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An assessment of the conservation status of Atlantic salmon is carried out annually for 173 separate inland water assessment areas, including the 17 Special Areas of Conservation where Atlantic salmon are a primary or secondary qualifying feature. Each assessment area is assigned to one of three grades based on the probability of the stock meeting an internationally agreed conservation limit over a five-year period. The assessment informs regulation that determines where the killing of salmon by fisheries is permitted outside of the spring season. The results of the latest assessment are available on the Scottish Government website - Overview - Salmon fishing: proposed river gradings for 2024 season - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot ).

NatureScot has initiated a project to update the site condition assessment, which includes differing stock components, of the 17 Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland where Atlantic salmon is a qualifying feature, and a final report will be published in due course.

The main expression of genetic diversity of Atlantic salmon in Scottish rivers is when the fish return to the river. Populations of early running fish are assessed to be particularly vulnerable across Scotland and are therefore protected by regulations that prevent the killing of Atlantic salmon before 1 April each year.

District Salmon Fishery Boards and the River Tweed Commission have statutory powers and duties for the protection and improvement of fisheries, and the increase of salmon within their districts. At the national level, the Scottish wild salmon strategy was established in 2022 in response to the long-term downward trend in the number of Atlantic salmon returning to Scottish waters. In 2023 we published the wild salmon strategy implementation plan, which sets out over sixty actions to tackle the wide range of pressures affecting the species throughout their life cycle.

A delivery group oversees and directs the delivery of the strategy and implementation plan and will also review and shape the programme of work considering new evidence and other policy developments. The delivery group is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board, established to coordinate and harmonise research and monitoring activities across science organisations and regulators

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). 87.5% is a very high fill rate for Combined Infection Training ST4 in rounds 1 and 2 of 2023 recruitment. Within that context there will always be a small number of posts that will not fill. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Items may be prescribed within primary care where there is a clinical need with the exception of items listed on Schedule 1 of Part 12 of the Scottish Drug Tariff.

As of 19 December 2023 three local authorities have published final Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES):

• Glasgow City Council
• Fife Council
• West Lothian Council

An additional ten local authorities have published draft LHEES for consultation:

• City of Edinburgh Council
• Clackmannanshire Council
• Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
• East Lothian Council
• Falkirk Council
• Highland Council
• North Ayrshire Council
• North Lanarkshire Council
• Perth and Kinross Council
• Stirling Council

The Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order 2022 places a duty on local authorities to publish their first LHEES Strategies and Delivery Plans on or before 31 December 2023. It is for the local authorities to determine how they will discharge this duty, and whilst we are aware that some local authorities may not publish LHEES by the end of 2023, all of them are working hard to put in place long term local strategies that will set out how each segment of the building stock needs to change to reach net zero.

To support local authorities to develop and publish their LHEES, the Scottish Government published guidance in October 2022, setting out what is required in the production and content of Strategies and Delivery Plans. This was accompanied by long term funding for each local authority of £75,000 per year, committed until 2027/28. The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities, facilitating regular forums and learning events to share knowledge and address key challenges as they develop their first LHEES. In addition, Zero Waste Scotland are providing a series of capacity building workshops and one-to-one support sessions to upskill local authority officers.

We have engaged with a range of stakeholders during the development of the Fair Fares Review which includes transport operators, delivery partners, passenger groups, campaigning groups and trade unions. This includes; ScotRail Holdings, ScotRail, the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO), the Mobility Advisory Committee for Scotland (MACS), CalMac, Northlink, Regional Transport Partnerships, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), Cosla, Transport for Edinburgh (TfE), Glasgow City Council, the Poverty & Inequality Commission, Transform Scotland and the Poverty Alliance.

Former Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP and officials met with trade unions to discuss the Fair Fares Review on 14 March 2023. Following which a letter providing a further update on the review was issued on 12 May 2023 from the subsequent Minister for Transport Kevin Stewart MSP. I engage regularly with trade unions and look forward to continuing these conversations on all transport related matters including the Fair Fares Review as we work to deliver our vision for the future of public transport in 2024 and beyond.

The Scottish House Conditions survey already accounts for and records the presence of low carbon heating technologies including heat pumps and solar panels.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) consists of an interview with householders and a physical inspection of the dwelling they occupy, which provides a picture of Scotland's occupied housing stock. It covers all types of households and dwellings across the country - whether owned or rented, flats or houses. The physical data about the dwelling is recorded by surveyors trained to collect detailed information on housing characteristics.

The presence of a heat pump is collected in the survey through question M2 in the SHCS physical survey form , which records the main form of heating in the dwelling. This question will also record the presence of other low carbon heating technologies including other electric heating sources, and community heating. The type of heat pump (if present) is then recorded in question M11.

The SHCS also collects data on if a dwelling is suitable for solar panels or solar photovoltaics (PV), and if they have been installed through question D7 of the survey SHCS physical survey form , with questions D8 and D9 recording the percentage of the roof which is covered by solar PV and/ or solar panels respectively.

The SHCS key findings report has not previously included figures on the number of dwellings with heat pumps or solar panels / PV, due to their limited prevalence in the dwelling stock, but this can be added to future reports. Both are accounted for in our measurements of EPC’s, modelled energy use, energy costs, and fuel poverty calculations. Additionally, this data is included in the SHCS dataset on the UK Data Archive . We have included the estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump in table 1, and solar panels, solar PV, or both installed in table 2.

As the 2020 SHCS was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and results from the 2021 External+ SHCS were published as experimental statistics the 2019 SHCS provides the most recent official statistics on heating systems and solar panels / PV. Results from the 2022 SHCS have been pre-announced for publication in February 2024.

Table 1: Estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump (2019).

We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers:

• Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Paper title: An independent Scotland in the EU

Main paper URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotland-eu/

Main paper publish date: 17-11-2023

Main paper views in first month (all pages): 11,691

Easy read URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotland-european-union-eu-easy-read-version/

Easy read publish date: 17-11-2023

Easy read views or download link clicks in first month: 573

Audio URL: https://soundcloud.com/scotgov/needs-title-building-a-new-scotland-an-independent-scotland-in-the-eu/s-IXKVEu8ZrOd

Audio publish date: 17-11-2023

Audio link clicks in first month: 15

Community language landing page URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotland-eu/documents/

Translation publish date: 17-11-2023

Translation downloads in first month:

Arabic: 5

Bengalii: 5

Bulgarian: 0

Cantonese: 11

Croat: 1

Czech: 3

Danish: 1

Dutch: 7

Finnish: 2

French: 16

Gaelic: 13

German: 13

Greek: 3

Hindi: 1

Hungarian: 2

Irish: 5

Italian: 54

Latvian: 3

Lithuanian: 1

Maltese: 3

Mandarin: 3

Polish: 5

Punjabi: 5

Romanian: 2

Russian: 2

Slovenian: 0

Spanish: 9

Swedish: 2

Ukrainian: 1

Urdu: 5

BSL YouTube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Lwav2GpYY

Date BSL Version Published: 17-11-2023

Views in first 30 days: 26

We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers:

• Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Paper title: Creating a modern constitution for an independent Scotland

Main paper URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-creating-modern-constitution-independent-scotland/

Main paper publish date: 19-6-2023

Main paper views in first month (all pages): 9,506

Easy read URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-creating-modern-constitution-independent-scotland-summary-easy-read-version/

Easy read publish date: 19-6-2023

Easy read views or download link clicks in first month: 1,254

Audio URL: https://on.soundcloud.com/4GTRW

Audio publish date: 19-6-2023

Audio link clicks in first month: 5

Community language landing page URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-creating-modern-constitution-independent-scotland-summary/documents/

Translation publish date: 19-6-2023

Translation downloads in first month:

Arabic: 3

Bengalii: 1

Bulgarian: 1

Cantonese: 2

French: 2

Gaelic: 2

Hindi: 2

Italian: 1

Mandarin: 1

Polish: 2

Punjabi: 2

Romanian: 1

Russian: 1

Spanish: 6

Ukrainian: 1

Urdu: 2

BSL YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZKuquhRHpw

Date BSL Version Published: 19-6-2023

Views in first 30 days: 15

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the paper ‘ Social Security in an independent Scotland’ were published in the answer to question S6W-23643 on 20 December 2023. Additionally, there were launch costs for travel, for staff and external attendees, which totalled £114.27. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The global transition to net zero offers enormous economic opportunities for Scotland. We have strengths and potential in sectors ranging from offshore wind, hydrogen, and advanced manufacturing to data and finance. Across the country, Scottish firms have the chance to sell to the world and create good, well-paid jobs as part of a fair, green and growing economy.

Our Green Industrial Strategy will set out how the Scottish Government will help businesses and investors realise the opportunities from the global transition to net zero. We will set out our strategy in the summer.