Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government recognised that damage from flooding during the autumn of 2023 extended into parts of the Highlands and for this reason the eligible area of the Agricultural Floodbank scheme has been extended to include Highland Speyside.

There are blocks of recycling bins along each of the floors in the Members block, this includes a can bin at each of the tea points.  There are fewer of these bins than other types of recycling bins because we generate fewer cans than other types of recycling.  We are reviewing the recycling points in the MSP block and we plan to add another set of can bins to each floor.  We have also recently had to order a replacement can bin for the second-floor tea point, so this bin has been temporarily unavailable but will be back by Friday 8th December.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body announced on 23 November that it will undertake an investigation in line with its duties under the MSP code of conduct.

As stated then, in the interests of fairness to all, and to avoid prejudicing our investigation, the Corporate Body will not comment on any matters that could have a bearing on the process. It is important to stress, however, that the Corporate Body remains wholly committed to openness and transparency and will release all material that it can, when it can, in line with its legal obligations.

The Scottish Government is defined by three distinct and interdependent missions centred on the principles of equality, opportunity and community: to tackle poverty; to build a fair, green and indeed a growing economy; and to improve our public services. In that context, the Minister for Housing’s specific responsibilities are:

• Affordable Housing Supply Programme
• Housing to 2040 strategy
• homelessness and rough sleeping
• cladding remediation
• welfare and debt advice
• regulation of existing housing systems

The Scottish Government has identified, working with our Peatland ACTION delivery partners, multiple barriers that are preventing it from achieving its peatland restoration targets. These include a lack of skilled project designers, technical advisers and agents to support landowners and managers through restoration projects; operating restrictions during bird breeding seasons and inclement weather; the absence until 2020 of a multi-year funding package which undermined contractor confidence to invest; and a lack of private sector investment at sufficient scale in peatland restoration projects. Significant efforts are underway to address these issues, including substantial work to develop and expand the number of skilled and experienced contractors; developing provisions whereby operations can be carried out safely during bird breeding seasons etc.

Furthermore, the continued growth of Peatland Action since 2020 has increased confidence in multi year funding. This has allowed the wider industry to focus on developing the supporting infrastructure for peatland restoration, particularly with regards to training and developing applicable skills.

The consultation on the Report on the Effectiveness of Environmental Governance was open for responses for 19 weeks, closing on‎ 13 October. The Scottish Government will publish the responses to the consultation on Citizen Space, at the same time as providing an update to Parliament in early 2024, which will include recommendations in response to the views raised.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference. The Scottish Government had no involvement in the Police Scotland investigation that resulted in Sheriff Alistair Duff being convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Through the Circular Economy Bill, the Scottish Government is committed to a co-design process to develop a new Household Recycling Code of Practice with local authorities and other stakeholders to provide a clear strategic direction for recycling in Scotland.

This includes enabling progress against future local recycling and reuse targets, informing how the monitoring and reporting framework for local authority waste services can be strengthened, and consideration of further measures to incentivise waste reduction at a household level.

Engagement with Cosla and local authority representatives is ongoing, and Scottish Government officials are currently developing plans for a local authority workshop to be held in early 2024 to continue this process.

The Scottish Government remains committed to a public consultation on the separate kerbside collection of textiles by 2025. Evidence from the consultation will inform the development of the new Household Recycling Code of Practice.

Please see the following information as of 1 December.

The Scottish Government has agreed a package of support for people whose homes and businesses were affected by Storm Babet.

Funding is being provided to eligible local authorities to allow them to issue flat rate grants to all households and businesses suffering from the impacts of Storm Babet. The grants will comprise a £1,500 community recovery grant for those whose properties have been flooded, and a £3,000 business recovery grant for businesses, community groups and organisations impacted by flooding. Grants will be administered by eligible local authorities which are those that had an exceptional red warning for rain during October’s storm. Letters offering funding have been issued to Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Perth and Kinross Council to enable them to make the grant payments.

We are also providing Angus Council with additional funding of up to £100,000 to help those families who have lost everything to resettle and rebuild their lives. We have also announced funding to help farmers repair floodbanks damaged by the extreme rainfall during October.