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The analysis of the Islands Bond online consultation and the Scottish Government response was published on the Scot.gov website today, 19 August. These documents can be accessed via the following links:

Analysis: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804353141

SG Response: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804358214

The approach outlined in the documents is in direct response to the views provided by our island communities. We remain fully committed to addressing the issue of depopulation on our islands and doing so in a way that is supported by islanders.

As part of the Cladding Remediation Programme we will create a Building Safety Register. This register will include blocks of flats, of any height, assessed as 'low risk' or remediated as an outcome of the Single Building Assessment process.

The Scottish Government is aiming to introduce a Housing Bill to the Scottish Parliament in 2023.

Accessibility of our railways is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We will continue to press for full devolution in Scotland of all rail matters to deliver more accessible improvements. There are no immediate plans to improve accessibility at Insch railway station, however the station will be included for consideration, alongside others, for improvement to its accessibility, as part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Access for All programme for Control Period 7, which commences in 2024.

The Scottish Government have not awarded a contract to Bain & Co to undertake any work in the last five years. Any decision to prohibit Bain & Co from tendering for a Scottish Government Contract will be considered on a case by case basis under the provisions of ‘Discretionary Grounds’, Regulation 58 (Exclusion Grounds) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Contractor spend prior to July 2021 was £0. b) The contractor spend for July 2022 is £16,422 and August 2022 projected spend is £18,829.

At the heart of our Active Travel Policy is the drive to close the mobility gap and take action against transport poverty. A truly accessible Active Travel landscape is one in which there is equal opportunity to access provision that allows people the opportunity to choose walking, cycling or wheeling as their method of transport for everyday journeys.

The Scottish budget for 2022-23 increased investment in active travel to a record £150 million as we progress towards our commitment to invest at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget by 2024-25.

We are clear that in all of the funding which we give out in grants to active travel delivery partners, they must ensure that funded schemes promote and support equality for all. A few examples of specific schemes are:

To encourage our youngest citizens to participate in Active Travel, we are running 9 pilot projects to test mechanisms to provide free bikes for all Children of school age who cannot afford them.

In 2022-23, £3 million was allocated to the e-bike Loan Fund in order to provide interest-free loans to support individuals and businesses to purchase e-bikes, adaptive and e-cargo bikes.

In 2019 we launched the £1.3 million Social Housing Fund for improved Walking and Cycling Facilities to encourage active travel within communities, particularly those in areas of multiple deprivation. This project will receive funding of £900,000 in 2022-23.

Scotland’s Cycle Repair Scheme provides free repairs to those who otherwise couldn’t afford it, and the Access Bikes scheme is exploring ways of providing affordable bikes through a variety of different mechanisms, to those who are experiencing financial exclusion.

There are multiple routes through which local authorities and housing associations can get support and funding for the installation of residential cycle storage.

The Places for Everyone programme (PfE) includes provision for cycle storage as part of larger cycle infrastructure projects. For example, in Edinburgh, 108 secure cycle parking units providing 648 individual spaces have been installed in this way since 2019.

We also invest over £900,000 a year in the Cycling Scotland Social Housing Partnership Fund which provides funding directly to housing associations to retrofit cycle storage on their properties. And the Cycling Scotland Cycle Friendly programme provides small grants to local communities, businesses and employers to improve local conditions for cycling, including through the provision of parking and storage.

We continue to look at ways to improve access to cycle storage, taking into account this report and other feedback.

There are already well-established links between learning in the STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - subjects at school and the cross-curricular theme of Learning for Sustainability (LfS). The Scottish Government has, in collaboration with Education Scotland and other partners, supported implementation of the LfS action plan. LfS is a curriculum entitlement for all learners in Scotland.

Study of STEM in both the Broad General Education and Senior Phase includes environmental science, the living environment and Earth's resources which are crucial to delivering on learners' entitlement to LfS. Specific connections exist between STEM and LfS in areas such as engineering and technologies, in particular when considering energy production and distribution.

In relation to the North East, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is working with Aberdeen City Council as they develop the “ABZ Campus”. The courses offered within this programme are available to Senior Phase pupils and are designed to promote skills development aligned with the fastest growing industries of the North East, including renewable energy.

SDS Careers Advisers are in every state secondary school offering careers information, advice and guidance to pupils through a mixture of one-to-one and group engagements, to enable them to make informed choices about learning and career options in the renewable energy workforce for the future.

Detailed cost analysis for all of the routes included in the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan will be undertaken on a phased basis as initial plans for each route are progressively prepared. Initial development works have begun on these routes to identify the options for electrification. Sections of the route from Edinburgh to Aberdeen are further developed, with Construction work underway on the £55 million scheme for full electrification of the section of route from Haymarket to Dalmeny.