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Through our £290 million Cost of Living support package, we will give 1.85 million (73%) of Scottish households £150 of extra support via the Council Tax. We have also allocated a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which is aimed at those in greatest need.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through trusted third sector partner organisations, providing direct support to people at risk of severely self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely, due to the cost of their fuel bills. Assistance can be accessed by households on any tariff type and using any fuel source.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with Huntington’s Disease is able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) submitted an application to the latest round of funding provided via the Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action , to support the recruitment of a Peripatetic Huntington’s Disease Specialist.

Applications for funding were assessed and scored by a panel however, unfortunately, the SHA’s application was not successful.

Despite the application being unsuccessful, we want to better understand the need for further provisions and service development across neurological conditions, including Huntington’s Disease, and Scottish Government officials plan to meet with SHA to further explore the issue.

Pay is an ongoing issue for Agenda for Change trade unions and the position for 2022-23 has been discussed regularly in the meetings I have had with health trade unions, as well as at the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee, and in meetings involving Scottish Government officials.

The Scottish Government is committed to the creation and improvement of Nature Networks across Scotland.

Nature Networks will be developed and delivered through local partnerships, and will support ecological connectivity within and between National Parks, Protected Areas, and other biodiversity-rich areas through the creation of habitat corridors and ‘stepping stones’. To be effective, Nature Networks will require development and management over the long term. We are therefore working with NatureScot and other delivery partners to develop a co-design and delivery process.

Nature Networks will be a crucial mechanism to deliver the vision set out in our new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and will form a key plank of the associated Delivery Plan. Our approach will take into account the wider policy framework at national, regional and local levels. Regional Land Use Partnerships are being piloted across five areas of Scotland to test inclusive approaches that facilitate collaboration at a regional level. They are looking to take a natural capital approach to maximising the contribution that our land makes in addressing the twin nature and climate crises. In developing our approach to nature networks we are considering how RLUPs can form a part of delivery. Nature networks have been embedded within the draft NPF4, to ensure that nature has the space to adapt to Scotland’s changing climate through linking areas which are important for biodiversity in urban, peri-urban and rural settings.

The Scottish Government, it’s partners and agencies have funded actions to support capercaillie conservation across Scotland through a range of schemes. Funding has been awarded to estates as well as eNGO’s and individuals and we expect this to continue.

Funding is awarded to projects that would benefit capercaillie conservation but are not specifically for this purpose. This could include supporting new pine wood planting in capercaillie areas, the management and improvement of existing habitat as well as it's extension through actions such as controlling deer numbers, fence marking or removal, and thinning to improve light levels.

A large proportion of Scottish Public Sector organisations benefit from buying their Gas, Electricity and Liquid Fuels through National Framework Agreements.

Scottish Procurement has a purchasing strategy that is overseen by a Risk Management Committee, with members from each of our main public sectors. This strategy enables gas and electricity to be purchased through our frameworks, up to 2½ years in advance of consumption. This purchasing strategy protects the public sector from the volatility of energy markets by purchasing energy over a long period to smooth out the highs and lows of pricing.

The wholesale cost of electricity has been fixed for 2022-2023, and public sector organisations will be paying 8.043 p/kWh, which is an increase from 4.9582 p/kWh in 2021-2022. As an illustration, if we were able to secure a fixed price for electricity today on the wholesale market for 2022-2023 it would be circa 33.9p/kWh, quadruple the price public sector organisations are paying under the Scottish Government agreement.

The wholesale cost of gas has been fixed for 2022-2023, and public sector organisations will be paying 5.2618 p/kWh, which is an increase from 1.5446 p/kWh in 2021-2022. As with electricity, if we were able to secure a fixed price for gas today on the wholesale market for 2022-2023 it would be circa 11 p/kWh, double the price public sector organisations are paying under the Scottish Government agreement.

Compared to 2021-22 framework rates, the projected increases for financial year 2022-2023 will be around 197% for Gas and 27.5% for Electricity (wholesale and pass though costs combined).

Whilst energy prices have increased, the financial impact on the public sector finances will depend on each organisation’s energy consumption.

For Liquid Fuels, while the delivery cost is fixed, the cost of the liquid fuels paid by the customer is based on the Platts Index, and is set on a weekly basis.

We have written to the UK Govt to urge them to tackle energy prices

NatureScot’s investment in Abernethy over the past 3 years has principally been support through the Peatland Action Fund that is delivering SG objectives to tackle the twin crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. A further project supported a number of seasonal rangers, helping to ensure responsible use of the NNR. They have also provided support for RSPB staff posts for their work on Capercaillie.

The following tables below show the funding allocation from both NatureScot and the Forestry Grant Scheme to Abernethy National Nature Reserve, this funding may have been for a range of purposes, and funding may have been allocated indirectly via other partners so a complete breakdown is not available. It is important to note that the Capercaillie officer funding is mainly for the wider co-ordination of Capercaillie, and not specific to Abernethy.

NatureScot Abernethy Funding Allocation

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

As I outlined in my response to S6W-07615 on 25 April 2022, funding allocated to Abernethy is for a range of purposes and is our assessment that this has been of value for money despite the decline in capercaillie numbers.

While the status of the capercaillie population in Scotland remains vulnerable, without the investment that has been made to the likes of Abernethy it is likely that we would have lost capercaillie from Scotland.

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

This is a matter for individual NHS Boards. The information requested is not held centrally.