Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with port operators about accessing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Government has consistently failed to engage meaningfully with the Devolved Nations on the Fund. It remains unclear how much Scotland will receive or on what basis our allocation will be decided. This is clearly not conducive to a smooth introduction of the Fund in Scotland.

It is extremely disappointing that the UK Government has again decided to use the powers it has given itself in the Internal Market Act to introduce a scheme which bypasses the Scottish Government and stakeholders.

The M8 Woodside Viaducts are essential links in the M8 central Scotland urban motorway, vital for the economy and connectivity of Scotland. Therefore, the repair of the viaducts and removal of restrictions is high priority as Scotland emerges from the Covid-19 restrictions. The viaducts carry 150,000 vehicles per day in normal times, which would be difficult to accommodate by other routes or modes. As a result, there are no engineering or urban planning options currently being considered as an alternative to the structural repair of the viaducts. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in both directions and we will work with operational partners to maximise traffic flows through the site, managing impacts on the M8 and adjacent local roads.

The Kinlochleven hydro-electric power station was built specifically to power the Kinlochleven Aluminium Smelter. Since the smelter closed in 2000 all the electrical power produced at Kinlochleven has been exported to the national grid and no power is dispatched to the Fort William smelter directly. The Kinlochleven power station has no connection to the Scottish Government’s Lochaber guarantee and the Kinlochleven power generation assets are not included within the Government’s Lochaber security package.

Due to their importance in North Sea food webs, sandeel abundance should be maintained high enough to provide food for predators. The initial assessment of Good Environmental Status for seabirds found evidence of the impacts of sandeel fishing in the 1990s when a fishery took place close to the Scottish east coast. It is for that reason that the Scottish Government has supported measures to protect sandeels in areas important to foraging seabirds including the Northeast UK closed area, which was established in 2000 and excludes sandeel fishing out from our east coast to 1°W. This closed area encompasses much of the foraging range of local sandeel reliant seabirds during their breeding season. The Scottish Government also undertakes research into seabird-sandeel interactions in order to better understand how we can help seabird populations reach a favourable condition.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00017 on 24 May 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

We welcome the WWF’s Feeling the Heat report and the focus it brings to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We are already taking world-leading action at home and abroad, with action on these issues central to our green recovery from COVID-19.

In 2019 we scaled up the ambition of our climate targets; to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by 2045. Our Climate Change Plan update, published in December, strengthens Scotland’s pathway to meeting these world-leading targets over the next decade, with nearly 150 policies driving delivery. This includes investments of more than £250 million over 10 years for peatland restoration and an additional £150 million over five years in forestry.

Protection of Scotland’s biodiversity is a key priority and we are committed to doing more to safeguard our species and habitats. Our high level Statement of Intent on biodiversity, published in December 2020, signalled our ambitions for biodiversity in Scotland, our international action and the development of a new post-2020 biodiversity strategy. We have committed £7 million to date to the Biodiversity Challenge Fund, and our latest budget included a further £10 million for a new Nature Restoration Fund in 2021-22.

Furthermore, in response to independent scientific advice on the main climate risks facing Scotland, including to our biodiversity, we are implementing Scotland’s second statutory Climate Change Adaptation Programme, setting out over 170 policies and proposals across Scotland, within an outcomes-based framework aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

These global challenges require a global response, and as European co-chair of the Under2 Coalition, we are committed to working in partnership with governments around the world to support efforts to reach net zero in a way that is fair and just. Since 2012, our world-first Climate Justice Fund has delivered over £21 million to support our key partner nations of Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda, supporting communities to build resilience against the worst effects of climate change. We are also looking forward to the opportunity presented by COP26 to demonstrate our collective ambitions to address both climate action and biodiversity.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00341 on 17 th June 2021, which states details concerning contractual arrangements for UK MoD projects are a matter between the UK Government and Babcock.

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 .

Details of defence programme contractual arrangements are reserved and a matter between individual companies and the UK Government.

Information on contracts awarded through the UK Government Ministry of Defence are published and publicly available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00341 on 17th June 2021, which states details concerning contractual arrangements for UK MoD projects are a matter between the UK Government and Babcock.

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 Scottish Government has worked in partnership with COSLA and Zero Waste Scotland to develop arrangements for the fund. More information on the aims, scope and distribution of the fund is available at:

https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/local-authorities/recycling-improvement-fund

Local authorities are urged to apply to the fund, to help drive new innovations and improvements to recycling in their area and across the country.