Seòmar agus comataidhean

Resilience of the Electricity Sector is reserved and therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.

Access to the Priority Services Register is available to anyone that meets the eligibility criteria and individuals can register by contacting their energy supplier or network operator.

The issue regarding compensation schemes is something that would also be best directed to Ofgem.

We will continue to press the UK Government, industry and the regulator for assurance that increased resilience of the electricity networks in Scotland is a priority.

The Homeowner Feedback Survey and the Home Energy Efficiency Equity Loan Pilot Call for Evidence were published in March this year. The Scottish Government will consider the possibility of a national rollout of such a scheme as part a suite of financial solutions to support our decarbonisation and energy efficiency targets with the Green Heat Finance Taskforce, who will be publishing their interim recommendations in mid-March next year and final recommendations in September 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07181 on 24 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture, https://www.gov.scot/publications/next-step-delivering-vision-scotland-leader-sustainable-regenerative-farming

was published on 2 March 2022, and outlines our aim to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

It is a positive vision for Scotland’s agriculture sector and will sit at the heart of a robust and coherent framework to underpin Scotland’s future agriculture support regime from 2025 onwards.

We want to encourage new entrants into the industry, and this Government has arguably invested the most in new entrant support compared to other parts of the UK.

• We added provision to allocate direct payments to new entrants and young farmers in excess of £7.2m;
• Our start-up provision alone under the SRDP totalled nearly £13m;
• Under the FONE group we have helped facilitate entry to 76 new entrants by providing 112 land opportunities across 7,070 hectares of land;
• And in conjunction with the NFUS, the Scottish Land Matching Service has got off to a very promising start despite the impact of Covid.

Women living and working in Scottish agriculture are an essential part of the rural economy. We have committed £300,000 this Financial Year, rising to £600,000 during the lifetime of this Parliament, to bring about practical solutions to support women, including: mainstreaming of Be Your Best Self, a personal development training programme; a project to test innovative solutions for childcare in rural areas; and the development of Skillseeder – a skills sharing app to encourage greater participation in rural and land-based training. We’ve also established the WIA Practical Training Fund, administered by Lantra Scotland. We will continue to embed and normalise equalities considerations in all future agricultural scheme development, and work with the industry to support equalities within organisations and boards.

Work is also ongoing, to develop the National Test Programme, which begins this Spring and, over the next three years will deliver Scottish Government investment of up to £51 million. It is based on and informed by the work and recommendations of the Farmer-led Groups, particularly to ensure we are beginning to tackle the most urgent needs and creating a base upon which to build a whole-farm low carbon approach. An outline of the National Test Programme has already been published: https://www.gov.scot/news/ambitious-future-for-rural-scotland/

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) opened for funding in 2022 to support the ambition of doubling the amount of land under organic management, set out in the Programme for Government 2021-22. We are committed to seeing more organic farming and organic produce for sale in Scotland, and working with the sector to establish a new Organic Food and Farming Action Plan. http://www.gov.scot/news/creating-a-fairer-greener-nation

The Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grant Scheme 2022 which is part of the wider agricultural transformation intentions, will be focussed on support for low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers which will help farmers, crofters and agricultural contractors comply with new regulatory requirements; reducing harmful ammonia emissions and adverse impacts on water quality resulting from the storage and spreading of livestock slurry and digestate.

https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/sustainable-agriculture-capital-grant-scheme--sacgs-/

Proposals for future agricultural support will be co-developed with rural partners through the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB) and with wider civil society through a consultation in summer 2022 to inform the introduction of a Scottish Agriculture Bill in 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07181 on 24 March 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 .

We want everyone living in Scotland to be included in the Census and we recognise that digital exclusion (and other barriers to participation) may prevent people from being able to complete online.

We understand that not everyone will be able to, or wish to, complete their census online, and paper copies are available upon request by anyone who needs them by calling our free helpline on 0800 030 8308 and speaking to an agent . Copies of the paper questionnaire can also be ordered via the free helpline automated service, without needing to wait to speak to an agent (option one). Paper questionnaires can also be ordered online at: www.census.gov.scot/paper .

Additional requests, including help and support, can also be made via web chat, e-mail or physical correspondence. Contact details can be found here: Contact us | Scotland's Census 2022 .

We apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused any individual. We are aware of a very small number of instances of this occurring in the first few days of operation, out of the 2.7M Internet Access codes (IAC) issued. This issue was resolved. If required, a replacement IAC can be requested via the census website: www.census.gov.scot/request or by contacting our free helpline on 0800 030 8308.

Whilst Census Day is Sunday 20th March, there is still plenty of time to complete the census, as in previous exercises returns are accepted after this date.

Today I am announcing the establishment of the independent ‘Facilitating Peaceful Assemblies in Scotland: Procedures and Best Practices – Short Life Working Group’ which brings together a small number of experts with backgrounds in marches, human rights, community engagement and mediation/dialogue.

The working group will consider what can be learned from other models used in relation to the regulation of marches and parades including, but not limited to the Parades Commission in Northern Ireland, and consider whether any of this learning can be usefully adapted and applied in Scotland to improve the regulation of marches and parades.

The remit for the working group is:

To identify any challenges that are involved in the running of marches and parades and the notification process in Scotland to achieve the right balance between the human rights of organisers/participants with those communities impacted by these events. To consider how these challenges could be addressed, and the practical implications of making any changes, and make recommendations based on these .

The members of the working group are:

• Professor Dominic Bryan, (Chair) Professor at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queens University Belfast;
• Lorraine Gillies, Chief Executive Scottish Community Safety Network;
• Graham Boyack, Director of Scottish Mediation;
• Dr Michael Hamilton, Associate Professor in Public Protest Law, School of Law, University of East Anglia.

The working group will provide their initial report to me by summer and I will update the Scottish Parliament on any actions I propose to take in response to this report.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07181 on 24 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .