Seòmar agus comataidhean

There was no dedicated budget for the Islands Bond consultation as this work was undertaken as part of our overall policy development activity.

The Scottish Government has invested over £50m in developing the ChargePlace Scotland Network. We are now working with the private sector to invest a further £60m in coming years. Through our investments, electric vehicle owners in the South of Scotland have access to 590 public charge points, and this number is set to grow significantly through a combination of public and private investment. In the year ahead, the Scottish Government is directly supporting the installation of a further 73 charge points, as set out in the following table.

There are a range of responsibilities on Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) to engage and provide information to their members and service users about proposed mergers or transfer of engagements.

RSLs are required by legislation to consult and seek the approval of tenants if it proposes to transfer its homes to another landlord. The regulator has published statutory guidance for RSLs to ensure RSLs consider and act in accordance with the views of their tenants and that tenants interests are protected.

An RSLs constitution will also set out how it should engage with its members regarding these decisions.

Standard 2 of the SHRs Regulatory Framework requires RSLs to be open and accountable and give tenants and service users information that meets their needs about the RSL, its services, performance and future plans.

Additionally, the Scottish Social Housing Charter sets the standards and outcomes all social landlords should aim to achieve when performing their housing activities, this includes that social landlords manage their business so that tenants and other customers can get the information they need about their landlord, how and why it makes decisions.

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining high standards of animal welfare. The Scottish Government is currently working closely with the other GB administrations on potential improvements to animal transport legislation and consulting stakeholders through a series of workshops, to ensure all options are fully considered before any specific proposals are brought forward.

The Scottish Government remains committed to consulting on proposals to phase out cages for gamebirds and laying hens, as well as farrowing crates for pigs. The consultations will be prepared and brought forward in due course.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing water pollution at beaches across Scotland.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for protecting and improving water quality at Scotland’s 87 designated Bathing Waters. This bathing water season Scotland has more bathing waters rated as ‘excellent’, ‘good’ or ‘sufficient’ than at any point since tighter bathing water standards first came into force in 2015. Last year, 99% of designated bathing waters achieved the bathing water quality standards.

SEPA has analysed 1,297 water quality samples from 87 designated Bathing Waters this season and 93% were found to be at safe levels. Short term fluctuations in water quality do though occur following heavy rainfall – causing sewer overflows, agricultural run-off from land, and surface water discharges from roads, car parks, and pavements etc., which are all sources of bacteria.

SEPA investigates poor water quality results and works with partners to reduce “short-term pollution” after heavy rainfall. Bathers are also advised on its website or electronic beach signs at 29 Bathing Waters if the water quality is predicted to be poor so they can make an informed choice before entering the water.

To help address the impact of sewer overflows, Scottish Water is investing up to £70m in 1000 new Combined Sewer Overflow event monitors across Scotland, including those at designated Bathing Wates, by December 2024. This spill monitoring information will be used to inform and prioritise investment to improve bathing water quality as well as informing the public.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many street lights could presently be retrofitted to include electric vehicles charging points broken down by local authority area. Whilst electric vehicle charging technologies exists for such an application, not all street lights will be suitable for a number of reasons including their proximity to the public road.

Supporting those without access to off-street charging will require a range of approaches. We have invested almost £60m to develop a public EV network and this year announced a new £60m EV Infrastructure Fund that aims to double the size of the public charging network in the next few years. We are also taking forward legislation to ensure developers provide electric vehicle charge points in the construction of new residential and non-residential buildings, to increase both the convenience and number of charging opportunities across Scotland.

We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people, get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential.

Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the 2004 Act) education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. Education authorities can ask other agencies (including health boards) for help in carrying out their duties.

The Scottish Government has published guidance on supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools . The guidance supports education authorities, health boards and schools in delivering their responsibilities to support pupils’ healthcare needs. Where children and young people require medication throughout their school day, a healthcare plan should be put in place which sets out the arrangements for ongoing medical care in school and emergency procedures should an emergency arise.

Local Authorities are responsible for street lighting on public roads and footways that are within their statutory list of public roads, Motorways and Trunk Lighting are maintained by Transport Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many street light electric vehicle charge points are currently in operation broken down by local authority area. However, the majority of public charge points installed to date in Scotland, including through the Scottish Government’s £50m investment in the ChargePlace Scotland Network, are unlikely to be connected or integrated to lampposts.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Pay for directly employed staff would depend on a number of variables like the Banding of the nurse, the length of the shift and whether the shift takes place at night or over the weekend when an unsocial hours premium would apply.

The Scottish Government has committed to invest at least £1.8 billion in heat and energy efficiency over the course of this parliament. This funding is delivered via a range of support options, which are available to households and businesses across Scotland, including those in rural areas.

Business Energy Scotland (BES) provides support to Scottish SMEs for implementing energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures. The service is delivered by Energy Saving Trust (EST) on behalf of the Scottish Government and has at least one dedicated Business advisor in each of its regional call centres. BES provides a gateway for SMEs to access funding for energy efficiency and zero emissions heating through the SME loan scheme and access to the Green Network for Business.

For household support, we continue to invest in our Home Energy Scotland Loans with Cashback scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland and Area-Based Schemes and we recognise the need to tailor support to specific challenges in remote rural areas, where we know installation and labour costs are higher. Our flagship domestic energy advice service, Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by EST on behalf of the Scottish Government, provides a single point of access for free, bespoke, impartial advice on energy efficiency, renewable heating, funding for energy efficiency and zero emissions heating systems and fuel poverty support in Scotland. HES advisors in five regional advice centres provide tailored energy advice that is location specific and takes account of the different energy use requirements of properties in different parts of Scotland, taking rurality into account.

It is vital that the supply chain is equipped with the necessary skills and qualifications to provide a high quality service to consumers and we are supporting workforce growth through a combination of reskilling, upskilling and youth employment. Skills support and training provision must be aligned at a local level with business needs and future local demands. This year, we will publish a new Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan, which will outline specific actions and support focussed on strengthening the broad supply chains needed to deliver at the pace and scale of our transition.