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FOI/202300342482 asked for the interim recommendations of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, and the date these were received.

The response to FOI/202300342482, which included a copy of the interim recommendations, was issued to the requester on 7 March 2023 within the 20 working day timeframe. After completing the necessary pre-publication process, the FOI was published on the Scottish Government website on 16 March 2023 and can be accessed here .

The 20% Reduction in Car Km Route Map published on 13 January 2022, outlines the approach to meeting this commitment. Following a post-publication public consultation on the draft route map, Transport Scotland is currently working with local authority partners to prepare a final version of the route map for publication in the coming months.

The Scottish Government also publishes annual National Transport Strategy Delivery Plans which set out the actions being taken across the Scottish Government, including on the route map, to deliver on our transport vision, priorities and outcomes.

I further refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15653 on 21 March 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 engages continuously with the UK Government about energy costs in Scotland and the specific difficulties experienced by some Scottish consumers throughout the cost of living crisis. These costs can be even more pronounced for those living in our more remote areas where there may be fewer energy supply options and the climate can be more severe.

We are disappointed that the UK Government’s Spring Budget didn’t deliver an extension to the Energy Bills Support Scheme or any progress on targeting support towards those who need it the most – both of which we have been calling for on a regular basis.

As at Friday 24 March, Social Security Scotland had concluded the final processing of client data and expect all automatic payments to be made by 31 March.

This means that throughout February and March almost 400,000 low income households will have automatically received £50 financial support towards their energy bills for this winter.

In line with our policy, every eligible household in Scotland will have received reliable support, regardless of the weather or where they live. At a time when energy bills are increasing, this investment of over £20 million will have provided an important financial contribution to many low income households, including those with disabled people, young children and older people, many of whom would not have received a £25 Cold Weather Payment in previous years.

Even though there is no statutory requirement to do so, I have already made the decision to uprate Winter Heating Payment in April 2023 by 10.1%, to £55.05, recognising the difficulties people are facing and will be facing going forward.

There are a very small number of payments requiring manual intervention prior to being processed, for example where we are awaiting further information from the eligible person, and Social Security Scotland is taking all measures to ensure that those final payments are made as soon as possible.

A first release of Official Statistics on Winter Heating Payment will be published on
‎ 6 June 2023 and then on an annual basis in future. These will be available on Social Security Scotland’s statistics publication page at:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/about/statistics/social-security-scotland-statistics-publications .

I am pleased to inform Parliament that Scottish Government has today published its improvement plan for air quality.

The improvement plan confirms that the Scottish Government welcomes and accepts all six of ESS’s recommendations.

https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805256229

During the development of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), a number of documents were produced, including the Full Business Case and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment which look at the expected impacts to business and others of this scheme.

Scotland’s DRS represents a significant, transformative, change in the way in which waste is handled across the country. These changes present opportunities for waste handling businesses to work with Circularity Scotland and their primary logistics contractor Biffa, to help support the scheme.

Any companies which wish to participate in Scotland’s DRS activities should contact the DRS enquiries team at Biffa and this will be discussed with Circularity Scotland.

Scottish Government is pleased to be supporting City of Edinburgh Council to purchase Ministry of Defence owned properties at Dreghorn, Edinburgh as part of our Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The Council has also indicated interest in exploring the purchase of Ministry of Defence properties at Craigiehall, Edinburgh as one of a number of sites they are exploring. Officials have had outline discussions with them on this- including attending an initial site visit. City of Edinburgh Council are currently considering the site in more detail. Scottish Government has put in place a £50m Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund to bring additional properties into use to boost the supply of homes for those fleeing conflict in Ukraine and we have noted the Council’s interest in applying to this Fund, and/or the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, should they decide to pursue the site. As the strategic housing authority it is for the Council to enter into discussions with the Ministry of Defence on potential site purchases.

Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator is a private non-profit company and is responsible for operating the scheme, including logistics. Decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart.

An extensive tender process was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland.

I refer the member to my answer to question S6W-15957 on 27 March 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/questions-and-answers .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16208 on‎ 27 March 2023, which provided an update on Winter Heating Payment. 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 .