Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17310 on 4 May 2023. 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 Scottish Government’s stakeholder engagement during this initial phase of policy development, when no sites have been identified, was conducted online to enable wide participation. See the answers to S6W-16733 on 28 April 2023 and S6W-17046 on 15 May 2023 for more details of specific engagements. Meetings which took place prior to the launch of the consultation allowed stakeholder feedback to be taken into account as we developed our initial proposals. Meetings held during the consultation period were designed to assist stakeholders, including individuals and businesses, to complete the consultation and answer any questions.

The intention is to undertake in-person sessions during the next phase of the project in relation to the development of site proposals. I, along with other Ministers, will be visiting island and coastal communities around Scotland to hear their views directly before setting out our next steps.

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 Scottish Government did not pay for advertisements in relation to the public consultation on our overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas. The consultation was publicised online via social media – see the answer to
‎ S6W-17045 on 15 May 2023 for more details. Additionally emails were sent out to the over 200 stakeholders who had signed up for our mailing list.

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

We remain committed to the expansion of free school meals in primary and special schools as described in our programme for government. All food and drink, including free school meals, served in local authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the Nutritional Standards for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What produce is used and where it is sourced from is a matter for individual local authorities taking into account local needs, priorities and circumstances as well as their duty to consider sustainable development as they procure food and drink for school menus.

However, the member raises an important matter. I have asked to meet with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs to discuss the points raised by this question in more detail.

The Scottish Government is currently planning to implement provisions from the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 restricting the days when F2 and F3 fireworks can be supplied to and used by the general public, as well as the compensation regulation making powers connected to the restricted days of supply, during the 2024-25 financial year at the earliest.

The successor scheme to Warmer Homes Scotland will support those most vulnerable and most likely to be in fuel poverty. Any ‘low-income pensioner’ will be eligible for support, this includes anyone in receipt of a passport benefit, including pension credit guarantee or anyone over the age of 75 with no working heating.

The eligibility criteria for the Warmer Homes Scotland Successor scheme will create a much larger eligible group than that of the current scheme.

The answer to question S6W-17589 on 16 May 2023 provides further detail on steps taken to ensure that our schemes are accessible to all.

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

To deliver this commitment, the Scottish Government established the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) in 2021 to accelerate ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community led regeneration and community wealth building. This includes the continued delivery of the £25 million per annum Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF), support for Clyde Gateway urban regeneration company to help deliver their 20-year operating plan, and £140 million delivered directly to all local authorities over 5 years.

PBIP funding allocated to each local authority for the first 3 years of the programme 2021- 2023 is provided in the following table: It is up to each local authority how they allocate funding to specific projects, within the terms of the PBIP grant award and related criteria.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland. NES ensure that all doctors receive high quality training in line with curricula that is set by the relevant Medical Royal College so that they are able to demonstrate that they have met all GMC curricular requirements, in order to practise independently as a GP in the UK.

All GP practices receive funding for protected time consisting of one session a month (usually within practice time) to allow GPs to maintain and develop their training and skills, and those of their practice teams. For GPs after their 3-year training, NES provide educational content related to gastroenterological conditions. There are also Practice-Based Small Group Learning modules (PBSGL) covering cancer and gastroenterology cases.

We have allocated £350m to heat, energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures this year, including £119m targeted at fuel poor households.

Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS), our national fuel poverty scheme, is designed to help those living in fuel poverty or at risk of fuel poverty through installing insulation and heating measures in to individual properties. Individuals over 60 who had no working heating system or who are in receipt of certain benefits have been eligible for support through the scheme.

WHS is now closed to new applicants but a successor to WHS will launch in October 2023. Home Energy Scotland are currently taking applications for this scheme.

The eligibility criteria for the Warmer Homes Scotland Successor scheme includes anyone in receipt of a passport benefit, including pension credit guarantee and anyone over the age of 75 with no working heating.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme provides support for all owner occupied households to install energy efficiency measures. All domestic owner occupiers in Scotland can apply to the scheme. Grant funding of up to 75% of the combined costs of measures up to a maximum £7,500 is available, with an additional £7,500 of funding available as an interest free loan. A rural uplift of £1,500 applies to the energy efficiency grant, this uplift increases the maximum limit of the grant to £9,000.

Funding is available via the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund for Social Landlords to apply for projects which will install energy efficiency measures across their housing stock. Pensioners who live in social housing will benefit from this investment, which also includes sheltered accommodation.

We are maintaining our £64 million investment in energy efficiency improvements this year, targeting areas with high levels of fuel poverty through our Area Based Schemes.

There are several ways that the Scottish Government assist communities to take ownership of assets. The Scottish Land Fund, which will be doubled to £20m by 2026, allows groups to purchase assets, often through negotiated sales, from both public and private owners.

In addition, there is a Land Reform Bill which shows our commitment to introducing Land Reform legislation to further improve transparency of land ownership, help ensure large scale land holdings deliver in the public interest and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how land in their area is used.