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Arrangements have been made so that the settlement of these costs will not affect the operational effectiveness of COPFS, and will not require to be met from the COPFS resource budget allocation.

Any overall funding changes required to support expenditure come from careful budget management across the Scottish Government budget. Budget transfers are reported to Parliament as part of the Autumn and Spring Budget revisions.

In April 2019, we published the Waste Markets Study which assessed the treatment options for Scottish biodegradable municipal waste. The study is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/waste-markets-study-full-report/

We have also commissioned work to assess the residual waste treatment capacity needs up to 2025, in light of our commitment to end the practice of landfilling biodegradable municipal waste by 2025. This work is ongoing and we will publish it in due course.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce any new targets for waiting times for community mental health support over and above those already in place for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and psychological therapy.

In February we announced an additional £120 million for a Recovery & Renewal Fund to ensure the delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition & Recovery Plan. The Fund will support the development of an integrated culture of mental wellbeing and prevention within local communities and across Scotland, and promote the capacity and role of third sector organisations to deliver this.

We are committed to improving access to community mental health and wellbeing support. This year we have provided local authorities with an additional £15 Million to fund over 200 new and enhanced supports and services for children and young people.

These services are guided by a Framework, developed by the Scottish Government and COSLA chaired Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board, and now overseen by the Joint Delivery Board.

A key part of the Framework is to ensure access to services is as easy as possible so children, young people and their families get the right support at the right time without delay.

Community supports and services should work closely with CAMHS and relevant health and social care partners, children’s services and educational establishments to ensure that there are clear and streamlined pathways to support. Services should also be accessible via self-referral, and the hours of operation not solely 9-5 or weekdays.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board are currently evaluating the impact of these community mental health services.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school-aged children and young people in Scotland are provided with a digital device by the end of this parliament.

Charges for National Qualifications have remained unchanged since 2012-13 despite changes in costs. While charges contribute towards the cost of awarding National Qualifications they do not cover the full costs. In addition, 2020 and 2021 late entry fees have been waived and there have been no charges for appeals. There are therefore no plans to reimburse National Qualifications payments.

For 2021, SQA estimates that the costs of providing certification for national qualifications was £41.7m, while income from local authorities, colleges and independent schools is expected to be £30.5m. The remaining cost is covered by SQA’s grant in aid budget from the Scottish Government.

Detailed modelling to provide projections of future recycling performance is being undertaken as part of our work to develop a route map towards our 2025 recycling and waste targets, as set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

The Scottish Government is aware of the potential for workforce issues to arise within NHS podiatry services. The Government is currently gathering data to support information from a range of sources. Early findings suggest the possible requirement to increase the education and training routes available for professional and support roles to offset future retirements and to allow expansion and development of innovative delivery models. These issues will be examined in more detail in the current AHP Education Review.

Ports in Scotland are operated as independent statutory bodies and governed by their own local legislation. This is subject to public consultation and Ministerial approval. The Scottish Government has no remit in the day-to-day operation of ports, which is the responsibility of the relevant port authority.

The Port Marine Safety Code sets out a national standard for port marine safety in ports throughout the UK. The Code aims to enhance safety for everyone who uses or works in the UK port marine environment. It is endorsed by the UK Government, the devolved administrations and representatives from across the maritime sector. Whilst the Code is not mandatory, there is an expectation that all harbour authorities will comply with it. The Code is intended to be flexible enough that any size or type of harbour or marine facility will be able to apply its principles in a way that is appropriate and proportionate to local requirements.

Port marine safety is governed not only by marine legislation, such as the Pilotage Act 1987 and Merchant Shipping Act 1995 as referred to in the Code, but also by general legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 .

The right of responsible non-motorised access to land enshrined in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 applies to both land and inland water. These access rights, set out as rights and responsibilities in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, do not however apply to ports and harbours.

As made clear in the Scottish Government’s Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan published last year, electrification offers clear advantages over other rail decarbonisation technologies for both passenger and freight services on busy main line routes, such as the Central Belt to Aberdeen routes.

Delivery and development work for Scotland’s enviable rolling programme of electrification proceeds apace, and the plans for future phases will be announced in due course, consistent with the wider Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 Process.

Of 272 buses supported by the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme only 61 are being imported from abroad. This is in line with Scottish Government's Trade Vision, where we committed to supporting domestic manufacturing while balancing this with active participation in diversified Global Value Chains. Scotland remains committed to a rules-based trade agenda and supports open, fair and transparent trade without protectionism.