Seòmar agus comataidhean

As is reflected in the response to question S6W-12758 on 13 December 2022, The Scottish Government will consult on our proposals to apply an activity cap on fishing activity in inshore waters, in due course.

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

Wild harvesting of Wrasse is managed under the licence derogation system introduced following consultation in 2020. In 2021, we added mandatory controls on fishing activity, including obligations for the collection and reporting of data, on a weekly basis, to Marine Scotland. These included minimum and maximum landing sizes, controls on the number and design of traps, a maximum trap lift rate and a prohibition on fishing when water temperature is above 17 degrees. Marine Scotland also require derogation-holders to take observers on board if directed.

This represents a positive step towards sustainable management of this fishery. The time until the next wrasse fishing season begins will enable us to share findings on this fishery and facilitate discussion on next steps.

Marine Scotland management measures for wild harvesting of wrasse mean that only licenced and derogated vessels, in possession of a contract with an aquaculture company, may engage in fishing operations for this species. Those who do so are required to provide information on their operations to Marine Scotland. This includes completion of a weekly record of fishing time, location and catch weight and in addition, the number of wrasse landed (by species), the number of fish retained or discarded; and the sizes of fish in the first 20 traps hauled on each trip.

Marine Scotland are currently analysing data gathered from this fishery during the 2021 and 2022 seasons and will publish a report in due course.

The Scottish Government will continue to encourage creative industry tax reliefs, delivered by the UK Government, which includes the Video Games Tax Relief.

The Scottish Government is disappointed that the UK Government will be reducing the rates of Corporation Tax Relief for the culture sector, in particular the Theatre Tax Relief and Orchestra Tax Relief from 1 April 2023. We support calls for the higher rate of tax support to be extended, given the ongoing impact of the Cost Crisis which is hampering the Culture sector’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Angus Robertson, raised this issue when meeting with DCMS Secretary of State Michelle Donelan on Tuesday 13 th December.

Funding allocations for ventilation upgrades and maintenance will be at the discretion of each individual local authority or public body, on the basis of local needs and priorities whilst also fulfilling any statutory obligations where applicable.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12739 on 13 December 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

Ministers remain committed to exploring the benefits of a four-day working week, which is why the 2022-23 Programme for Government included a commitment to undertake research and advice to improve workplace productivity and wellbeing, including on the delivery of a four-day working week pilot. This work will continue to be informed by experience drawn from similar projects in other countries, and elsewhere in the UK.

The consultation has been published today and is available on the Scottish Government’s Consultation Hub, Citizen Space ( https://consult.gov.scot/constitution-and-cabinet/electoral-reform ). It seeks views on a range of electoral matters and has been developed in consultation with interested stakeholders. The closing date is 15 March 2023.

Today the Scottish Government will publish its finalised Hydrogen Action Plan.

The Hydrogen Action Plan sets out the strategic approach and actions required to support the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the course of this Parliament. The development of a domestic hydrogen sector and hydrogen production for export, supported by a strong supply chain, will play an important role in supporting a just transition to net zero by 2045 and presents significant long-term economic opportunities.

In the Action Plan, we refresh our commitment to providing the supportive policy and regulatory environment required to enable Scotland to take a pioneering role in a growing global industry and to support our vision for Scotland to become a leading hydrogen nation in the production of reliable, competitive, sustainable hydrogen.

The unpredictable and uncertain outlook for global energy markets has only strengthened the case for accelerating our domestic hydrogen production. The Action Plan has been updated to reflect consultation feedback on the draft Action Plan and the energy developments over the past year. Notably, these updates include the addition of a new chapter dedicated to ‘Scotland’s Hydrogen Export Ambitions’ that seeks to highlight the scale of the export opportunity, Scotland’s competitive advantage and the initial actions we will take at home and abroad to support Scottish companies to participate in and benefit from the development of the international hydrogen market.

The opportunity for Scotland within the developing global hydrogen market is significant. This Hydrogen Action Plans sets out the steps we will take to support Scotland’s growing hydrogen economy and sends a strong signal to the market for future hydrogen development. The Hydrogen Action Plan will be available from 9.30am today on www.gov.scot

All of the 16 new R100 subsea cables connecting 15 Scottish islands - Colonsay, Iona, Lismore, Eigg, Eday, Flotta, Hoy, Rousay, Sanday, Shapinsay, Stronsay, Fair Isle, Unst, Whalsey and Yell – were laid during Summer 2022.

Planned post-laying activity is now continuing with work to establish terrestrial connections on those islands underway.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a national system of rent controls by the end of 2025, and to do so in a way which is robust and provides lasting benefit to tenants.

We consulted widely earlier in 2022 on our New Deal for Tenants draft strategy which sets out a whole range of reforms, including the vision and principles for a future model of national rent controls with an appropriate mechanism to allow local authorities to introduce local measures. We published an independent analysis of all of the consultation responses in August.

In the meantime, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act which came into force on 28 October 2022 introduced a rent cap to protect tenants from high rent increases.

We have also made support available to tenants in the private rented sector who are struggling with high housing costs.

This includes £68.1m to mitigate the bedroom tax, helping over 91,000 households to sustain their tenancy, and up to £13.5m which has been made available to mitigate against the impact of other UK Government welfare cuts.

We will extend the eligibility criteria of our £10m Tenant Grant Fund so local authorities can use any remaining funds to support people who are struggling with arrears resulting from the rising cost of living, and will be investing up to a further £5m in Discretionary Housing and giving local authorities more flexibility in their prioritisation of households for Discretionary Housing Payments.

The introduction of longer-term rent controls is being carefully considered alongside our emergency response for the rented sector to the costs crisis, and the operation of the temporary rent cap will inform our plans to implement an effective and long term model of rent control.

The consultation responses to the New Deal for Tenants, and our ongoing engagement with stakeholders, will inform our work to develop the approach to long term rent control in Scotland and we will publish further details on our planned approach in due course.