Seòmar agus comataidhean

Under the terms of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) contract CalMac do not report on a target for reliability of services. However, CalMac do report on both Contractual Reliability and Contractual Punctuality.

It is the responsibility of the operator, CalMac Ferries, to conduct negotiations for the charter of a vessel. Scottish Ministers have no involvement in these discussions.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and CalMac Ferries continue to pursue any opportunities to bring in additional tonnage to add resilience to the fleet.

(a) The area of Scotland's inshore waters where all commercial fishing is currently restricted, which are within the MPA network, is 60 square kilometres. This is less than 1%, of both, waters up to 12 Nautical Miles and waters in the inshore MPA network. The presumption for MPAs is that their use will be sustainable use, therefore fishing gears prohibited in MPAs is based on their potential impact on the protected features of the site, usually allowing some fishing to continue.

(b) The area of Scotland's inshore waters where scallop dredging is currently restricted, which are within the MPA network, is 4,753 square kilometres. This is 5% of waters up to 12 Nautical Miles and 13 % of waters in the inshore MPA network.

(c) Nephrops trawling is included in measures restricting trawl, bottom trawl or mobile gear. The numbers presented below reflect this. The area of Scotland's inshore waters where trawling is currently restricted, which are within the MPA network, is 5,084 square kilometres. This is 6% of waters up to 12 Nautical Miles and 13 % of waters in the inshore MPA network.

(d) The area of Scotland's inshore waters where creeling is currently restricted, which are within the MPA network, is 2,659 square kilometres. This is 3% of waters up to 12 Nautical Miles and 7% of waters in the inshore MPA network.

The MPA network includes Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Special Areas of Conservation(SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and RAMSAR sites. The area calculated for restrictions is based on where there is a limit on the fishing activity all year round dependent on, for example, vessel size and power usage as well as where there is a complete ban on that type of fishing activity in a designated site as part of the MPA network. The Scottish Government are currently developing fisheries management measures for MPAs where they are required, but not already in place, and for Priority Marine Feature (PMF) management areas outside of MPAs.

The National Plan for Scotland’s Islands says that, as part of Strategic Objective 2, the Scottish Government will “Build on Scotland’s National Marine Plan to ensure that fishing and other economic activities stemming from the sea provide increased opportunities for island communities, but at the same time that they are pursued in a sustainable manner.”

We are proposing that HPMAs protect ecosystems and the services they provide, including essential fish and shellfish habitats, which will deliver societal benefits, including for island communities. By being properly designed and located we believe HPMAs would be compatible with, and could contribute to the objectives of, the Islands Plan by providing long term and sustainable benefits for island communities.

As part of our initial consultation on our overall approach to HPMAs, which closed on 17 April, we sought views on a partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA). These views will be factored into the ICIA process which can only conclude once specific site proposals have been developed. No sites have been proposed. Site selection will be a participatory process with meaningful island and coastal community engagement at every stage to ensure that any potential differential impacts on islands can be understood and assessed before final site proposals are formally consulted on.

To secure long term economic opportunities from our seas, we must take transformative action to protect and restore nature and broaden our measures of economic success.

Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transition sets out our ambition to become a wellbeing economy that takes a broader view of what it means to be a successful economy, society and country and put people and the planet first and foremost.

Transition to a wellbeing economy means developing an economic system within safe environmental limits which serves and prioritises the collective wellbeing of current and future generations. It means looking beyond GDP to measure other indicators of economic success and viewing economic activity as a means to an end – that of collective wellbeing of people and planet – rather than be considered an end in itself.

The proposals we have consulted on to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas in Scotland’s seas, across both inshore and offshore waters, from east coast to west coast, are one action we are taking to protect and restore nature and secure long term economic opportunities for marine sectors, helping to support achieving the aims of the Strategy.

We have conducted a range of initial impact assessments, including an initial Sustainability Appraisal (composed of a Strategic Environmental Report and a Socio-Economic Impact Assessment); a partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) Screening Report; and a partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). We sought views on these as part of our initial consultation, which closed on 17 April. However, as was noted in the consultation, any specific potential impacts can only be considered in full once specific site proposals have been developed, following close stakeholder and community engagement.

In 2023-24 local authorities will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of nearly £13.5 billion. Local authorities also have a range of revenue raising powers that are not available to other public services.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of the block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, including with regards to climate adaptation, to having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

While local authorities are responsible for setting their own budgets, the total funding provided by the Scottish Government will increase by over £793 million in 2023-24 compared with the 2022-23 budget. Decisions on budget allocations for future years are subject to negotiation with COSLA and the results will be confirmed as part of future Scottish Budgets.

By way of example £42 million is provided to local authorities annually for flood risk management, with an additional £150 million announced for investment over this Parliament. Additionally, £11.7 million for coastal change adaptation is available to support coastal local authorities over the course of this Parliament.

As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021), the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings must convert to zero emissions heating by 2030 in order to meet our interim climate targets. We will therefore consult during 2023 on a Heat in Buildings Bill to phase out fossil fuel boilers in Scotland’s homes and buildings and move to clean heating systems.

Since the size and energy consumption of our non-domestic buildings varies considerably, we said in our 2022 Climate Change Plan Monitoring Report that we would adopt a more appropriate indicator based on fossil fuel heat demand. Converting the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings (existing in 2020) to zero emissions heat by 2030 would bring the commercial sector fossil fuel heat consumption to 5,000 GWh or less.

The latest data for fossil fuel heat consumption from the commercial sector was 11,170 GWh in 2020. We will develop our approach for this indicator as part of our Heat in Buildings Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, due later this year, and use that in future monitoring.

We plan to bring forward legislative proposals based on our New Deal for Tenants consultation as soon as possible after the Summer recess.

Ministers will continue to meet COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including adaptation to the impact of climate change.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA and SOLACE to agree a New Deal for Local Government in Scotland with the aim of providing greater flexibility over local funding, with clear accountability for delivery on shared priorities and outcomes, such as climate change.

In February, I wrote to COSLA setting out my view that tackling flooding remains a top priority for the Scottish Government and developing a level of resilience to our future flood exposure is one of our greatest climate challenges. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving flood resilience in Scotland, and it is imperative that we make best use of the resources already allocated for this. I have also encouraged COSLA to play an active part in consultation on new a flooding strategy for Scotland recognising how we can build community flood resilience and engage a broader range of delivery partners to deliver more diverse flood management actions faster. A joint Scottish Government/COSLA Flood Risk Management Working Group is considering funding arrangements for flood risk management actions going forward. Managing our exposure to floods and their impacts is a significant and growing challenge as climate change brings more severe and frequent flood events.

We are in discussion with COSLA and the Scottish Cities Alliance about the development of a framework between national and local government to agree shared actions and approaches to delivering climate change action, enabling better alignment between national and local targets and to jointly address the challenges and barriers to delivery.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for protecting aquatic wildlife, including shellfish, from sewage discharges to the water environment. SEPA currently classifies all Scotland’s coastal waterbodies at good or better condition for water quality.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) is responsible for monitoring and assessing levels of biotoxins, faecal contamination (ie E.coli) and chemical contaminants in shellfish for human consumption and the data is available on its website ( https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/business-and-industry/industry-specific-advice/shellfish ). FSS works with the SEPA to identify any areas showing signs of deteriorating water quality.

In designated Shellfish Waters Protected Areas (SWPAs) SEPA aims to protect and improve water quality to ensure that shellfish grown for human consumption is safe. The most recent classification undertaken by SEPA indicates that 99% of SWPAs are in good or better condition.