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Rooms for Refugees is a hosting service run by Positive Action in Housing. Scottish Government officials met with representatives from PAIH on 30 June to discuss their experience of running a matching service.

Unlocking investment in the supply chain to build skills for zero emissions heating and energy efficiency must start with a clear demand for products and services. Our investment of at least £1.8 billion and the proposed regulatory framework for zero emissions heat and energy efficiency, as outlined in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, will strengthen demand and support an increase in jobs and skilled workers. The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) is central in defining our ambitions to create a future workforce that can support our transition to a net zero economy and Skills Development Scotland have recently established a new Heat Decarbonisation Subgroup to work with industry to develop new targeted skills support, bolster training capacity and establish new skills pathways for entrants to the sector.

As set out in our recently published "Heat in Buildings - Quality Assurance Policy Statement", we believe in setting a high standard for installers of home energy measures and those providing advice to homeowners. We will adopt the principles of the PAS2030/35 British Standard for retrofit works funded under Scottish Government Programmes, and we are using the Microgeneration Certification Scheme as the standard for any microgeneration technologies.

Both MCS and PAS2030/2035 set requirements in terms of the core competencies and qualifications required to carry out work. We have worked extensively with the Scottish supply chain and sector skills bodies to ensure there is clarity on the minimum Scottish Qualifications required under these schemes and we have published our position in the "Energy efficiency, zero emissions and low carbon heating systems, microgeneration and heat networks - Installer Skills Matrix".

We are also currently considering how to build upon the successful projects delivered through our National Transition Training Fund which has provided over £1.3m in support for relevant zero emissions heat and energy efficiency training since October 2020. We will publish further detail on our plans in the forthcoming Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places statutory responsibility for local roads, including structures, improvements, maintenance and repair with local roads authorities. As such it is the responsibility of the local authority to determine how best to meet its duties on local roads in their respective areas and no formal guidance is issued on this matter. Transport Scotland does however share knowledge and best practice through a number of forums. In particular the benefits of Warm Mix Asphalt has been discussed at a number of Transport Scotland Pavement Forums and representatives of SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland) attend these meetings.

The Scottish Government is opposed to the use of mosquito anti-loitering devices and does not believe the use of these devices is consistent with our approach to tackling antisocial behaviour which seeks to promote strong and supportive communities where the rights of individuals are recognised and respected.

We believe the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 currently provides sufficient measures to help police and local authorities deal with antisocial behaviour wherever it arises.

We take young people’s complaints and safeguarding of their rights seriously and understand the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland’s concerns on the use of mosquito devices and young people’s rights and have taken action which is within our current powers to minimise the impact that these devices have on children and young people. This has included contacting the main public sector bodies to discourage the use of these devices on their estates. Use of these devices appears to be very limited in Scotland. We understand that none of the main public sector bodies use them on their sites and, last year, Police Scotland advised that they were not aware of them being used in any premises across the country.

We have additionally lobbied the UK Government to take action on these devices – but there appears to be no current UK action planned to regulate, license or otherwise prevent the sale of anti-loitering devices.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09757 on 2 August 2022. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09757 on 2 August 2022. 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 replacement (planned and unplanned) of train services with bus replacement services remains an operational matter for ScotRail.

ScotRail advises that the breakdown for each day during May and June 2022 for planned and unplanned bus replacement is as follows:-

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that there is a thriving music industry in Scotland, including grassroots music venues, which are key to supporting emerging Scottish talent.

That is why the Scottish Government’s Grassroots Music Venues Stabilisation Fund (GMVSF) provided grassroots live music venues with £6.2 million of emergency funds to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and prevent closures. Music venues were also able to apply to the £25m Cancellation Fund for Cultural Organisations in early 2022, which supported creative businesses which had been adversely financially impacted by cancellations or postponement of activities due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

The Scottish Government is content to engage further with the Music Venue Trust to discuss their new initiative to build community ownership of grassroots music venues, including in Glasgow.

The Scottish Government is committed to a full rewrite of the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 and this is currently underway. On Friday 22 nd July 2022, the Scottish Government launched a public consultation ( Consultation on changes to the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 - Scottish Government - Citizen Space ) featuring a number of proposals that seek to modernise existing rules and certain procedures. These include, but are not limited to:

• a new procedure for handling non-disclosure information and appointment of a special advocate
• adding ‘refusal to disclose a victim’s body’ as a matter the Parole Board may consider
• a new procedure to allow the Parole Board to review a decision.

Following analysis of contributions to the consultation, reformed parole rules will be laid in parliament in due course.

Recommendation 36 of the second Strategy Transport Projects Review (STPR2) recommends a detailed national audit and review of support for lorry parks to address barriers hampering their development, consider their financial stability and develop adequate standards.

This would include consultation with the freight industry, representative bodies, local authorities, and other stakeholders to collect views on the provision of lorry parks including where and what type of facilities are required and the potential demand for alternative fuel provision zero emission vehicles.

The STPR2 final reporting is due for completion later this year and will follow the conclusion of the public consultation which closed in April. Work on recommendation 36 will commence thereafter.