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Independent Licensing Boards are responsible for the day to day administration of the alcohol licensing regime as set out in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”) and associated statutory instruments. While the maximum fee levels for the annual premise fees are set by legislation, discretion lies with each Licensing Board to decide on the fee levels for their own local area.

Fees help to cover the cost of running the licensing system in a board area, including Licensing Board staff costs. Failure to fully provide for the costs to Licensing Boards of operating the alcohol licensing regime risks undermining the objectives of the 2005 Act The absence of any fees, or fees set at too low a level, would create a funding gap that would need to be met from other local authority budgets, to the detriment of other public services. It is best therefore such decisions are made locally and the legislation permits this. In July, Aberdeen City Licensing Board capped the premise licence annual fee to two-thirds of the maximum permitted level for on-sale premises reflecting the situation with Covid-19. The Scottish Government would expect all Licensing Boards to take a pragmatic and sensitive approach to the setting of licensing fee levels at this time.

We are actively looking at how we fully remobilise NHS dental services as soon as possible and we have been increasing the range of dental treatments available with each phase of the remobilisation plan. This has culminated in reintroducing certain aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), including fillings for patients in need of urgent dental care, into NHS practice from 17 August.

All dentists are subject to the same requirements to control the spread of coronavirus and take all reasonable measures to ensure safe practice in the controlled environment that we are currently operating. In a letter to private healthcare providers on 1 June the National Clinical Director and the Chief Dental Officer highlighted the importance of all independent dentists, whether carrying out NHS work or working privately, following the spirit of the route map and supporting key public health measures.

The Scottish Government does not have the power to disband the Nith Navigation Commission.

Scottish Ministers may make Harbour Closure Orders to remove statutory powers from a harbour authority, but it is up to the authority to initiate the process while following appropriate legal advice.

Ports are deemed to be independent commercial entities. Therefore, it is not possible for the Scottish Government to dictate business decisions made by a harbour authority on how its port is run or on how to best utilise its resources.

The Scottish Government recognises that planting more trees on riverbanks is good for water quality, good for fish and good for the climate and natural environment. High river temperatures during the summer are a pressure on wild salmon in particular, and we encourage the improvement of our rivers and burns through riparian tree planting. We have already supported over 500 such schemes through the Forestry Grant Scheme in the last three years.

Through the Marine Scotland River Temperature Monitoring Network Scotland leads the way in providing management tools which are able to pinpoint where rivers are hottest in the summer and where trees can reduce temperature most. Scottish Forestry and Marine Scotland will be working together as part of the development of the Wild Salmon Strategy to increase riparian tree planting in order to protect wild salmon.

We are aware that the restarting of business as usual (non-COVID) disclosure services by Disclosure Scotland in early June has seen some disclosure applications taking longer than during the full lockdown period.

Over the past month, the average processing time for COVID-related PVG applications from registered care services (the category that includes care home staff) has been 6.1 days, with the average processing time for business as usual applications being 9.3 days.

Each year approximately 200 farming businesses are selected for a cross compliance inspection. The 25 businesses that have had a penalty applied to their payments for removing hedgerows represents a very small proportion of the approximately 3000 businesses that have been inspected since cross compliance was introduced in 2005. The value of the penalty and the geographic location (Local Authority) for the 25 businesses are shown in the following table -

The PRS Landlord (non-business) Covid19 Loan was introduced to provide a support option for smaller scale landlords that supports them to work with tenants to manage arrears during the pandemic. The loan is available to landlords not operating as a business who have 5 or less properties available for let. The loan is interest free and repayable over 12 months.

The scheme will be extended in line with the anticipated extension of notice periods within the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act. The existing criteria will remain as at launch except that the scheme will be expanded to allow landlord to apply for loan assistance in relation to up to three let properties, the initial limit was just one let property. Additionally loan repayments will also be scheduled over 24 months.

Throughout the pandemic the messaging from Scottish Government has been clear, that rent remains payable, where tenants can continue to pay they must do so and where tenants’ income or employment has been impacted by Covid-19 they should seek support. We have also been clear that no-one should lose their home as a result of the pandemic and landlords should be flexible with tenants who are facing financial hardship.

The Scottish Government provides support to land managers wishing to create small-scale woodlands through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS). This includes grants for each hectare of new woodland and support for fences and gates, which are often a higher proportion of the cost of small-scale woodlands. More detailed guidance on the financial support to land managers is available at https://forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/forestry-grants

The Forestry Grant Scheme also includes grant options specifically designed for small-scale projects. The Small and Farm woodland option and the Islands woodland option. Up to the end of July this year, of the 1184 tree planting projects supported, 339, or 28%, were small scale and less than 5 hectares in size. A simpler FGS application process for projects under 3 hectares was also introduced in 2018 and Scottish Forestry works with Woodland Trust Scotland to provide additional advisory support for small scale projects through a team of advisors.

An additional £1 million has been made available to support woodland creation in 2020 from the Scottish Government Agricultural Transformation Programme, to support the creation of more farm woodlands, particularly riparian and shelterbelt planting.

The Scottish Government provides targeted grant support for small and medium forestry related businesses through the Forestry Grant Scheme Harvesting and Processing option. This provides support for activities related to woodland creation and to help businesses adapt and recover from the impact of Covid 19.

Normally around £300k per year is available under this option, but this has been increased to £1 million this year to help the forestry sector respond to Covid 19 and increase sector capacity to deliver tree planting. Support is also provided to the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers which allows them to provide training and technical support to their membership and other small businesses involved in small scale processing.

In addition, for the first time a new funding agreement with the UK Government has provided an additional £1 million of funding this year to support tree nurseries that supply trees to Scotland. This support is also provided through the Forestry Grant Scheme and available to tree nurseries and tree seed businesses, which are predominately SMEs, in Scotland, England and Wales.

The map and associated wording on VisitScotland.com makes clear the route begins near Carlisle: “The only tourist route that begins outside Scotland, the Borders Historic Route picks up near Carlisle before passing into the lush countryside of the Scottish Borders.”

The route is also clearly signposted where it crosses the Border at J44 of the M6 with brown tourist signs. Of course visitors may choose to deviate from the route and head to Gretna first.

The driving routes and the accompanying itineraries on VisitScotland.com are suggestions to help visitors make the most of their trip around Scotland. With the increased focus on encouraging visitors to see and do more as part of their trip, VisitScotland is keen to see visitors take in more of our country. These routes can be enjoyed by following them from the official start to the official end point or can help visitors in planning a wider journey.