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Scotland is committed to reaching net zero and to ensuring the journey is fair and just for everyone.

The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan lays out over 150 actions, as well as consulting on further actions, to help maximise a just transition to net zero for our economy, communities, business and workers

Decarbonising industry is critical to our climate goals and the infrastructure and expertise at Grangemouth will play a key role. That is why we have committed to delivering a dedicated Just Transition Plan for the Grangemouth industrial area.

We will work closely with industry, unions, the workforce and the community to make sure they have a say in the plan for Grangemouth’s future.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of bank branches to rural communities in Scotland and recognises that when a local branch closes it can be difficult for those living in rural and highland communities to access their next nearest branch.

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government cannot intervene on banks’ commercial decisions to change their branch network and so we have not conducted data analysis on what we would consider a necessary number of bank branches in a particular area. We are, however, aware of ONS data showing a 41% decline in Scottish bank branches since 2012 and the data the FCA reported in Q4 2021 that only 32.7% of the Scottish rural population live within 5km of their nearest branch.

We proactively engage with the banking sector following decisions they have made to close Scottish branches. Through these engagements we have reminded banks of their social responsibility and re-iterated the importance of in-person banking services for communities across Scotland. We welcome industry commitments made through the Access to Cash working group to ensure alternative services are available to mitigate the impact of branch closures. This includes “Banking Framework 3” which allows customers of 30 major UK banks to use the Post Office for their basic banking needs. We note that, when including Post Offices with bank branches, 78.4% of Scotland’s rural population live within 5km of the nearest branch.

We will continue to engage with the banking sector and encourage them to do all they can to ensure that appropriate support is provided so that our rural communities are not disproportionately disadvantaged by branch closures.

Significant public consultation and stakeholder engagement was undertaken as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published in December 2022. STPR2 will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme in Scotland over the next 20 years (2022-2042) and will help to deliver the vision, priorities and outcomes for transport set out in the National Transport Strategy (NTS2). Within this there is a recommendation for a review of the upgrade or relocation of Stranraer rail station to be undertaken. Stakeholder engagement and public consultation were key elements of this review, including a three-month public consultation on the draft recommendations between January and April 2022. A summary report detailing the outcomes of this exercise was produced alongside an analysis report setting out how responses were used to inform the appraisal process. STPR2 Recommendation 40 includes measures to improve access to Stranraer and ports at Cairnryan; to encourage greater use of public transport and support wider town regeneration proposals, this recommendation also includes a review of the upgrade or relocation of Stranraer rail station.

We are actively exploring various measures to address emissions from business travel. As part of this process, we will consult on amending the air travel policy to mandate terrestrial or maritime modes of travel for official domestic trips within Scotland and the UK.

While the potential amendment to the policy is under consideration, we are also mindful of the practical implications it may entail. Transitioning to alternative modes of travel will require careful planning, and consideration of the logistical requirements for ministers and officials. Ensuring efficiency, accessibility, and the ability to fulfil official duties effectively will be essential during this process.

As we move forward, we will engage with relevant stakeholders, to ensure that any potential amendments to the air travel policy are well-informed and representative of the broader public interest.

The decarbonisation of transport is expected to- continue to increase demand for electric vehicles (EVs), and therefore EV batteries. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries however, it is expected that the majority of vehicle batteries will be imported, with battery manufacturing currently concentrated in China, Korea and Japan.

Research published in 2020 (commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland in partnership with Transport Scotland and Scottish Enterprise) assessed the current and future use of batteries in Scotland across the entire length of the battery supply chain, from chemicals to end of life. This research is published and is available here: Battery use in Scotland now and in the future | Zero Waste Scotland. This research suggests that in the next decade other chemistries and technologies are expected to supersede lithium battery technologies.

More recently the Scottish Government commissioned further research with Zero Waste Scotland to identify what practical actions Scotland could take to encourage and benefit from a circular economy - encouraging the reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. This research will be published in due course.

There was no discussion at the Heads of Devolved Governments Council regarding the UK’s Military presence in Scotland.

However, we have previously highlighted to the Scottish Affairs Committee decisions made by the UK Government on defence, which is a reserved matter, can have far reaching implications for Scottish communities who we support.

In the Scottish Government’s written evidence to the Committee, we proposed that the UK Government commits to meaningful engagement with the Scottish Government through clear structures that facilitate discussion leading to productive outcomes.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with National Records of Scotland and adoption agencies to understand further the challenges in accessing adoption records.

We have also commissioned research to explore the unmet needs of those people affected by historic forced adoption, and what services we could put in place to support them. Access to records forms a key part of that research which is due for publication in late autumn.

We anticipate that the research will be published in late autumn and thank the people who have bravely shared their story as part of this work. Their voices will continue to shape the support that we put in place to help those affected by these historic practices.

We are considering the calls for a meaningful and fitting recognition of the pain and trauma suffered by those with experience of historic forced adoption. It is Scottish Government policy that the costs of creating and maintaining memorials are not to be met from public funds. We will, however, continue to engage those affected and be led by their views on the most appropriate form of commemoration and validation for these past injustices. We would be happy to support to any specific initiative raising funding in this area.

The Access for All scheme is a UK Government scheme and as such is managed by the UK Department for Transport (DfT).

The Scottish Government has made a case for Springburn railway station to be nominated for Access for All scheme funding for Control Period 7 (2024-2029). We will continue to make representations to the UK Government on this matter.

The Department for Transport is expected to announce which stations will be prioritised for funding through the Access for All scheme this Autumn.