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The high cost of energy prices combined with inflation is having a disproportionate impact on fuel poor households across Scotland.

That is why the First Minister recently announced that our Fuel Insecurity Fund will be increased to up to £30 million in the next financial year to support the most vulnerable households in Scotland. In addition, our winter heating payment has been maintained, providing a stable and reliable annual £50 payment to around 400,000 low-income individuals. This benefit is an investment of over £20m each year which is more than double the £8.3m provided on average by the UK Government in each of the last 7 years.

We were disappointed that the UK Government did not answer our calls to extend the Energy Bills Support Scheme as part of its Spring Budget Statement. The removal of the support scheme means a typical household’s annual bill will increase by around 19%. As well as removing 50,000 households from fuel poverty, the continuation of the scheme would also have removed 120,000 Scottish households from extreme fuel poverty.

Following the progress made at the Scottish Government energy summits held last year, we continue to work with energy suppliers to explore ways to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs on those who are struggling to pay their bills and heat their homes.

The Scottish Government is not aware of a decision by Mowi to end open-net farming in Canada and Norway due to impacts on wild fish.

The Scottish Government is committed to a programme of work to protect and restore wild Atlantic salmon populations. The Wild Salmon Strategy and accompanying Implementation Plan, published in February this year, set out a suite of actions to be taken to mitigate against the wide range of pressures which impact wild fish populations.

There is a presumption against open cage fish farming development on the North and East costs of Scotland in the National Marine Plan and National Planning Framework to protect wild migratory species.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is preparing for a further consultation on a new sea lice risk assessment framework to protect wild fish for implementation in the aquaculture zone.

The duties of SEPA are set out in the Environment Act 1995.

There is regular engagement at all levels between Scottish Government and SEPA and this will continue for the remainder of the financial year 2023-24. This includes regular dialogue between Ministers and the SEPA Chair and CEO. SEPA’s Corporate Plan will be renewed in 2024 and Ministers will work with SEPA to agree the Key Performance Indicators and priority areas to be included in that Plan.

In line with guidance sent to all public bodies, SEPA receive relevant guidance documents from Scottish Government. For example, SEPA have received a copy of the Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 and a copy of the Fair Work First Guidance.

The high cost of energy prices combined with inflation is having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable consumers, including those living with disabilities.

We were disappointed that the UK Government did not answer our calls to extend the Energy Bills Support Scheme as part of its Spring Budget Statement. The removal of the support scheme means a typical household’s annual bill will increase by around 19%. That is why the First Minister recently announced that our Fuel Insecurity Fund will be increased to up to £30 million in the next financial year to support the most vulnerable households in Scotland. In addition, our winter heating payment has been launched, providing a stable and reliable annual £50 payment to around 400,000 low-income individuals. This benefit is an investment of over £20m each year which is more than double the £8.3m provided on average by the UK Government in each of the last 7 years.

Following the progress made at the Scottish Government energy summits held last year, we continue to work with energy suppliers to explore ways to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs on those who are struggling to pay their bills and heat their homes.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with the Scottish Refugee Council to discuss a range of issues as part of our commitment to work in partnership. This includes meetings in relation to the New Scots refugee integration strategy for which Scottish Refugee Council is a key partner.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information, including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials regularly engage with stakeholder organisations, including Scottish Refugee Council, as part of policy development processes.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Close the Gap as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality and our work to support employers address gender pay gaps across Scotland. A representative also sits on the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning group which seeks to tackle the barriers faced by girls and young women in an education setting.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with the Scottish Women’s Convention as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality. The Scottish Women’s Convention engage with Scottish Government officials as part of their work to ensure women’s voices from across Scotland are heard on a number of key issues.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with violence against women and girls stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Rape Crisis Scotland as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls. A representative from Rape Crisis Scotland sits on Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board (ES JSB) and further detail on this can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with violence against women and girls and gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Zero Tolerance as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls and our commitment to gender equality. A representative from Zero Tolerance also sits on a range of Scottish Government convened Advisory, Strategic and Working Groups including the Gender Based Violence in Schools Working Group and Equally Safe in Colleges and Universities Core Leadership Group.

Scottish Ministers have no plans to undertake a formal review of the trunk road network on Skye. The statutory duty to manage, maintain and improve the trunk road network is set out in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and places an obligation on Ministers to keep the network under continual review.

In the United Kingdom, trunk roads were first defined in the Trunk Roads Act 1936. There have been two national reviews of the Scottish road network since the Act was introduced. The first was in 1946 and the second in 1994/95. The latter was prompted by the reorganisation of local government in Scotland.

A comprehensive review of the trunk road network on Skye would only be required in response to matters of national significance. We therefore currently have no plans to undertake a formal review of the trunk road network on Skye.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published on 8 December 2022, will inform the Scottish Government’s investment programme over the next 20 years (2022 to 2042). STPR2 has been undertaken in line with the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy, which aims to reduce the need to travel unsustainably and prioritises making best use of and enhancing existing infrastructure, before investing in new capacity.

The STPR2 recommendations include progressing safety improvements across the trunk road and motorway network (recommendation no. 30) with a primary but not exclusive focus on rural sections where accident rates and severities are typically higher. Measures are likely to include one or a combination of junction improvements, carriageway widening, route realignment and provision of overtaking opportunities. At this stage, potential example locations forming part of this recommendation include the A87 Invergarry to Uig with the location and type of improvements on specific routes requiring further detailed investigation.

In addition, climate change adaptation and resilience of the trunk road and motorway network forms STPR2 recommendation 31 and sea wall improvements, strengthening or replacement is a possible intervention in relation to the A87. Furthermore, recommendation 32 is focused on continued investment in the maintenance of a safe, reliable and efficient trunk road and motorway network. It should be noted that the STPR2 recommendations are not funded and will be subject to prioritisation that takes into consideration the fiscal context and availability of funding.