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I am advised that while it is too early to say how Clyde Metro will impact on the rail network, the Clyde Metro project team, led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, has been engaging with ScotRail and Network Rail as part of the early work on the on-going Case for Investment stage. This engagement will continue throughout this key stage, which will define the Clyde Metro network.

The Scottish Government has had ongoing engagement with the wave and tidal energy sectors during the development of the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including a Marine Energy Industry Roundtable event hosted by Scottish Renewables alongside key industry representatives. In addition, we received 346 responses from stakeholders to the consultation questions on marine energy in the draft ESJTP, which are being considered as we produce the final strategy.

Legislation sets out a wide range of permitted development rights. These allow certain types of development to be carried out without a planning application. In doing so, they help provide certainty and save the time and expense associated with applying for planning permission.

In the first phase of the Scottish Government’s review of permitted development rights, we introduced new PDR for the conversion of certain agricultural and forestry buildings to residential and flexible commercial uses (including shops, food and drink and business uses). We also increased the scale of agricultural buildings that may be built without a planning application. Rural businesses can also make use of and benefit from a range of other PDR.

In January 2023, we launched a consultation for the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP), seeking feedback on our draft vision for marine energy, and including a question on whether the Scottish Government should set a deployment target for marine energy. The forthcoming finalised ESJTP will take into account the wide range of consultation responses received. As we develop Scotland’s ambitions for both wave and tidal energy, we will continue to engage with the industry to explore and support solutions to address long-term needs.

The Scottish Government does not undertake assessment of the accessibility of streets nationally.

National Performance Framework (NPF) 4 policy 14, highlights the six qualities of successful places which development proposals should demonstrate. The qualities of safety, attractiveness, connectedness and adaptability can improve the accessibility of a place to all users. NPF4 is part of the development plan, which means that planning decisions should be made in line with NPF4 policy unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Designing Streets is a policy statement that promotes the consideration of street design towards placemaking and away from the system focus upon the dominance of motor vehicles. It emphasises the need to consider accessibility and inclusive design for people over vehicular movements. It is not a standards based guidance but promotes a balanced decision making on designing for place and movement, and relates to both planning and transport policies.

NPF4 policy 13 is clear that development proposals will be supported where they have taken into account, at the earliest stages of design, the transport needs of diverse groups including users with protected characteristics to ensure the safety, ease and needs of all users.

The Scottish Government publishes monthly reports on the Scottish economy at:

Economic briefs and bulletins - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A report was not published in June 2024 due to the pre-election period for the UK General Election.

The Scottish Government supports several small bodies that provide Scots language teaching resources for use in schools. Education Scotland and the Open University also make an important contribution to this. In addition, the Scottish Languages Bill, currently making its way through Parliament includes Scots provisions which will strengthen this support. In relation to Scots provisions, the Bill will also require Scottish Ministers to consult with those that have an interest in both the promotion of Scots and in the publication of Scots books and resources. We are confident that these measures will improve the resources available for teaching Scots in the classroom.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28663 on 15 August 2024.

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 .

The National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) aims to support sustainable development of our seas, protect our marine environment, and deliver for Scotland’s communities, in particular those living by, relying on, and visiting Scotland’s seas. The NMP2 will support our blue economy vision, helping to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change and realising the opportunities from the transition to net zero.

The NMP2 is already in development and stakeholder engagement has commenced on the plan policies, objectives and supporting assessments. Stakeholder involvement at every stage is essential to ensure that Scotland’s marine planning framework can continue to support sound decision-making to guide the future use of our seas. To maximise opportunities to meaningfully engage with stakeholders in the design of the Plan, the delivery timeline for the NMP2 and the accompanying Statement of Public Participation (SPP) have been updated.

Later in 2024, consultation on a marine Planning Position Statement will take place. This is a new stage of the NMP2’s development and will provide an invaluable and earlier opportunity for meaningful discourse. The Statement will set out the views gathered from stakeholders to date, and the Scottish Government’s commitments and aspirations for the new Plan. This will align the development of NMP2 with the approach taken for the National Planning Framework (NPF4), where consultation on the NPF4 position statement was carried out in 2021 and used to inform the development of the draft NPF4.

The feedback gathered from consultation on the statement and from the ongoing programme of stakeholder engagement will be used to produce a draft plan. The draft NMP2 will then be subject to public consultation in 2025.

These documents and further information are available at:

•  Statutory Statement of Public Participation

The refreshed Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Action Plan was published in June 2023. The Learning for Sustainability Leadership Group – which meets quarterly – is overseeing delivery. The Leadership Group commenced an annual stocktake process in July to assess progress against the Action Plan and to agree key priorities for 2024-25.

Further to the Scottish Government’s response to S6W-25156 on 22 February 2024, key areas of progress since publication of the Action Plan include:

? The development of a new LfS Mentor Network, which launched in February 2024 with over 97 engagements undertaken in its first 6 weeks, which reached more than 600 practitioners across 20 local authorities. The Network provides a forum for educators to provide peer-to-peer support and advice;

? The formation of a sub-working group leading on development of LfS Indicators that will support practitioners and wider stakeholders to embed a whole-school approach to LfS and delivery of our Target 2030 vision;

? The creation of a range of resources that draw on examples and activities from across Scotland to support educators to deliver good practice approaches to LfS. These resources will be hosted on the new and bespoke LfS online portal that launches in Autumn; and

? Continued close engagement with Education Scotland, His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education (HMIE), the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Social Services Council to help consider alignment of LfS principles and approaches as part of on-going reviews of relevant inspection frameworks and practitioner standards.

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 .