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I asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority to reply.

Initial modelling indicates that 53% of SQA’s running costs (permanent SQA staff, overheads and other indirect costs) were attributable to the implementation of the Alternative Certification Model (ACM) in 2020 and 56% are attributable to the implementation of the ACM in 2021. Including direct delivery costs, the cost of the ACM was therefore:

(a) 2020: £33.4m

(b) 2021: £41.7m (forecast)

The SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged to independent schools and colleges for National Qualifications have remained unchanged since 2012-13 despite changes in costs. In addition, 2020 and 2021 late entry fees have been waived and there have been no charges for appeals.

Savings generated by the delivery of the ACM in place of an ordinary exam diet reduced SQA’s grant-in-aid requirement from Scottish Government, and enabled support for other critical pressures, supporting people and communities during the pandemic.

Local authorities are expected to respond to statutory nuisance complaints on council owned property, such as where the deposit of bird droppings may have an effect on public health. The responsibility for dealing with nuisance gulls on private property is for the relevant owner although local authorities can provide advice and assistance, and have powers under environmental protection legislation to tackle nuisances.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a moratorium on windfarm development.

As set out in our position statement last year, we need to rebalance our planning system so that climate change is a guiding principle for all plans and decisions. We expect National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will strengthen support for renewable energy developments, including the re-powering and extension of existing wind farms, as part of a spatial strategy to support a transition to net zero and economic recovery.

We will lay a draft NPF4 in Parliament this autumn and will carry out extensive public consultation at the same time.

We are working with COSLA and stakeholders to develop a new long-term suicide prevention strategy for Scotland. The new strategy will be outcomes-focussed, and its development will be directed by the voices of lived experience. It will be informed by data and evidence, and adopt a cross-government approach to ensure the Government continues to take all actions it can to reduce the number of people who die by suicide. The new strategy will be published in September 2022, supported by an initial delivery plan.

As announced to Parliament in June this year, our continued focus, pace and evaluation on suicide prevention will be achieved by extending activities under the current Suicide Prevention Action Plan (Every Life Matters ), for a further year, up to the point the new strategy is published. This approach has the full backing from partners, including COSLA and the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group.

Our Health Recovery Plan, published on 25 August, outlines that recovery of staff is intrinsic to our collective ambitions for renewing our NHS.

The Scottish Government is providing £8 million this financial year to support the mental health and wellbeing of the health and social care workforce. This includes targeted support to the primary care and social care workforces of £2 million.

We will continue to work with partners, including doctors and their representatives, to provide support for, and evolve, local wellbeing resources while also maintaining and improving nationally-led initiatives. The national resources available to doctors and other health and social care professionals include:

• The National Wellbeing Hub, https://www.nationalwellbeinghub.scot/ ), which provides a range of self-care and digital resources;
• The National Wellbeing Helpline ((0800 111 4191), which provides a 24/7 service to those who require psychological support and can offer advice, signposting and onward referral to local services where required;
• Coaching for Wellbeing, a free-to-access digital coaching service accessible via the National Wellbeing Hub;
• The Workforce Specialist Service, which offers confidential mental health assessment and treatment for regulated health and social care professionals in Scotland; and
• Additional capacity within Boards to provide psychological therapies and interventions to support staff mental health.

We will offer further support for the physical and emotional needs of the workforce - this will include additional funding for rest areas, guidance to promote effective wellbeing conversations, new opportunities for staff to reflect on the emotional aspects of their work and further resources so staff at all levels can access peer support.

This work will inform the development of a new National Wellbeing Programme to be implemented from autumn 2021. The totality of this work, coupled with our work on leadership and culture, seeks both to prevent burnout, distress and suicide among doctors, and reduce the stigma associated with doctor burnout and mental health.

I refer the member to the answer to PQ S6W–02294 on
‎ 9 September 2021. 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

The update of Cycling by Design has been completed, led by representatives of Transport Scotland, Sustrans and local authorities working in partnership. The scheduled publication date is week commencing 13 September which will be during Scotland’s Climate Week.

Scotland already has robust assessment processes in place to support decisions regarding woodland creation proposals on agricultural land. This approach is based on the findings of The Woodland Expansion Advisory Group (WEAG). This group was established to provide advice to ministers on which types of land are best for tree planting in Scotland and its membership included the National Farmers Union and the National Sheep Association. Key to the WEAG recommendations and the current decision-making process are the principles that the focus of woodland expansion should be away from prime agricultural land, and that while grazing land has significant potential for the creation of high quality and high value woodlands, woodland creation should avoid adverse impacts on local patterns of agriculture.

Under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) (Forestry) 2017 regulations, all woodland creation cases above the threshold size of 20 hectares, are required to be screened. Screening assesses the likelihood of a significant impact on the environment (including any potential impacts on land-use) and whether a full environmental assessment is required. For sensitive areas, no threshold size applies. Where a full assessment is required, before Scottish Forestry reaches a decision on whether or not to grant consent, the applicant must prepare an environmental report, which is subject to public consultation.

As such, the Scottish Government currently has no plans to implement recommendation 11 of the Farming for 1.5C report, that “There should be a public interest test applied if more than 50% of a holding is planned to be afforested”.

Guidance on replanting on deep peat following clearfell is contained within the Scottish Government’s Practice Guide, Deciding Future Management Options for Afforested Deep Peatland (2015). It sets out the circumstances where a presumption to restore the peatland habitat applies and the assessment method that should be used to decide future options where a presumption to restore does not apply.

In 2018, the Scottish Government (via ClimateXChange – Scotland’s Centre of Expertise on Climate Change), commissioned the following report: Afforestation and restocking on peaty soils – new evidence assessment. The study broadly confirmed the findings of previous research on which the Practice Guide is based.

At this point in time there are no plans to review existing guidance however, we will continue to invest in research in this area, and will take account of new evidence, as it emerges, to help inform the future development and implementation of forestry policies and regulations.

The Forestry Grant Scheme already supports planting native broadleaved riparian woodland in a range of situations. Since 2016 the Forestry Grant Scheme has supported the planting of over 500 native broadleaved riparian woodlands.

Furthermore, all tree planting and restocking proposals must comply with the UK Forestry Standard, which promotes an integrated catchment management approach and places particular emphasis on riparian woodland and its role in protecting and restoring the freshwater environment.

Scottish Forestry will continue to develop and improve The Forestry Grant Scheme throughout the Stability and Simplicity rural funding transition period and as part of this there will be opportunities to review how it supports tree planting in different circumstances.

Forest and land Scotland (FLS) has no role in the Forestry Grant Scheme. FLS is a separate Agency charged with managing Scotland’s National Forest Estate.