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The Scottish Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 2016 sets out the material that qualifies at the lower rate of Scottish Landfill Tax and the qualifying conditions that have to be met.

The Order sets out specific circumstances in which incinerator bottom ash qualifies for the lower rate. As biostabilised waste is not listed in the Order, the standard rate of tax would apply.

Zero Waste Scotland has commissioned a study to better understand the potential for biostabilisation as a municipal residual waste treatment process in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has today published its Draft Heat Networks Delivery Plan for consultation. The Consultation will run until 15 December and can be accessed at https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/heat-networks-delivery-plan

This consultation document fulfils the requirement of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to consult with relevant persons in preparing the heat networks delivery plan (Part 1). It outlines in draft how the provisions of the 2021 Act, and any other supporting policies, will contribute to increasing the use of heat networks in Scotland. It sets out the proposed approach that the Scottish Ministers intend to take to increase the use of heat networks in Scotland and how the statutory targets will be met. In addition, it outlines how progress will be measured and the expected contribution that heat networks will make toward meeting the emission reduction targets.

Over this parliamentary term we are investing at least £1.8 billion in heat and energy efficiency in buildings, including investing £400 million to support the development of large-scale heat infrastructure, such as heat networks.

The consultation document also seeks views on policy proposals relating to aspects of the emerging regulatory regime.

I have also written to the Conveners of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. The Government looks forward to engaging with interested parties on this issue.

The Scottish Government will establish a Scottish public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 by the end of this year, to scrutinise decisions taken in the course of this pandemic, and learn lessons for future pandemics.

Public discussion and engagement about a draft COVID-19 Inquiry Establishment Aims and Principles paper took place between 24th August and end of September. Analysis of the engagement is being used to help shape drafting of the terms of reference for the inquiry. A report covering public engagement on the inquiry will be published in due course.

Discussions are underway with the Lord President to identify a candidate to chair the inquiry, in line with our previous commitment to having it led by a judge.

A statement on the appointment of the chair and the terms of reference for the inquiry will be made to the Scottish Parliament in accordance with the requirements of the Inquiries Act 2005.

The Scottish Government have, and continue to, provide support to former Rolls-Royce employees through our PACE initiative for responding to redundancy situations. This provides affected individuals with the necessary skills and employability support to get back into work as quickly as possible. This includes utilising the National Training Transition Fund to help people take advantage of jobs available in growth areas of the economy, such as digital and green technologies.

In addition, Skills Development Scotland undertook the “Aerospace Workforce Survey” using both online and telephone questionnaires in May and June of this year with a response rate of 65% (195 responses from 298 contacts). More than half of those surveyed had found work in another sector in Scotland, and one in eight had found alternative work in the Scottish Aerospace sector. Those with higher level qualifications were most likely to have found another aerospace job.

A further 14% had found aerospace related work in England. Those who had left the aerospace sector were most likely to have gone into the Medical or Defence sectors, with others going into Manufacturing, Marine Engineering, Renewables and Scientific Instruments.

Just under one in ten of those responding were currently unemployed and looking for work and a further 3% were retraining. Those with lower level qualifications were much more likely to be unemployed, or retraining to improve their employment prospects. Those who were able to find another aerospace job were more likely to be working at a similar or higher level to their previous position. Those who had changed sector were much more likely to be working at a lower level; with lower earnings or less responsibility.

At the time of leaving employment all employees were invited to participate in PACE Redundancy support seminars and ,as a follow up to the survey, individuals received follow up contact from SDS Careers Advisors and opportunities continue to be promoted to those consenting to further contact.

The Scottish Government has invested over £50 million in development of the ChargePlace Scotland network. Funding is provided to all of Scotland’s local authorities to provide communities across Scotland with a robust user-focused charging network ensuring that no area is left behind. The majority of this investment has been through the Local Authority Install Programme, meaning that local authorities are responsible for the procurement of charge points and the associated warranty and maintenance packages.

Recent offers of grant for the Local Authority Install Programme include a requirement to embed the Place Principle in delivery, supporting the National Performance Framework’s collective purpose for Scotland. This establishes an expectation to plan and work with local communities and recognise the benefits of planning, investment and implementing activity at the regional level of place, where that focus could drive faster rates of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Many local authorities carry out procurement using frameworks established by organisations such as Scotland Excel. These frameworks are also covered by the Sustainable Procurement Duty and therefore consider the wider social, economic and environmental aims of procurement in a consistent manner as required by the sustainable procurement duty under the Act.

Whilst Scottish Ministers fund the operation of the ChargePlace Scotland public EV charging network, installation and maintenance of the infrastructure is the sole responsibility of the respective charge point owners. Funding has been provided to local authorities to support maintenance up to 2022.

To support development of a resilient and reliable national network, that in turn supports Scotland’s economic, environmental and social well-being, all grants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure include conditions requiring the grantee (charge point owner) to have a warranty & maintenance contract in place to ensure infrastructure remains in good working order.

To ensure ChargePlace Scotland is an inclusive network, suitable for all EV drivers across all areas of Scotland and to complement our existing ‘Common Requirements and Good Practice Guide for the ChargePlace Scotland Network’ , we are developing guidance documents to aid the planning and installation of charge points in areas with varied geographic and demographic characteristics, including rural and island communities and areas at the top of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

We are also involved in the development of Accessible Electric Vehicle Chargepoint standards that will be applicable across the United Kingdom. Through Scottish Enterprise’s Can Do Innovation Challenge framework we have already contributed £390,000 to Scottish SMEs, supporting the development of innovative ideas to make charge points more accessible. Engaging the disabled community and stakeholder organisations throughout the process.

We are also working with Scottish Futures Trust to consider the most appropriate structures and approach to expanding public charging networks across Scotland. Ensuring a Just Transition will be embedded as a core principle so that no parts of Scotland are left behind.

In addition to our work on charging infrastructure we are continuing our support for decarbonisation of the Scottish bus fleet and have committed £120 million over the coming 5 years. The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) is designed to encourage the market to bring forward new and innovative ways to finance the transition to zero-emission bus fleets and will support Scotland’s green recovery, providing immediate economic stimulus and supporting the Scottish Government’s bold ambitions to decarbonise the bus fleet.

As set out in our 2021-22 Programme for Government, this year we will make our first investments from the £70m Recycling Improvement Fund. This will support local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure and help with aligning recycling collections to the Code of Practice under the Household Recycling Charter and maximise the quality and quantity of recycling.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04157 on 15 November 2021. 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
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The Scottish Government are aware of a technical issue which affect EE 4G mobile telecoms access in Uig, Lewis. Scottish Government officials have been in regular contact with EE for the duration of the issue.

We understand this issue has taken longer to resolve than originally anticipated due to the availability of replacement parts, caused by global supply chain issues.

EE sought to provide interim solutions until the service could be fully restored which included reinstating SMS and voice services, with some limited data access.

EE have now resolved the issue by upgrading the entire module which also gives the mast site increased resilience.

APD is currently set by the UK Government, with introduction of ADT in Scotland deferred to allow the issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption to be resolved.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a frequent-flier levy. This option was ruled out in the context of a consultation on Air Departure Tax (ADT), on the grounds that it would be disproportionately resource-intensive to administer. The same issues remain now.

The current system of Air Passenger Duty (APD) has the effect of charging tax for each flight purchased, but without the need for recording the number of flights an individual has taken.