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We do not support the halting of further expansion of salmon farming. The 2018 report by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, Salmon Farming in Scotland , noted calls for a moratorium on new salmon farm developments and expansion of existing sides, but considered that there was insufficient evidence to support this. The Scottish Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendations that the status quo was not an option.

Since then, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s new finfish regulatory framework has launched and, through the Farmed Fish Health Framework, we have delivered a strengthened farmed fish sea lice compliance regime, including sea lice reporting legislation which came into force in May.

We are also committed to taking forward an immediate programme of work to better protect wildlife and the environment, including a response to the Salmon Interactions Working Group in September 2021; consultation on a spatially adaptive sea lice risk assessment framework for fish farms by the end of the year; and strengthened controls on sea lice, wrasse and fish escapes in the course of 2021-22. There are no grounds to support a moratorium.

No risk assessment has been carried out regarding the potential impact on recycling rates of charging for garden waste collection.

There is no statutory requirement for local authorities to separately collect garden waste and charging for its collection is not a new option available to councils. Garden waste is included in Schedule 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 which contains the types of waste for which a charge for collection may be made. It is up to individual councils whether to charge or not.

As set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan, we will consult on requirements to separately collect garden waste by 2023, to further promote reuse and recycling.

Our Housing to 2040 strategy includes a vision that everyone who can is enabled to live independently in a home of their choice. Local authorities are responsible for assessing the housing needs in their areas and setting out in their Local Housing Strategies how this will be met. Local Housing Strategy guidance published in September 2019 also requires local authorities to set targets for wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures, including reporting annually on progress.

Through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP), we provide a range of housing including new build, off the shelf purchases and rehabilitation projects. For new build projects, wherever possible, all affordable homes are built to Housing for Varying Needs standards. This standard sets out good practice on the design of housing to achieve flexibility and suitability for people of all abilities. Our annual AHSP Outturn Reports publish the percentage of affordable new build home completions meeting Housing for Varying Needs standards.

The following table shows, of the information returned, the percentage of new build social rent, mid-market rent and low cost home ownership homes supported through the AHSP, which have met that standard since 2005.

In addition to supporting new accessible affordable homes, in the period between 2007-08 and 2019-21 a total of £175 million has been provided directly to housing associations to help them provide adaptations for older and disabled tenants.

The Scottish Government is committed to action to protect biodiversity and to the effective monitoring of progress towards this goal. We are working to meet the commitments set out within the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, 2004 - 2020, and are aligned to the international Aichi biodiversity targets as set out in the Strategic Plan for biodiversity 2011-2020.

The final report against the Aichi targets published in 2021 showed that Scotland achieved 9 out of the 20 targets and another 11 are progressing. This compares favourably to the global picture, where the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reports that good progress as being made on only 4 of the targets, and with the UK as a whole, which met only 5 targets. The CBD reports that there is no country in the world that has fully met the Aichi Biodiversity targets.

The 2020 Statement of Intent on Biodiversity included a commitment to protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030 And assess whether we could go further given that we have already achieved 37% protection of Scotland’s marine environment. We also recently added a new single high level indicator to the National Performance Framework which measures trends in marine and terrestrial biodiversity in Scotland.

Looking forward, we will publish a new biodiversity strategy in October 2022. This will set out how we will deliver our overall ambition of preventing any further extinctions of wildlife and halting declines by 2030, and making significant progress in restoring Scotland’s natural environment by 2045. This will lay the foundation for a new A Natural Environment Bill which will include legislation for new nature recovery targets.

We are in daily contact with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), and are monitoring the situation closely, including in Fife HSCP. Health Boards and HSCPs have provided assurances that people in need of the most urgent care will continue receiving care during this challenging period.

We are working with local partners to address these pressures at a local and national level, including putting in place measures to support recruitment and multi-disciplinary working. Some of the immediate actions we have taken include: funding support to advertise vacant posts on a dedicated social care webpage; and targeted communication with Further and Higher Education nursing students and Social Work students, to encourage applications to join the workforce.

Further, we have allocated an additional £380 million to Health Boards to help with costs arising from the pandemic. This comes on top of the £1.7 billion already provided to Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships last year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02365 on 3 September 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02365 on 3 September 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02365 on 3 September 2021. Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is the Scottish Government's approach to supporting children and young people. One of the core components of this is a named person who is a clear point of contact for children, young people and parents to go to for initial support and advice. The named person can also help to connect families to relevant services offered by the NHS, local authorities and third sector or community groups.

Another core component of GIRFEC is a single, shared approach to planning for children and young people’s wellbeing where support across services is needed. A personalised child’s plan will be available when a child needs a range of extra support planned, delivered and co-ordinated. The child's plan is managed by a 'lead professional': someone with the right skills and experience to make sure the plan is managed properly. Depending on the situation and the child's needs, the lead professional may also be their named person.

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

Scottish Government does not hold information on the cost of tackling litter in each local authority. Local Authorities are responsible for clearing litter on public land. They will be providing information on the costs of tackling litter as part of the forthcoming research on the scale and cost of litter and flytipping in Scotland.

Self-Directed Support (SDS) is Scotland’s mainstream approach to social care that seeks to give unpaid carers and people receiving care and/or support flexibility, choice and control to meet their own personal outcomes, using a human rights based approach. In March 2021 the SDS Framework of Standards was published. This enables and encourages both local authorities and individuals to use Self-Directed Support in a flexible manner, enabling consideration out with traditional support services that may have been previously provided.

Scottish Government also funds independent support providers across Scotland to support people to arrange support that meets their needs by providing advocacy, information and advice on social care at local levels.