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The Scottish Government is committed to building HMP Highland and HMP Glasgow.

Work is underway to replace HMP Inverness with HMP Highland at the chosen site at Inverness Retail and Business Park. The initial contract was awarded in October 2021 and pre-construction work has started. HMP Highland will provide 200 places, allowing for more people to reside closer to their home in the community and enhance family contact.

The work on HMP Glasgow is also progressing. The contract for pre-construction services was awarded in July 2022. A key aim of the design is to create an environment that is inclusive and recognises the particular vulnerabilities of the population.

As Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd is responsible for the development and construction of the logistical network that will support Scotland’s DRS.

The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 was passed by the Scottish Parliament in June of this year and received Royal Assent on 10 August.

Firework licensing, Part 2 of the Act, will require further secondary legislation, as well as development of an appropriate licensing system, and therefore will not be in place until late 2023/early 2024 at the earliest. Commencement regulations will be introduced in advance of the system being operational.

The First Minister met Tony Danker, CBI Director General and Tracy Black, CBI Scotland, Director, on 22 March 2022.During the meeting the following points were discussed:

• The Chancellor’s budget statement which was due the following day;

The new Subsidy Control Act, 2022, has not yet commenced. It is expected to come into force in the next few months. Scottish Government has not raised specific sector-based, or employer-based issues with the UK Government, other than relating to Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Aquaculture which, in a departure from provisions within the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, are included in the Act. Engagement between the Scottish Government and UK Government, is regular at official level, has focused on the Scottish Ministers’ concerns with the provisions and the development and implementation arrangements for the new Act, including the statutory guidance.

Scottish Government has been represented by a wide range of officials throughout, including those from the Subsidy Control team.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11044 on 29 September 2022. 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
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I met with Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority on 11 April 2022, during my visit to Orkney. The purpose of that meeting was to provide an update, following previous meetings, on the progress of the Orkney Harbours Masterplan. During the discussion, we specifically focussed on the work underway to develop and enhance the Scapa Deep Water Quay and Halston Pier, both of which will provide new opportunities for use by the Offshore Wind sector.

The Scottish Government recognises that there may be instances where a host relationship breaks down. Where a relationship breaks down, it is the responsibility of local authorities to re-enter a displaced person into the matching process and find a suitable alternative accommodation.

On 22 September, the Scottish Government published its first summary of the latest Scotland-level data and information on people displaced by the war in Ukraine coming to Scotland through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme visa schemes which provides detail on matching progress: Key points - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government recognises that there may be instances where a host relationship breaks down. Where a relationship breaks down, the displaced person can make contact with their local authority who will re-enter them to the matching process and find a suitable alternative accommodation.

It is important to recognise that matching people with hosts is a complex process. Time must be taken to ensure that the needs of both the host family and Ukrainians are met, and that both are suitably supported to make a decision that is right for them. Their housing and support needs and preferences will be assessed and the matching service will seek to match them with accommodation suitable for their needs. Where additional needs are identified, they will be directed to specialist local authority support teams.

We have made £11.2m of additional funding available to local authorities, which they can use to bolster their resettlement teams, enhance the pace of host checks, and support refurbishment of properties. In addition we have funded additional staff in local authorities to speed up the process and we are also introducing a new digital matching tool to support the matching process. We are currently reviewing the operation of the super sponsor scheme, including measures to improve matching.

As detailed in our Programme for Government, we recognise the profound impact the current cost crisis is having across Scotland. Within this, we are acutely aware of the various challenges festivals have faced in 2022, including the ongoing effects of COVID-19, rail strike action, rising inflation and rising costs across the board.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have provided a total of approximately £14.1 million in financial support to the festivals. We believe it is of vital importance to maintain an honest and open dialogue with the festivals. For example, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development met with Festivals Edinburgh and a number of festival organisers on 18 May 2022 to assess the issues impacting festivals before the festival season, and offer support where appropriate and feasible. The Cabinet Secretary followed up this meeting on 27 July 2022 and has assured the festivals we will maintain this dialogue.

The Scottish Government will remain in discussions with festival organisers in an ongoing assessment of their situation to establish the best ways to use what levers we can to mitigate the various issues related to rising costs, while ensuring that the protection of the most vulnerable in our society remains our priority.