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At this point, the Scottish Government have no plans to set a date for the delivery of net zero carbon new buildings.

The 2013 Update to the Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy acknowledged that delivery of net zero carbon new buildings may not be practical, as indicated by research carried out by the Zero Carbon Hub. This aligns with the 2007 Sullivan panel recommendation for “Net zero carbon buildings by 2016-2017, if practical”.

As a consequence, the recommendation within the 2013 Update called for investigation of the potential for ‘Allowable Solutions’ to deliver a ‘net zero carbon standard’ for new development. ‘Allowable Solutions’ – a mechanism by which remaining building emissions could be offset through measures unrelated to the building - will be considered in the forthcoming review of the energy standards in building regulations which will commence in early 2018.

Yes, the Scottish Government will provide an update on the progress made on delivering the recommendations in the Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland: 2013 Update. This will be provided after the conclusion of the forthcoming review of energy standards within building regulations programmed to commence in early 2018.

Under the current UK Government system I understand that people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, are reassessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if they were under the age of 65 on the 8^th of April 2013 but are now over 65, or will be 65 by the time of their reassessment.

I can fully appreciate the unnecessary confusion and concern this must be causing to those affected. I support previous calls from organisations to end the process of reassessing those who were under 65 on the 8^th of April 2013. These individuals can no longer be considered ‘working age’ in line with the UK Government’s stated purpose of PIP.

We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to halt the roll-out of PIP in Scotland. The roll-out has been beset by delays, many people have had to undergo stressful assessments, and many have lost entitlement including access to the Motability scheme with devastating consequences.

Scottish Government officials engaged with officials from the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Futures Trust to discuss the St James Quarter Growth Accelerator agreement before it was signed in October 2016.

Since then a Growth Accelerator Executive Group consisting of stakeholders, including the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Futures Trust, and Scottish Government has been established to oversee the Growth Accelerator agreement and which has met on two occasions on 3 March 2017 and 7 June 2017.

However, no discussions have been held about the detail of the proposals to redevelop Picardy Place, for which the City of Edinburgh Council is responsible, seeking the approval of the Growth Accelerator Executive Group if and when required.

Responsibility for the detailed design of individual elements within the St James Quarter Growth Accelerator agreement, including the design proposals for Picardy Place, is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council to lead on.

Scottish Ministers set national policy on active travel via the Active Travel Vision and local authorities are encouraged to follow this policy. However, under the terms of the Concordat and Single outcome agreements, implementation of the Active Travel Vision is a matter for the relevant planning authority to implement.

Information (including data sources) on the assessment of conservation status for mountain hare in the second UK report to the European Commission under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive is published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and can be accessed via the following web link: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Article17/FCS2007-S1334-audit-Final.pdf

Information (including data sources) on the assessment of conservation status for mountain hare in the third UK report to the European Commission under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive is published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and can be accessed via the following web link: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Article17Consult_20131010/S1334_UK.pdf

Information on the criteria used for the second and third reports is also published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and can be accessed via the following web links respectively: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4096 http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/A17_2013_UKApproach.pdf

The Healthy Start Scheme is administered by the Department of Health. Information in the following table was provided by the Healthy Start Issuing Unit (HSIU) and outlines the households entitled and receiving Healthy Start vouchers in Scotland in the financial year 2016-17.

Uptake is variable across Scotland. We are, therefore, supporting a number of areas to run quality improvement projects to increase uptake of the Healthy Start Scheme including Fife, Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders.

The Scottish Government has received final advice from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid on a Scotland only basis. This advice is in line with the recommendations made to the FSS Board as follows:

i) Mandatory fortification should not be introduced on a Scotland only basis; and

ii) Mandatory fortification should, in line with previous recommendations, be taken forward on a UK basis.

The rationale for this approach is set out in the FSS Board paper of 16 August 2017 available at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/publications-and-research/board-meeting-16-august-2017-1

The Scottish Government is currently considering this advice and our next steps.

The Scottish Government does not hold centrally the amount spent by the NHS on accessing research papers where access fees are levied by the publisher.

The Scottish Government invests through NHS Research Scotland (NRS) to provide infrastructure supporting the NHS in Scotland to host and participate in clinical research.

Within the Scottish Government, responsibility for health research funding falls within the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO). Scottish-based researchers can apply for funding through CSO’s Health Improvement, Protection & Services Research Committee and Translational Clinical Studies Research Committee. Both of these committees fund projects that are closer to direct clinical application than the basic science studies that underpin most pharmaceutical drug development. In addition to CSO, other major funders of health research in Scotland include, the Research Councils, the National Institute for Health Research, charities including Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation, and the Pharmaceutical Industry. Any new pharmaceutical drug is likely to be developed through a large body of research supported by a number of funders (including research carried out in different countries). The majority of funding for new drugs comes from the pharmaceutical industry and on average it takes many years of research and development to bring a new product to market. For the above reasons it is not feasible to quantifiably link CSO investment in health research to the development of specific pharmaceutical drugs.

CSO’s approach to research funding can be found here