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As well as providing funding to increase resource within the Marine Scotland Directorate of Scottish Government in relation to planning and consenting for ScotWind, the Scottish Government has provided additional funding to NatureScot, a key statutory consultee, to secure a number of new posts in light of the increased statutory consultee demands expected from the ScotWind process. As with the resources within Marine Scotland Directorate, the resources required by NatureScot to meet the demands arising from ScotWind will be subject to applicants’ timelines and will be kept under review.

The co-chairs of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group wrote to the co-chairs of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG), the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government and COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, on 15 September 2022 to share three initial recommendations. As members of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, a draft of this letter was shared with Scottish Government officials on 9 September.

The final recommendations will be published following a presentation by the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group co-chairs at the HPSG meeting scheduled for 30 March 2023.

Time booking practices are not widely used in the Scottish Government and were not used in the preparation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.

Costs associated with the development of the strategy mainly relate to staffing. Given the wide range of policy areas which have an impact on biodiversity, a large number of staff will have contributed sometimes quite small amounts of time to developing the strategy, in addition to the small core team for whom the development of the strategy was a primary objective. There were also some direct costs associated with the development of the strategy, including consultation analysis, strategic impact assessment and the design/publication of the draft strategy, all of which have been subject to standard government procurement procedures.

Yes, the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG) met on 21 September 2022 and 18 January 2023.

Agendas for HPSG meetings are not published. Following a delay in publishing the minutes of the September meeting online, these can now be found here . The minutes from the January meeting are in the process of being finalised and will be published in due course.

The Learning Estate Investment Programme’s (LEIP) outcomes-based funding model was designed by Scottish Government, Local Government and Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The funding model was established to support the implementation of the Learning Estate Strategy which was produced was produced collaboratively by Scottish Government and Local Government. The concepts, principles and outcomes for the LEIP, as well as the mechanics of the funding model, were agreed in workshops between Scottish Government, Local Government and SFT, under the governance of an investment programme board which was co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA.

The use of the LEIP funding model and the associated outcomes have been ratified by COSLA Leaders, and further information on the mechanics of the model are published and available on SFT’s website.

The LEIP board, which meets quarterly, is co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA. The board has membership and representation from Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE, Local Authority networks and SFT. This governance structure provides oversight and direction to the LEIP - including on the outcomes to be measured, the assessment process for projects and the funding model - as the programme has developed.

We continue to engage with local authorities on an ongoing basis, including workshops on the funding model for each phase of the LEIP, and dedicated workshops with local authorities for each project.

The Scottish Government understands concerns over the decline of European woodcock populations. At present, all woodcock in Scotland are classed as a quarry species and as such are listed on Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which determines the species that can be killed or taken.

As set out in my response to PQ S6W-14320, NatureScot are currently carrying out a review of Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Once the review has been completed, they will provide a report to the Scottish Government for Ministers to consider whether any changes to the Schedule are required.

The Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) currently comprises of thirty-seven projects. One school project is complete and eight are currently in construction, with the remainder in development by the local authorities. Projects are delivered locally, with a central programme function consisting of design and technical expertise, as well as budget, programme and risk management to support the programme and continue to foster collaboration. Many of the projects are also working in collaboration with other aspects of the public sector with the inclusion of sports, community, NHS and Police Scotland facilities.

The LEIP is subject to the Gateway Review process. In relation to individual projects, post-project reviews and post-occupancy evaluations are required under the LEIP terms and conditions, learning from which will be collated and disseminated to understand if other elements of the programme can also be expanded across other sectors.

The funding model for LEIP has evolved from the concept of the Growth Accelerator model developed by Scottish Futures Trust and Scottish Government, and adapted for the Learning Estate. The aspects that have worked well from both the Growth Accelerator and Learning Estate models - particularly the premise that central funding is for the outcomes investment can achieve, rather than the investment itself - have then been used in the development of the Green Growth Accelerator model, which is currently in use.

Independent reporters have decided three planning appeals relating to housing development on Sibbald’s Brae in Bathgate. In 2014 a reporter refused planning permission; in 2020 a reporter granted planning permission; and in 2022 a reporter amended the planning conditions attached to the 2020 permission. All three decisions were made on the planning merits of the cases and in overall accordance with the development plan. The reporters took full account of all submissions made by parties on the appeals, including those from West Lothian Council and also from members of the local community.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15423 on 7 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

As the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) does not have a wildfire investigation capability it has not officially investigated any wildfires in the last 5 years beyond the information gathered by its Incident Recording System.