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Scotland already has “Beyond the Glen – a strategy for the Scottish Venison Sector to 2030”. This industry-led strategy commits to a range of actions including development of the supply chain and marketing.

Scottish Government provides support to the sector in various ways including funding of £50,000 in March 2021 towards a venison promotional campaign.

The Full Business Case Stage 1 for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), published on 8 May 2019 (pp36-37), considered the costs and benefits of including glass within the scheme and concluded that glass should be included due to the substantial environmental and economic benefits.

We do not consider that there will be extensive switching away from glass containers to other materials as a result of DRS. Format decisions are driven by a range of considerations including practicality, convenience, brand preference and presentation of the product. Indeed, the impact on material choice could be greater if glass were left outside the scope of DRS, creating an incentive to switch towards glass.

The Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth met with representatives from Scottish Renewables on 21 July 2021 to discuss the renewable energy industry’s vision for NPF4.

Our draft NPF4 gives spatial expression to a wide range of Scottish Government plans, programmes and strategies. It sets out a vision for how our places will change in the future and reflects priorities across Scottish Government portfolios, including how our approach to planning and development will achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045.

Draft NPF4 includes green energy policies which support renewable energy development other than in National Parks and National Scenic Areas, subject to an assessment of their impacts on a case by case basis. Through the draft NPF4, we are also proposing to designate a national development which would establish the need for a large increase in renewable energy generation and substantial reinforcement and expansion of grid infrastructure throughout Scotland.

We laid the draft NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament on 10 November 2021. Alongside Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft, we are running a public consultation, supported by an extensive engagement programme, and comments are invited by 31 March 2022. Following this period, we will consider the responses received and any appropriate amendments to the draft NPF4 before presenting a final draft to the Scottish Parliament for its approval, in advance of adoption by the Scottish Ministers.

Meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and securing positive effects for biodiversity are two of six high level outcomes for the National Planning Framework set out in The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) currently subject to Scottish Parliament scrutiny, alongside public consultation, is clear that we must rebalance our planning system so that climate change and nature recovery are the primary guiding principles for all our plans and decisions. Its four overarching themes work together towards net-zero, adaptable places and addressing the nature crisis.

Our radically improved and new policies contained in draft NPF4 include new universal policies addressing the climate emergency and nature crisis, to be applied to all planning decisions. These policies create a requirement to give significant weight to the global climate emergency in plans and decisions. They also aim to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity from development without the need for overly complex metrics.

The Scottish Government has produced a range of guidance and advice notes on the use of compulsory purchase powers, which are available on our compulsory purchase webpage . Scottish Government policy and guidance on compulsory purchase orders is contained in circular 6/2011 . Appendix B to the circular contains a schedule of compulsory purchase powers, the authorities that may use them and the purposes for which they may be used.

Whether local authorities, or any other body with compulsory purchase powers, can use their powers to acquire land for the purposes of carbon sequestration would depend on the nature of the scheme or project being promoted, and the scope of the power. This is a matter of judgement for individual acquiring authorities in the first instance, and ultimately the Courts.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy commits to introducing a Bill in the current session of the Scottish Parliament which, amongst a range of powers, will enable the application of minimum energy efficiency regulations in the private rented sector (PRS) from 2025. All PRS homes will be required to meet the standard, equivalent to EPC C, by 2028. We plan to hold a consultation on such regulations in the coming year, which will include how they will be enforced.

The terms of reference for the Scottish Covid-19 Public Inquiry task it with considering the strategic elements relating to 12 distinct areas of investigation. They do not name specific groups affected by the pandemic, ensuring that no groups’ experiences are excluded from the Inquiry’s remit, provided the experiences relate directly to the impact of devolved areas within the Inquiry’s scope.

It is a matter for the Chair of the Inquiry to decide how to investigate specific issues.

The Scottish Government is aware of the increased production costs faced by independent publishers and their impact across the publishing sector. It is providing a range of business support through activities delivered by our enterprise and creative agencies. This includes: regular business surveys; support accessed through the FindBusinessSupport website; and XpoNorth, the year-round support programme for the Highlands and Islands.

Independent publishers may be eligible for financial support from Creative Scotland through the new Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations; and Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. Further information about these funds can be found on Creative Scotland’s website.

The Scottish Government remains committed to Keeping The Promise by 2030, working in partnership with Local Authorities, The Promise Scotland, third sector, health boards and importantly the care community.

On 18 February the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government would publish its Implementation Plan for Keeping The Promise before Easter. The Implementation Plan will set out our routemap to 2030 as well as key actions we will take to Keep The Promise.