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Separate to establishing the legislative framework for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 also sets statutory requirements to produce a Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP) every five years. These programmes are required to address current and projected risks from climate change, as identified in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. The current SCCAP covers the period 2019 – 2024 and sets out over 170 policies and proposals to build climate resilience in Scotland. We intend to lay the next annual progress report on SCCAP implementation in the Scottish Parliament in May 2023. The next five-year adaptation programme is already in development, with public consultation anticipated for the start of 2024.

As stated in response to S6W-15209, the Interim Report of the Green Heat Finance Taskforce is due to be published in spring this year and will complement other publications which are also due, as per commitments in the Heat in Buildings Strategy (2021). This Interim Report will be published shortly.

The Interim Report will focus in on potential finance and funding solutions for individual property owners which address barriers and gaps identified by the Taskforce which constrain the uptake of existing products. This will be followed by a final report towards the end of the year which will focus on communal, or place based mechanisms, and will incorporate recommendations for the social housing sector.

In 2021 we established the Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP), with the purpose of developing and delivering an education system in Scotland that is fundamentally anti-racist. As part of the work on the AREP that addresses curriculum reform there has been discussion and engagement with a range of anti-racism and education stakeholders, academics with expertise on history including the British Empire, and Black and other minority children and young people.

Within the broad general education there is the opportunity to teach the topic of the British Empire within the people, past events and societies section of social studies, and in the senior phase. This includes opportunities to teach the topic of the British Empire within the History qualifications, for example through the ‘Migration and Empire’ and ‘Atlantic Slave Trade’ topics (at National 5 and Higher).

The Scottish Government recognises the critical role of advice services, often delivered by our diverse third sector and providing lifeline services to the most vulnerable communities, especially during the cost crisis. In 2022-23, we directly invested around £12.5 million in free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services delivered by third sector partners.

We recognise the impact that rising operating costs are having across society, including on charities and voluntary organisations including Epilepsy Scotland, and we are committed to doing everything within our powers to support the third sector to help the people who are struggling the most. Officials are engaging with Epilepsy Scotland to understand any financial challenges they are facing.

The National Plan for Scotland’s Islands says that, as part of Strategic Objective 2, the Scottish Government will “Build on Scotland’s National Marine Plan to ensure that fishing and other economic activities stemming from the sea provide increased opportunities for island communities, but at the same time that they are pursued in a sustainable manner.”

We are proposing that HPMAs protect ecosystems and the services they provide, including essential fish and shellfish habitats, which will deliver societal benefits, including for island communities. By being properly designed and located we believe HPMAs would be compatible with, and could contribute to the objectives of, the Islands Plan by providing long term and sustainable benefits for island communities.

As part of our initial consultation on our overall approach to HPMAs, which closed on 17 April, we sought views on a partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA). These views will be factored into the ICIA process which can only conclude once specific site proposals have been developed. No sites have been proposed. Site selection will be a participatory process with meaningful island and coastal community engagement at every stage to ensure that any potential differential impacts on islands can be understood and assessed before final site proposals are formally consulted on.

In 2023-24 local authorities will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of nearly £13.5 billion. Local authorities also have a range of revenue raising powers that are not available to other public services.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of the block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, including with regards to climate adaptation, to having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

While local authorities are responsible for setting their own budgets, the total funding provided by the Scottish Government will increase by over £793 million in 2023-24 compared with the 2022-23 budget. Decisions on budget allocations for future years are subject to negotiation with COSLA and the results will be confirmed as part of future Scottish Budgets.

By way of example £42 million is provided to local authorities annually for flood risk management, with an additional £150 million announced for investment over this Parliament. Additionally, £11.7 million for coastal change adaptation is available to support coastal local authorities over the course of this Parliament.

To secure long term economic opportunities from our seas, we must take transformative action to protect and restore nature and broaden our measures of economic success.

Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transition sets out our ambition to become a wellbeing economy that takes a broader view of what it means to be a successful economy, society and country and put people and the planet first and foremost.

Transition to a wellbeing economy means developing an economic system within safe environmental limits which serves and prioritises the collective wellbeing of current and future generations. It means looking beyond GDP to measure other indicators of economic success and viewing economic activity as a means to an end – that of collective wellbeing of people and planet – rather than be considered an end in itself.

The proposals we have consulted on to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas in Scotland’s seas, across both inshore and offshore waters, from east coast to west coast, are one action we are taking to protect and restore nature and secure long term economic opportunities for marine sectors, helping to support achieving the aims of the Strategy.

We have conducted a range of initial impact assessments, including an initial Sustainability Appraisal (composed of a Strategic Environmental Report and a Socio-Economic Impact Assessment); a partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) Screening Report; and a partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). We sought views on these as part of our initial consultation, which closed on 17 April. However, as was noted in the consultation, any specific potential impacts can only be considered in full once specific site proposals have been developed, following close stakeholder and community engagement.

The Scottish Government is engaged with COSLA regarding the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 on multiple fronts.

A paper on heat networks regulations was presented to the COSLA Environment and Economy policy board on 3 March 2023 to update the board on progress in developing the duties contained in the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and make members aware of potential impacts of this work on local authorities.

COSLA are also represented on our Stakeholder Engagement Groups, which advise on the implementation of the Act and have so far covered Building Assessment Reports and Heat Network Zones. The groups are now advising on the secondary legislation relating to Heat Network Zone Permits and a Local Authority Cost Strategy.

More widely, in our Heat in Buildings Strategy the Scottish Government committed to “work with COSLA to strengthen and integrate governance arrangements on heat and energy efficiency, to ensure effective delivery over the long term.” A liaison role was created in 2022 to provide capacity within COSLA to engage across the Heat in Buildings programme and embed a partnership approach. This resulted in the establishment of the Heat in Buildings Local Government Oversight group, which meets on a regular basis to provide a forum for dialog between relevant Scottish Government and COSLA officials on the Heat in Buildings programme and wider heat transition. The first meeting of this group was held on 6 March 2023 and included discussion on the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and the regulatory framework that is being introduced as a result. COSLA also sit on the Independent Strategic Board for Heat and Energy Efficiency Scotland, which last met on 18 April 2023.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on businesses that have closed, or are considering closing as a result of the short-term let licensing scheme. Existing hosts, those operating before 1 October 2022, have until 1 October 2023 to apply for a licence and can continue operating whilst their application is being determined.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities. Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across regions and priority sectors.

Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council are progressing Pathfinder projects to identify the skills requirements necessary to support the priority sectors identified in CESAP including in heat decarbonisation. The Pathfinders are operating in Glasgow City and Shetland Islands and the findings will strengthen the green skills evidence base and inform further action to address green skills gaps.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland work with Industry Leadership Groups and other key industry players to develop Regional and Sector Skills Investment Plans. They are created through a process of labour market and skills supply research and analysis, industry consultation and action planning with industry and partners across Scotland’s education and skills system.