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The 2022 independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland states that in the short-term, incineration will have a role to play in managing our waste as we transition to a circular economy.

As we continue to increase our reuse and recycling rates, we will produce even less waste, however we will still need an appropriate way to manage our unavoidable and unrecyclable waste.

That’s why the Scottish Government’s Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) makes clear that development proposals for energy-from-waste facilities will not be supported, except under limited circumstances.

Emissions from energy from waste plants are strictly controlled under the Pollution Prevention and Control regulatory regime. Research shows that correctly operated modern energy from waste facilities should have minimal impact on overall local air quality.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People sets out the seven standards for all children’s services to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs, including NHS boards and local authorities.

The Specification takes a needs-based approach to providing neurodevelopmental support. It is underpinned by principles of GIRFEC and intended to be delivered by all children’s services partners through a multi-agency approach.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification should be used by all children’s services, including health boards, local authorities and community partners through a whole system, multi-agency approach. It is vital that the support provided by these children’s services are based on the Getting it Right for Every Child approach.

The Scottish Government is working to support children’s services partners to implement the Specification in full and, in partnership with COSLA, has undertaken a review of implementation. This was informed by engagement with local authorities, health boards and a range of stakeholders – including representatives of parents and lived experience.

The review identified a number of key challenges in implementing the Specification and set out a number of actions to support progress. The Scottish Government and COSLA are working with the newly established Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopment Taskforce to take forward these actions, which will support local authorities and NHS Boards to implement the Specification.

Since 2021 there have been two occasions where Accountable Officers for parts of the Scottish Administration have formally sought written authority (often referred to as ministerial direction). Both were regarding Fergusson Marine (Port Glasgow) and written authority was sought in relation to value for money.

The details of these, and all written authorities since devolution, are published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/collections/written-authorities-from-scottish-ministers/

The Scottish Government does not hold or collate any information relating to how many wind turbine blades have been sent to landfill.

However, we are committed to circularity, which is why the Onshore Wind Sector Deal includes an aspiration to make Scotland a European hub for wind turbine blade recycling. ReBlade’s facility in Dumfries is one such example, with further capacity likely needed as more turbines are decommissioned.

The requested information on how many working days have been lost in the NHS in the last five years due to staff stress and other mental health conditions is not held centrally.

Under the rules of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Scotland) Order 2007, firefighters who did not serve under the specific terms for eligibility at the relevant time do not qualify for the Matthews Second Option exercise.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for local NHS Boards and local authorities to decide how they implement these policies to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care, support and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

Individual health boards are responsible for the management of their waiting lists. They are expected to ensure that their approaches to service delivery are consistent with national guidance and statutory frameworks, including the National Neurodevelopmental Specification and the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification sets out the standards for all children’s services to follow in delivering neurodevelopmental support to children and young people. Support should be provided on the basis of need, and at the earliest opportunity, through a multi-agency approach.

The Scottish Government is clear that no child or young person should face any form of discrimination when seeking neurodevelopmental support.

NHS Boards are expected to ensure that their approaches to service delivery are consistent with national guidance and statutory frameworks, including the National Neurodevelopmental Specification and the Equality Act.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification is clear that support should be available at the point of need through a multi-agency approach, encompassing all local children’s services. The Specification is also clear that support should not be dependent on – or wait for – a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental condition.

NatureScot’s Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Programme Manager will be responsible for overseeing this project, supported by a woodland Senior Land Use adviser and an officer to act as secretary to the steering group, manage the contract and liaise with NatureScot’s data team. It is estimated that the contracted technical project officer would work around 2.5 days per week for 18 months, though this may be subject to change depending on the outcome of the tender process. Staff from Scottish Forestry and Forestry and Land Scotland will also be supporting the project.

While the Scottish Government holds some information in relation to the decommissioning of wind turbines it does not hold or collate an overall dataset for onshore and offshore turbines.

It may be helpful to know, according to the UK Government’s Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) there are no Scottish onshore or offshore wind sites in the database recorded as decommissioned since 2021. However, the caveat to this data is that the entire site needs to be decommissioned for the development status to change to ‘decommissioned’ in the database.