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From January 2022 to September 2022 the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund has committed grant support for the retrofit of 330 social housing properties across Scotland. The fund offers grant support of up to 50% of the total eligible costs of the project. Projects in the South Scotland region have been awarded an average grant of £5,668 per property.

The R100 contracts set out which premises Openreach will deliver to. Openreach has no flexibility to remove premises from contractual build without prior agreement from Scottish Government. To date, no premises have been removed from the R100 contracts.

Prior to contracts being awarded, commercial broadband infrastructure providers were invited to share details of their existing and planned build through an Open Market Review. The responses to this were then tested through a Public Review to ensure that only premises which were not in commercial build plans would be eligible for the build through the R100 contracts.

Prior to public ownership, CMAL paid a total of £83.25m split between £82.5m contract milestone payments and an additional contract variation of £0.75m to Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited.

The current budget to complete both vessels remains £123 million, as set out in the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy’s update to Parliament on 23 March 2022.

The CEO of Ferguson Marine wrote to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, on the delivery timetable and budget for vessels 801 and 802 on 28 September 2022. In his letter he forecast the costs in public ownership not to exceed £101 million for 801 and £108.6 million for 802. This includes a provision for warranty estimated at £3.5 million per vessel.

Our priority now is to undertake our own due diligence and this will be supported by external, independent financial advisors to ensure that a rigorous approach is taken to scrutinising this request for additional funding. This work is at an early stage. No decision has yet been made and will not be until this scrutiny has been completed.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that eating disorders can have on people's lives. Questions on eating disorders will be considered, alongside other requests for new questions submitted as part of the recent review of the Scottish Health Survey content , for possible inclusion in the survey from 2024, if some existing questions can be removed. A report will be published by summer 2023 detailing the findings of the review and decisions on the survey content going forwards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09994 on 16 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

Our Internationalisation Plans take an evidence-led approach to trade and investment policy and delivery, focusing on those sectors and opportunities where Scotland strengths align to global trends in trade and investment. All of our plans were developed in collaboration with our key delivery partners including Scotland's enterprise and skills agencies. Implementation of the Plans align our priorities around trade and investment with those countries and markets where Scotland already does well, but could perform better. This evidence base enables Scottish Development International, on behalf of the enterprise agencies and Scottish Government, to align their resources, including international offices and specialist staff.

For details of the specifics in this question, I have asked Scottish Enterprise to write to you directly with the information you seek.

The Scottish Government and its operational partners have robust contingency plans in place, such as the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy to prevent and control outbreaks of avian influenza spreading, and have a strong track record of controlling and eliminating outbreaks of the disease.

On 17 October 2022, and in response to an increase in risk to poultry of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) linked with an escalating number of HPAI cases amongst poultry and other captive birds; the return of migratory species to their wintering grounds in the UK; and the ‘over-summering’ of the virus amongst many resident species of wild birds, the Scottish Government, along with Defra, the Welsh Government, and DAERA (Northern Ireland), acted swiftly to declare an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across the whole of the UK. The AIPZ legally requires keepers to apply strict biosecurity measures in order to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease.

The rigorous scientific risk assessment process upon which the introduction of disease control measures, such as the AIPZ, is based includes analysis of wild bird migratory routes, dead wild bird findings, and outbreaks and strains of virus being identified across Europe, the US, and the rest of the world. The Scottish Government independently reviews these assessments in order to determine the most effective and impactful policy responses for Scotland.

When outbreaks of HPAI have been confirmed, such as that on Isle of Lewis on 12 October 2022, a 3 km Protection Zone and 10 km Surveillance Zone are declared around the infected premises. Within these zones, movement restrictions are applied on poultry, other captive birds, carcases, eggs, and a range of poultry products and associated equipment, all aimed at halting the spread of the disease. An epidemiological investigation is carried out to identify the source of the virus and any potential onward transmission routes.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the other UK administrations and its operational partners to put out communications to keepers ensuring they are aware of the risk of disease, and to promote compliance with the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone biosecurity measures.

Keepers of more than 50 poultry or other captive birds are legally required to register their flock on the GB Poultry Register. Keepers of less than 50 birds can register voluntarily and are routinely encouraged to do so. Registered keepers receive updated SMS messages providing advice and important information on avian influenza from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government and UK Government officials meet on a quarterly basis to discuss onshore wind policy matters. Discussions on the progress of the short-term review were discussed as part of the last meeting on 1 August 2022.

The Scottish Government accepted the Grouse Moor Management Group’s recommendation that muirburn should be subject to tighter regulation and only be undertaken under licence.

In considering our response to the Grouse Moor Management Group report, we took into account a wide range of reports and evidence, including:

• Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Scottish Government commissioned research on the socio-economic impacts of grouse moor management.
• The recommendations of the Independent Deer Working Group.
• The Climate Change Committee report published in January 2020.

We also consulted with other Scottish Government agencies and non-departmental public bodies such as NatureScot, SEPA, and Scottish Forestry, as well as considering the evidence and views put forward by a wide range of stakeholders.

We recognise the benefits muirburn can have for certain types of land management, and although some aspects of muirburn, are already controlled, e.g. close seasons, our assessment is that increased monitoring and regulation of muirburn will reduce the negative impacts muirburn can have on biodiversity and carbon management.

Muirburn undertaken inappropriately has the potential to have serious negative impacts on wildlife, soil quality, carbon sequestration, and the wider environment. These potential negative impacts are outlined in detail in the Muirburn Code. For example, muirburn conducted on steep slopes or on thin soils can cause soil erosion.

Increased regulatory control through licensing linked to compliance with the Muirburn Code will mitigate these negative impacts by ensuring muirburn is undertaken in the appropriate manner and environment.