Chamber and committees

I have laid a report in Parliament today, which provides an update on the actions the Scottish Government is taking to help meet our renewable heat target. The report is now available on the Scottish Government web-site, at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781788513760.

During the 2016 calendar year, an estimated 4.8 – 5.0% of Scotland’s non-electrical heat demand was supplied from renewable sources. Renewable heat capacity increased by 13% and renewable heat generation decreased by 11%, when compared with 2015. This reduction in output was primarily due to the closure of the Tullis Russell paper mill in Fife, a significant user of renewable heat. However, while figures for 2016 represent a decrease from 5.4% in 2015, had the Tullis Russell Site remained open and heat demand remained static, renewable heat generation would have increased. The Scottish Government remains committed to decarbonising our heat supply whilst maximising the benefits of doing so for Scotland. We continued to demonstrate leadership and ambition in terms of our specific policy interventions, for example, the development of regulations around Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategies and district heating and, more broadly, Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme.

In addition, the Energy Saving Trust have published today the report Renewable Heat in Scotland 2016, which provides further details on these figures. The Energy Saving Trust report is now available at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-heat-in-scotland2016.

This Scottish Government is committed to supporting veterans and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by their service in the Armed Forces. Where it has devolved responsibility, the Scottish Government provides direct support to veterans in a wide number of ways, including in healthcare, housing, and employability. Renewing our Commitments, published in 2016, sets out our achievements and future priorities for the Armed Forces and veterans communities.

Some recent examples of the support provided are:

Almost £1.1 million has been provided through the Scottish Veterans Fund since its launch in 2008, supporting a total of 144 projects for veterans. The current fund, which totals £600,000 to 2019-20 and includes a dedicated stream for employment, supported by funding from Standard Life Aberdeen. On 2 October, the 2018-19 round of funding was opened for applications.

From 1 April 2017, £5 million has been committed to ensure that veterans in receipt of social care in Scotland will now get the full value of their war pensions.

In March 2017 I launched Capitalising on Military Talent, a toolkit, developed with key partner organisations, which is designed to help employers recognise the skills that Service leavers and veterans bring to the civilian workplace.

In June 2017, the Scottish Government Veterans Portal, available on the Scottish Government website (https://stage.mygov.scot/veterans/) was launched to bring together a range of useful information on housing, health, jobs, education and veterans support services both in Scotland and the rest of the UK, making it easier to source information specifically for veterans.

Scottish Government officials met, in July 2017, with representatives of Shared Lives Plus to discuss the models of care they currently provide in Scotland.

The Scottish Government welcomes models of care which help to fulfil the Scottish Government's vision, in which people can live longer, healthier lives in their own home or in a homely setting.

Presiding Officer, I know this is an issue that Richard Lochhead has a long-standing interest in and I am pleased to update members on progress. As part of the draft Energy Strategy consultation we asked people to consider the potential role and purpose for a Government Owned Energy Company that would help the growth of local and community energy projects. A stakeholder workshop was also held in late March to support this process and a number of suggested roles were put forward to Government for consideration through the workshop and in response to the consultation on the strategy itself.

The next stage is to complete analysis of these suggestions and views expressed on the role of a Government Owned Energy Company before including recommendations alongside the final Energy Strategy which we have committed to publish by the end of this year, at the latest.

Maintenance of cycle paths is largely the responsibility of local authorities or other bodies. Any audit or monitoring programme would be the responsibility of each of these bodies. The Scottish Government does not collate this data nationally. However, some routes falling within the trunk road corridor will be the responsibility of the trunk roads contractor and data may be available for those specific routes.

Sustrans recently carried out a network audit of the National Cycle Network in Scotland, which determined the current condition of the route but not the level of maintenance activity. This data is for NCN routes only and does not cover the wide range of local cycle paths across Scotland. This information will be published in due course.

Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Armed Forces, veterans and their families receive the best possible levels of support. We are keen to see the local Veterans First Point (V1P) services succeed and become financially sustainable in the future.

To help the NHS led partnerships as their UK Government LIBOR funding came to an agreed end, the Scottish Government offered all Partnerships interim funding on a 50:50 basis, and continues to fund the V1P Central Team for its network training and governance role. Six of the eight partnerships accepted this matched funding offer for 2017-18. In total this year the Scottish Government will provide £824,591 to support the network.

In addition, the Scottish Government has made further funding offers to all eight Partnerships for 2018-19 and 2019-20 on the basis of a 50 : 50 matched funding arrangement. Those areas which decide not to continue with a V1P service are expected to fulfil their statutory duties and provide services and support to meet the needs of veterans.

Day to day operation of train fleets and how they manage passengers on board rests with ScotRail. They are currently finalising the layout and operational aspects of how on-train cycle storage will be managed to maximise the number they can carry when the 26 refurbished HSTs enter service on Scotland's Inter-City routes next summer. However, Transport Scotland has recently reached an agreement with ScotRail to increase the number of spaces available at intermediate stations from 2 to 4 and with 6 spaces (3 per power car) available for end to end journeys on the HSTs planned to be introduced into service in the latter part of 2018.

The Franchise Agreement requires ScotRail to ensure that rolling stock includes a bicycle storage area with space for storage of at least two bicycles. The HSTs by comparison will now have at least ten cycle spaces.

Cross border passenger services are operated under franchises specified and awarded by the Department for Transport, with the exception of The Caledonian Sleeper service. The Scottish Ministers are entitled to offer advice on the specification of these services (to the Secretary of State for Transport) as they relate to Scotland. But the Scottish Ministers do not have any contractual or financial agreement with any Train Operating Company (TOCs) operating under a DfT franchise.

The new Caledonian Sleeper trains, to be introduced during 2018, will also have enhanced capacity for the carriage of bicycles. Trains to and from each of the five Caledonian Sleeper destinations – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William – will each have space for ten bicycles.

All local authorities are able to bid into the Community Links fund, administered by Sustrans and funded by Transport Scotland, for building cycle paths in both urban and rural areas. Once built, the local authority or other bodies such as The Forestry Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, the National Parks or Scottish Canals adopt the path and maintenance then becomes the responsibility of that organisation.

In 2017-18, the Scottish Government provided over £3 million pounds to expand and maintain the National Cycle Network, most of which is in rural areas.

As part of the Active Travel Task Force work, which I announced in November last year, a review of barriers to better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists is underway. The Task Force has received written and oral evidence from many stakeholders and will submit recommendations to me by the end of this year.

Transport Scotland works in partnership with local authorities and other partners to keep under review cycling and other active travel projects. Our Cycling Action Plan for Scotland 2017 outlines how we will deliver our vision with monitoring and evaluation as a core outcome.