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I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Disclosure Scotland work closely with organisations regarding supporting children and young people with information on the disclosure processes. This is to ensure that children and young people have the information they need to understand the disclosure process and to inform those supporting them on their journey. This work includes publication of information on supporting learners who have offended and what education practitioners should know as part of a suite of resources available on the Education Scotland website. We also collaborate with Who Cares? Scotland on disclosure matters and have produced some short videos providing information on key areas that have caused concern to care-experienced young people such as application completion and what the consideration for listing (barring) process is. This information is available on the "disclosure scotland" - Who Cares? Scotland (whocaresscotland.org) .

During the formal consideration for listing (barring) process, if Disclosure Scotland identify a potential vulnerability, we will engage with relevant professionals such as social workers, to ensure we are communicating with the individual in the most appropriate and supportive way.

The Scottish Government is looking to launch its consultation on crofting legislative reform in spring this year, as committed to in the Programme for Government 2023-24.

Ministers are actively considering the final content of the Aviation Strategy and expect to publish it in the near future.

It is important to ensure that the content of the Strategy is consistent with other Scottish Government policies that aim to encourage sustainable economic growth and to deliver our commitment to net zero emissions by 2045.

Zero Waste Scotland advise that the information gathered was for individual schools’ use only and cannot be used as an overarching baseline of school food waste data.

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

The health and wellbeing of those who live and work in our prisons is a key priority for the Scottish Prison Service and we continue to work with numerous organisations to offer those in their care a suite of support to address both their addiction and recovery journey.

1. Current reporting incident categories do not align with the above question and make it impossible to answer. SPS do however record instances of those in our care who are believed to be under the influence of substances.

SPS are reviewing reporting processes that should allow this information to be captured in a more robust and accurate manner.

2. Staff are advised in line with Staff Notice 053/17 to follow procedures if they believe they have been exposed to an unknown substance, this includes recording of the incident by way of an Accident at Work.

With regards to the recording of medical attention, NHS are responsible for the release of this information due to patient confidentiality; and in the case of SPS staff members, SPS will record accidents at work, however, it is at the individual’s discretion if they chose to report such incidents, despite advice and guidance detailed in staff notice 053/17.

Zero Waste Scotland advise that the limited participation was likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further information would be available from Zero Waste Scotland.

The statutory minimum walking distances set out in legislation are a long-standing feature of our education system and there are no plans to change them. The Scottish Government published guidance for local authorities regarding home to school transport in 2021.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with representative bodies for local government on education related matters. However, no requests have been made to discuss local authorities’ obligations under section 42 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in the last 12 months. The provision of home to school transport is responsibility of local authorities and decisions about changes to eligibility for free school transport are for local authorities to make, subject to the applicable statutory requirements.

HMP Glasgow will deliver safe and secure accommodation, with maximum possible benefit and opportunity to those who live and work there, as well as the surrounding communities. The new prison will provide a better quality of living environment and enable strong relationships with staff and those in the care of the Scottish Prison Service.

The final design will be concluded in summer 2024, prior to the planned award of the construction contract that is scheduled for autumn 2024. Until the construction contract is signed, time-scales cannot be confirmed.

As shown through the Budget process, the challenging fiscal landscape has necessitated some difficult choices across government. This, alongside the need to strengthen the pipeline of investment, has resulted in the Scottish Government (SG) having to take the very difficult decision to pause the Green Growth Accelerator (GGA) programme.

The SG provided £720k to six local authorities (LAs) in 2021-22 to develop business cases for low carbon projects to test the GGA model and the six projects supported are at varying stages of development. Officials are working with the LAs impacted to explore what alternative funding sources may be available to progress projects where funding exists; including through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund and the Scottish Heat Network Fund.

Additionally, we are building on existing work across Government and recent collaborative efforts across the Government and public sector partners to identify and align investment behind key projects; strengthening relationships at the strategic and operational level to expedite the delivery of major public sector funded infrastructure projects.

We are liaising with the UK Government on its plans for the Green Industries Growth Accelerator to ensure that infrastructure and supply chain for offshore wind are supported via the fund. We are keen to collaborate with the UK Government to ensure GIGA funding is allocated in a way which complements and aligns with Scotland’s energy transition, including our up to £500 million strategic investment over the next five years to help anchor the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland. Through the novel work or our Strategic Investment Model, Scotland is well positioned to ensure the ongoing collaboration between governments and industry identifies key shared priorities to unlock infrastructure investment needed to build a thriving renewables industry for Scotland. We expect more details from the UK Government in due course.