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There were no convictions under regulation 67 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (where main crime) in 2021-22.

There were no convictions under section 40(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (where main crime) in 2021-22.

The information that has been requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Following the first meeting of the Ministerial taskforce, we announced a grant scheme to support those suffering from the impacts of Storm Babet. After the second meeting of the Taskforce held on Wednesday 29 November, I can announce that applications for these grants will open on Monday 4 December. The grants will comprise a £1,500 community recovery payment for people 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 - Angus Council and Aberdeenshire Council - and also in areas that were affected with catchments that cross local authority boundaries.

As well as these individual grants, the Scottish Government is providing more support in a range of ways. We want to do all we can to help people rebuild their lives. The Scottish Government is therefore providing additional funding of up to £100,000 to help those families who have lost everything to resettle. We have announced funding to help farmers repair floodbanks damaged by the extreme rainfall during October.

We have also initiated the Bellwin Scheme to help councils with weather related costs, and have extended it by two months. We will also share technical advice and expertise to help Angus Council identify and provide for future housing need.

This support is over and above our long-standing annual funding of £42 million and the additional £150 million for flood risk management together with our £12 million commitment for coastal change adaptation over the course of this parliament.

We continue to work with local authorities and those directly affected by Storm Babet, to help councils, people, businesses and communities to recover in the short term, but also to consider longer term issues like repairing infrastructure.

As set out previously, since 29 August 2022 women aged 71 to 74, and those 75 and over with a history of breast cancer, were able to register for self-referral appointments by contacting their local breast screening service. From 1 st December, all women aged 75 and over regardless of their history with breast cancer, will be able to register for self-referral appointments by contacting their local breast screening service, if they have not been screened in the last three years,. As a result, all women aged 71 and over will now be able to self-refer for breast screening, in line with procedures in place before the pandemic.

The impact of the restart on programme capacity and wait times will continue to be monitored closely to ensure there is no adverse impact on those who are invited for screening and for whom there is the clearest evidence of benefit.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS published its Annual Procurement Report on the SPS Website on 2 October 2023. (Link: http://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Publications/Publication-9204.aspx ).

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

In compliance with the deadline set out in Section 22 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act, SPS will publish their annual report and accounts for 2022-23 in December 2023.

Bus and coach operators are required to hold Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licenses. The PSV licensing is a reserved power to the UK Government and is managed by the Traffic Commissioner, the main purpose of the regime is to ensure safe and proper use of vehicles. The Scottish Government has no oversight of investigations carried out by operators in relation to maintenance and safety of vehicles.

Developing a net zero or decarbonisation plan can help businesses to understand how they can change their practices to reduce their carbon emissions and the benefits they can gain from doing so. The Enterprise Agencies provide a range of support to help businesses develop net zero plans and to transition to net zero. Since 1 November 2022, Scottish Enterprise grant funding has been provided on the condition that the recipient business either has a net zero action plan in place, or commits to developing one within twelve months of accepting the grant. Scottish Enterprise retains a record of those organisations which have a net zero plan in place.

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the Building a New Scotland paper, ‘An independent Scotland in the EU’, are set out in the following table: