an average of £1.4bn investment pledged in Scotland per project. This equates to £28 billion of potential investment across the 20 projects. In addition, ScotWind will deliver over £750m in revenues to the public purse for these initial awards alone and several billion pounds more in rental revenues when projects become operational, which will be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

We are also supporting a just transition for our energy sector, Scottish households, and businesses. Instead of licensing more fossil fuel extraction, the UK Government should follow our approach and encourage investment in renewables. This further illustrates the case for Scottish independence to manage offshore energy within Scotland’s waters.

The establishment of a National Care Service (NCS) is the most ambitious reform of public services since the creation of the National Health Service (NHS). It is necessary to deliver the consistency and quality of care and support across Scotland that people deserve, and reinforce our commitment to Scotland’s people to take long term action to change our society and make it a fairer place to live.

The Financial Memorandum set out the range of possible costs for the NCS. Estimates are being constantly monitored and reviewed as new information becomes available.

We recognise that there is an urgent need to make improvements to social care now, and we are not waiting for the NCS to start that process.

We are taking the action we can now to address challenges in social care. We have committed to increase spend in social care by 25% by the end of parliament, helping to lay the groundwork for the NCS.

Our 2022-23 budget confirmed more than £1.6bn for social care and integration to lay the groundwork for the NCS. Any spending decisions made on the NCS service will be backed by rigorous, evidence based decisions.

In April this year the minimum hourly rate for those providing direct adult social care increased to £10.50 an hour.

The Scottish Government transferred £200 million to Local Government to support investment in social care, including to deliver this uplift.

This represents an increase of 4.8% from the £10.02 pay rate that was introduced in December 2021. This is also an increase of 10.5% for these workers in the course of a year – with pay rising from at least £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to at least £10.50 per hour in April 2022.

COP27 finished on 20 November. A statement responding to the outcome of COP can be found here First Minister comments as COP27 concludes - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot ). The Scottish Government will report fully on the First Minister’s visit to COP27 in due course. There is an intention for there to be a parliamentary debate in the coming weeks.

The SPCB is committed to supporting its staff with the cost of living and is putting in place a range of measures to support its staff.  The SPCB believes that this is the right thing to do at this very difficult time, recognising that this is an urgent priority for staff.

The SPCB has agreed to make a cost-of-living payment to support staff who are most in need during this time.  The payment to staff will be made in instalments between December and March with all staff earning £43,662 and below receiving a payment.  Staff earning £32,000 (the average UK full time equivalent salary) and less will receive a higher payment.  This is because research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) demonstrates that staff earning at this level and below are most impacted by cost-of-living pressures.

This approach to making one-off, non-consolidated payments to staff is in common with other employers, including His Majesty the King.

The SPCB is putting in place other measures such as access to independent financial advice and financial wellbeing workshops.

The SPCB has discussed this with its recognised trade union partners and the information has been shared with Scottish Parliament staff.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Our response to the pandemic has always been aligned with public health advice whether locally or nationally. We gradually and cautiously lifted regime restrictions that were necessary and proportionate to protect the health and wellbeing of those who live and work in our prisons. We continue to work through a Transition Plan and focus on restoration of regimes as we move out of the pandemic phase.

There were no prosecutions under regulation 44(1) of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (where main crime) since 1 January 2011.

Please note: The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

There were no prosecutions under section 40(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (where main crime) since 1 January 2014.

Please note: The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

There were no prosecutions under regulation 67 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (where main crime) since 1 January 2012.

Please note: The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

The Scottish Government has made clear to the UK Government our position that to support our just transition to net zero, new offshore oil and gas licenses should be subject to a stringent climate compatibility checkpoint.

My response to the UK Government consultation in March made clear that any credible and effective package of conditionality tests must include both domestic and international dimensions - extending to at least all of the six tests outlined in the consultation document.

The First Minister also called on the UK Government for a four nations’ discussions to agree on a final Climate Compatibility Checkpoint process which was ignored. It is extremely disappointing that the Climate Compatibility Test proposed by the UK Government is limited to new exploration, and that the bar has been set so low in terms of the Test itself. It is a lightweight version of the Test consulted upon earlier this year.

The latest available information on the number of people convicted under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament is provided in the following table.

Number of people proceeded and convicted under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (where main crime) in Scottish courts, 1999-2000 to 2020-21.