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Work on finalising the review had been on hold due to other animal welfare priorities arising from the Covid pandemic but this is now almost completed and the report is expected to be published this month.

The Scottish Government supports the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) as a common whole-system decarbonisation infrastructure with the flexibility to adapt over time to play a central role across the decarbonisation strategies of key sectors such as heat, industry and power. A proven technology, there are more than 50 CCUS facilities worldwide, with an estimated combined capture capacity of 96 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.

The Committee on Climate Change describes CCUS as a “necessity, not an option” to achieve net-zero emissions; indeed, the swift development of CCUS as a cornerstone of our energy transition is vital to achieving Scotland’s net zero emissions reduction targets.

Scotland is the most cost-effective place to begin CCUS in the UK, with existing oil and gas infrastructure available to repurpose for CO2 transport and storage. The development of CCUS could offer a range of transition opportunities for Scottish oil and gas firms and domestic supply chain companies.

We are already supporting efforts to deploy CCUS in Scotland, including through our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, which will provide £80m over the next five years to support the development of CCUS and negative-emissions technologies. We have also provided funding and policy support to the Acorn CCS project in Aberdeenshire, considered the most advanced CCS project in the UK.

Our commitment to tackling the climate emergency and transitioning to a net-zero society by 2045 is unwavering. In 2019, the whole-life carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste reached its lowest level since official recording began.

To help achieve this, building Scotland’s circular economy and reducing, recycling and reusing resources is vital. With this and our world leading climate change targets in mind, the Scottish Government have committed to review the role that incineration plays in Scotland’s waste hierarchy and will update Parliament on plans for this in due course.

To further accelerate progress, Scottish Ministers are fully committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2025. This is in line with recommendations made by the Committee on Climate Change.

We still need capacity to dispose of residual waste, which cannot be reused or recycled, while we make the transition to a circular economy in Scotland.

It is worth nothing, responsibility for dealing with any planning applications rests, in the first instance, with the local council as planning authority.

We intend to carry out the Gateway Review into the go-live date for DRS by the end of the summer and provide an update to Parliament following summer recess.

While industry has made good progress towards implementing DRS, we recognise the unique and significant pressures that COVID-19 has placed on relevant sectors over the past year. The Gateway Review will assess the impact of the pandemic on the go-live date for the scheme.

The Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward a Circular Economy Bill to advance Scotland's ambitions to promote an economy where materials remain in use for as long as possible, rather than being thrown away. Legislative plans will be set out in future Programmes for Government.

As you will be aware from my answer to the referenced Parliamentary Question and my update of 13 November to the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee, work on the public energy company, such as engagement on the findings of the Outline Business Case, was affected as a result of redeployment of officials to support the COVID-19 response and potential local authority partners have also needed to focus resource on responding to the pandemic.

Officials have been remobilised and we are reviewing the independent, public energy company Outline Business Case to reflect on the climate emergency and our ambitious net zero targets as well as more recent energy market developments, and we are working with interested local authorities to publish the Outline Business Case alongside identifying next steps.

We are engaging with industry regarding dates for the independent Gateway Review into the go-live date for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme and will confirm these in due course.

The Winter Support Package will provide devices to up to 5,000 individuals at risk of social isolation who are older or disabled.

As the target groups are not mutually exclusive, and not all organisations received the full amount of devices requested, it is not possible to confirm the total number of individuals supported in each group. From analysis of the applications, 74% of those supported are older people and 52% have a disability. This implies that 26% are disabled people aged under 60.

4,467 devices have been sent from the supplier to 343 local organisations. We expect all of these deliveries to be complete in March 2021. Our delivery partner, SCVO are in contact with the 48 organisations that have not returned contracts yet. Once these documents have been received, devices will be sent to organisations who then distribute to individuals.

Since the answer provided on 5 February, a further 4855 devices have been scheduled for delivery with 241 organisations. This brings the total number of devices delivered through the Connecting Scotland programme to 35,326.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund closed to applications on 18 December 2020. Of the 13 applications received, 12 are being considered for support. It is projected that to up 1,377 rural households and 510 urban households will benefit from affordable, low carbon heating as a consequence of the funding. Funding is provided in line with need and I can confirm that all projects are anticipated to have received their grant by 31st March 2022.