Chamber and committees

The figures provided are for the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Loan and Cashback scheme and relate to financial years 2017-18 to 2020/21 inclusive.

The Scottish Government launched the HES Loan scheme in 2017-18, merging the previous HEEPS Loan and Home Renewables Loan schemes. Cashback grants for energy efficiency measures were included from the beginning, and a new cashback offer for renewable/zero emissions heating was made available from October 2020.

Total Recipients of Loans and Grants from 2017-18 to 2020-21

Scottish Government places a high priority on monitoring and mitigating the threats to Scotland’s forests and woodlands.

Ongoing monitoring for Ips typographus in Scotland’s forests includes a network of pheromone lures situated across Scotland and field checking of all suspect spruce sites identified from aerial surveys and reports from other sources. Since 2018 a total of 1449 site inspections have been carried out on suspicious spruce sites.

There have been 2,359 inspections targeting higher risk commodities arriving into Scottish ports since 2018, with 66 notices issued for destruction where certification marking were not compliant with the required standards. This is part of a larger operation with the same protocol applied at all UK ports.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry and are jointly working to enhance the ecological condition of native woodlands by improving woodland features currently in unfavourable condition. Scottish Forestry offer incentives to land owners through the Forestry Grant Scheme which includes options to help promote the regeneration of new woodlands, diversify forests and improve their conservation value.

Transport Scotland is an executive agency within the Scottish Government. This report, informed by extensive stakeholder engagement, which we have jointly developed and published with the Scottish Futures Trust, sets out the opportunities to support the growth and development of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Scotland. I fully endorse the report as reflected in my comments in the news release that accompanied its publication on 24 July.

Oil & gas, and wider energy policy is reserved to UK Government, including the licensing of exploration and extraction of offshore reserves. While tax and regulation powers over offshore oil and gas are reserved to Westminster, any Scottish Government support for the oil and gas sector in the North sea will be conditional upon the industry contributing to a sustainable, secure and inclusive energy transition.

We are wholly committed to ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change by 2045, and to ensuring we do it in a way that is just and leaves no-one behind.

T he IPCC’s recent scientific report only serves to underline how important it is that we take significant, near-term action in response to the climate emergency - for this and future generations. That is why the First Minister has called on the UK Government, who have the power to act in this instance, to urgently re-assess all approved oil licenses where drilling has not yet commenced against our climate commitments.

The oil and gas sector has a positive role to play in our journey to net zero. Indeed, we are clear that the North Sea has a vibrant future in renewable energy, hydrogen, and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Meeting our climate obligations while ensuring a secure energy supply and supporting our highly skilled workforce to transition to the green jobs of the future must all go hand in hand. We will continue to work closely with industry, trade unions, communities and workers to ensure the right skills and training are in place to protect and create jobs as we become a net-zero economy.

We are wholly committed to becoming a net-zero economy by 2045 and, whilst oil and gas licensing is ultimately a reserved area, any Scottish Government support for oil and gas businesses operating in the North Sea is conditional upon them contributing to a sustainable and inclusive energy transition, and ensuring a secure energy supply.

The oil and gas sector has a positive role to play in our journey to net zero. Indeed, we are clear that the North Sea has a vibrant future in renewable energy, hydrogen, and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Meeting our climate obligations while ensuring a secure energy supply and supporting our highly skilled workforce to transition to the green jobs of the future must all go hand in hand. We will continue to work closely with industry, trade unions, communities and workers to ensure the right skills and training are in place to protect and create jobs as we become a net-zero economy.

Oil & gas, and wider energy policy is reserved to UK Government, including the licensing of exploration and extraction of offshore reserves. UK Government did not consult with Scottish Government prior to issuing the licence for Cambo. On the 12 August, the First Minister wrote to the UK Government, making our position clear that the UK Government to reassess oil and gas licences already issued but where field development has not yet commenced. This would include the proposed Cambo Field. There was a further call for a four nations summit to be convened in order to discuss how we can work together, both in the run up to COP26 and beyond, to ensure that we provide clear leadership to ensure a just transition to net zero that does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

The Scottish Government has offered to work with the UK Government on a revised licence process – to ensure that licences already issued but where field development has not yet commenced are now reassessed in light of the global climate emergency which all of us now face. As part of this process, we would expect to see robust analysis of the climate impacts of the developments.

Scotland’s devolved statutory climate targets are based on reporting through the Scottish component of the UK greenhouse gas emissions inventory, which is compiled in line with UN scientific reporting guidelines. Within the UK-wide inventory, emissions arising from the combustion of fossil fuel products are counted against the relevant nation, but those emissions arising directly from offshore oil & gas activity are not allocated to individual devolved administrations.

The First Minister’s recent letter to the UK Prime Minister sets out that the international picture is also vitally important, in particular the leadership role that governments such as Scotland and the UK offer. At a global scale, the scientific evidence provided by the IPCC clearly indicates that it is crucial that countries across the world must takes this opportunity to significantly raise global climate action and ambition if the goals of the Paris Agreement are to be met.

In terms of action to reduce emissions across all parts of Scotland’s economy as part of a just transition to net-zero by 2045, the Scottish Government’s updated Climate Change Plan (published in December 2020) sets out a comprehensive package of policies and proposals to deliver on this ambition over the period to 2032. We are focussed on implementing these policies.

The full Native Woodland Survey of Scotland (NWSS) data set has been available for free download from the Scottish Forestry open data web pages since January 2020.

Prior to that it has been available on the Forestry Commission Scotland web pages since 2014.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in developing guidance as the vaccination programme makes progress towards increasing levels of COVID-19 immunity in the population. Current JCVI advice remains that the single greatest risk of mortality and severe disease from COVID-19 is increasing age and COVID-19 risk increases exponentially with age.

Following the recent JCVI advice, young people aged 12 to 15 with severe neuro-disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities, as well as people who are household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, will be eligible for vaccination soon. The JCVI is not currently advising routine vaccination of children outside of these groups, based on the current evidence.

All young people 16 to 17 years of age will now be offered the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination in Scotland. In line with the latest advice from the JCVI, they will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. People who are 16 or 17 in mainland Scotland will be invited to register their interest through the online portal at NHS Inform, and will then be sent an appointment via SMS or email. Eligible young people in Shetland, Orkney and Western Isles will be contacted by their health board and invited to attend clinics.

Drop-in clinics are available for 16 to 17-years-olds. Anyone who doesn’t register an interest or attend a drop-in clinic, will be sent an appointment invitation through the post. It is expected that everyone in this age group will have been offered a vaccination appointment by the end of September.

The advice to protect against the risks of contracting COVID-19 or developing any associated ‘Long COVID’ signs and symptoms, remain the same for those who are vaccinated as those unable to receive vaccination for medical reasons. There is further detailed advice available, which is continuously updated in line with protection levels advice, for those who have been shielding for health reasons published here: Coronavirus (COVID-19): shielding advice and support - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective, but we do know the vaccination of a high proportion of the population will assist in reducing symptomatic disease and transmission. As the vaccination programme progresses, the Scottish Government advises everyone to follow the protection level rules set for each Local Authority area, as well as to follow general public health guidance issued on non-pharmaceutical measures which help to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to the individual level of protection against severe disease or hospitalisation afforded by vaccination, a further benefit of the vaccination programme is to assist in developing widespread community immunity and thereby reduce the force of transmission and viral reproduction rate, controlling the prevalence of COVID-19.

Research by Public Health England (PHE), which monitors vaccine efficacy within the UK, shows that those who became infected 3 weeks after receiving one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on to their household contacts than those who were unvaccinated. Protection was seen from around 14 days after vaccination, with similar levels of protection regardless of age of cases or contacts. Data is published here: One dose of COVID-19 vaccine can cut household transmission by up to half - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . Further research into the COVID-19 vaccines’ impacts on transmission is underway.

The inoculation of a large proportion of the population will help to provide a degree of ‘passive protection’ in the community for those who cannot receive vaccination for medical reasons and those who may develop a weaker immune response to vaccination due to old age, immunosuppression or illness.