Seòmar agus comataidhean

SEPA has an extensive network of rainfall monitoring gauges across the country and the data collected are available at SEPA’s Rainfall data for Scotland website.

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan is available on the SEPA website. This sets out how water resources will be managed prior to, and during, periods of prolonged dry weather.

SEPA has started publishing a weekly Water Scarcity Report for this year as some parts of the country are already experiencing drier than average conditions. The current report can be found on SEPA’s water scarcity page.

The report uses a range of hydrological and meteorological data to set water scarcity levels across the country. The National Water Scarcity Management Plan explains what the different levels mean in terms of communication with licence holders and further regulatory action.

Scottish Water routinely monitors water levels at abstraction points and will contact public to advise them to use less water where there is a risk of a water shortage. Local Authorities are contacting owners and users of Private Water Supplies to remind them to check on their water supplies to ensure that they are resilient to the impacts of a dry summer.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all survivors of childhood abuse. Through the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) Fund, 29 organisations across Scotland are funded to provide support to adult survivors of childhood abuse including (but not exclusive to) those who have been abused in care.

Future Pathways supports people who experienced childhood abuse or neglect while living in care in Scotland. Future Pathways is fully funded by Scottish Government as part of a wider strategy developed by the Scottish Government to address the legacy of historic abuse in Scotland. A diverse range of survivors are currently receiving support through Future Pathways, including those who attended Fornethy House residential school.

Currently there are no plans for a separate public inquiry into the alleged historic abuse at Fornethy House Residential School. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has the remit to consider the extent to which institutions and bodies with legal responsibility for the care of children failed in their duty to protect children in care in Scotland from abuse, regardless of where that abuse occurred.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with members of the Fornethy House Residential School Survivors campaign group in the coming weeks. My officials will arrange a suitable date and time.

Community Ownership : For the purposes of answering this question Community Ownership is where a community develops owns and operates the renewable energy asset.

CARES Funding : The Scottish Government’s main mechanism for supporting community energy projects is the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) which provides loan and grant funding to assist community groups in developing renewable energy projects which support the growth of community and locally owned energy in Scotland.

Funding for wind energy projects in the last ten years under CARES is as follows:

Crown Estate Scotland manage leasing of the Scottish seabed, and we will ask their Chief Executive to write to you directly with this information.

The Scottish Government are aware of the UK Government Renewable Energy Planning Database which will hold information on the operator of individual sites across the UK. This information can be accessed via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract and the most recent update took place in December 2021.

Scottish Renewables, as the renewable industry representative body in Scotland, hold a directory of their members which may be useful in collating this information. The Scottish Government would also suggest that further detail could be obtained by contacting Scottish Renewables directly.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of profits that are paid out from community benefits from onshore or offshore wind energy projects.

Our updated Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments (2019) continues to promote community benefits at a national level, equivalent to £5k per installed MW per annum index linked for the operational lifetime of the development.

To aid transparency in the community benefits process, the Scottish Government established a voluntary Community Benefits Register, maintained by Local Energy Scotland. According to the Register, as at March end 2022:

• Offshore Wind Community Benefits over the previous 12 months was £149,999.80, representing 0.7% of the total sum of Community Benefits paid across all renewable technology projects and;
• Onshore Wind Community Benefits over the previous 12 months was £22,412,274.49, representing 98% of the total sum of Community Benefits across all renewable technology projects.

Through the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) delivered by Local Energy Scotland on the Scottish Government’s behalf, £14.48 million has been invested since 2011 to support 197 community, locally owned and shared ownership onshore wind projects. The applicant data recorded for the scheme does not allow a straightforward assessment of applicants' organisational structure. However, based on their experience working to support the community energy sector, Local Energy Scotland estimate that the number of projects owned by a bona-fide cooperative is likely to be a very small percentage of the total.

Through the Energy Investment Fund (EIF), delivered by Scottish Enterprise, on the Scottish Government’s behalf £23.1 million has been invested in community, locally owned and shared ownership of onshore wind projects. No cooperatively owned onshore wind projects have been supported through EIF. The Fund closed on the 31 March 2022.

There has been no investment through CARES or EIF in cooperatively owned offshore wind energy projects.

Crown Estate Scotland manage leasing of the Scottish seabed, and we will ask their Chief Executive to write to you directly with this information.

This information is not held centrally for onshore wind projects however the Scottish Government continue to be encouraged by the onshore and offshore wind industries' commitment to developing on Scottish land and in Scottish waters and are aware of some developers establishing headquarters and/or additional offices located in Scotland.

Scottish Renewables, as the renewable industry representative body in Scotland, hold a directory of their members, which may be useful in collating this information. The Scottish Government would also suggest that further detail could be obtained by contacting Scottish Renewables directly.

The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of this report and is considering its conclusions and any actions to be taken, whether nationally or locally, as a result of the research findings. In particular, the information will inform our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as antenatal education, telecare and visiting.

We published our maternity and neonatal visiting guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): hospital visiting guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) which aligns with wider NHS guidance and the lifting of restrictions, and includes advice on partner and sibling visiting.