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In determining an application for a marine licence (under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009) the Scottish Ministers must have regard to protection of the environment and human health, prevention of interference with legitimate uses of the sea and such other matters as the Scottish Ministers consider relevant. Marine licences do not include conditions in relation to Fair Work First criteria and commitments to supporting domestic supply chains. Such conditions cannot be applied to s.36 consents issued under the Electricity Act 1989 for the construction, operation or extension of generating stations either.

ScotWind applicants were required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) setting out the anticipated level and location of supply chain impact for their projects. We have now seen these statements yield commitments by developers to invest an average projection of £1.5bn in Scotland across each of the 17 ScotWind offshore wind projects. Developers can update their Statements throughout the development phase. Failure to deliver the commitments laid out in the final SCDS can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to seabed lease.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with Cerulean Winds nor NOV Inc as they do not have consented developments under construction. It is therefore premature to discuss contracts for projects which do not yet exist. Developers will be required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement with bids for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas decarbonisation (INTOG) leasing rounds when it opens this year. Similarly to ScotWind, developers will need to outline the supply chain activity they commit to undertaking within Scotland, the UK and overseas.

The following is a breakdown of the funding provided by the Scottish Government to the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA), since 2012.

2012 - £103,000

2013 - £93,000

2014 - £88,000

2015 - £138,000

2016 - £133,000

2017 - £133,000

2018 - £145,600

2019 - £50,000

2020 - £40,000

2021 - £15,000

Total Funding - £938,600

This funding largely comprises support for the development of a national care framework for Huntington’s Disease, and organisational core and project funding for the SHA, to support the provision of their specialist services and initiatives for people affected by Huntington’s Disease and their families.

We have continued to monitor and engage with industry. We are aware that the sector is still under unprecedented pressure due to the backlog of pigs and the shortages in skilled labour, compounded by the more recent situation with Ukraine and increased input and energy prices. Given this, I can advise that we have made the decision to further extend the Pig Producers Hardship scheme and the sector will now have an additional £410,000 of support made available, this will bring the scheme total to just over £1.8 million. The scheme extension announcement was made on 9 May.

I refer the member to the answer to PQ S6W-08279 on 10 May 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

In accordance with the Sewel Convention and in line with Rule 9B of Standing Orders, the UK Parliament should not legislate with regard to devolved matters – that is on matters within the legislative competence of the Parliament or which change the competence of the Parliament or the Scottish Ministers – without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

Within the legislative programme announced by the UK Government, Bills which appear to give rise to the requirement for the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament are:

Procurement

Trade (Australia and New Zealand)

Bill of Rights

Levelling Up and Regeneration

Energy Security Bill

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill

Brexit Freedoms Bill

Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill

Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill

Transport

Modern Slavery

Data Reform Bill

In addition, the following Bills may extend to Scotland but at this stage it is unclear whether they will generate the requirement for an LCM:

UK Infrastructure Bank

Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill

Electronic Trade Documents Bill

Financial Services and Markets Bill

Higher Education Bill

Social Housing Regulation Bill

Harbours (Seafarers’ Remuneration) Bill

The Scottish Government will consider the content of all Bills before making its recommendation to the Parliament on legislative consent. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine whether to give or withhold consent.

It is possible that legislative consent may be required for other UK Bills and those will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise.

We have published the Report of the independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy.

The Report is available at: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804353912/documents/

Dr Colin Church submitted his Report to Ministers on 13 April. Given the potential for the Report’s findings and recommendations to raise issues that could be of particular local interest, publication was deferred until after the local government elections.

We are considering Dr Church’s recommendations carefully and will respond to these in a statement to Parliament in June.

Given the important issues that the Review Report raises in relation to Scotland’s national capacity requirements for incineration, the temporary notification direction that was put in place during the review will remain in place until we determine our response to Dr Church’s recommendations. This notification direction requires local authorities to notify Scottish ministers when they receive, and when they intend to approve, a planning application for an incineration facility.

I am pleased to announce that Scotland’s first Adult Learning Strategy has been published today, and can be found online here: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802018301

The strategy has bold and ambitious actions to remove barriers to learning, enabling more adults across Scotland to begin and continue their learning journeys. It outlines important steps required to create more accessible learning opportunities for our adult learners, particularly those experiencing disadvantage and furthest from learning.

The publication of the strategy deepens collaboration with adult learners to address and tackle the inequalities that many face. Our aim is to ensure that learners are at the centre of the strategy’s delivery as we work with them to realise their ambitions and aspirations.

Through the Women’s Health Plan, we are committed to improving support and care for people experiencing perimenopause symptoms.

A menopause platform has launched on NHS Inform to ensure women have access to information on menopause, including the signs and symptoms of perimenopause. One of the key actions in the Women’s Health Plan is to launch a public health campaign in order to raise awareness of the symptoms of menopause.

We want all women to have timely access to menopause support and services. For those who need specialist support, there is now a specialist menopause service in every mainland NHS Board and support in place for the Island health boards.

A Menopause Specialists Network meets regularly to provide consistent advice and peer support to health care professionals, including primary care teams.

We know that many women will seek support from their local GP practice for their perimenopause symptoms. To support primary care, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is developing menopause training for healthcare professionals, including Practice Nurses and GPs.

A Women’s Health Lived Experience Group has been established by Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland to ensure we continue to engage with women across Scotland on menopause and other areas of Women’s Health.

Funding for devices was provided to local authorities by the Scottish Government. As such, local authorities undertook their own procurement exercises and devices purchased became assets of, and are managed by, individual local authorities. Decisions on their use are taken locally. We do not hold information on how devices are used and monitored.