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The Scottish Government has spent £218,565.83 in setting up the Deposit Return Scheme since 2018. This includes the costs associated with consultation, publication of regulations and associated documents, evaluations, independent reviews and assurance.

The costs associated with the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are met from the wider Zero Waste budget. For that whole Zero Waste budget the Scottish Government budgeted £40.2m in 2021-22, £42.9m in 2022-23 and £46.9m in 2023-24. DRS is a very small part of those budgets which, as a whole, support major circular economy delivery programmes including implementation of Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map, Extended Producer Responsibility, incineration research, landfill remediation, recycling, single-use plastics, litter and flytipping and funding for Zero Waste Scotland to support delivery of SG objectives.

The draft route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car km driven in Scotland by 2030 published in January 2022 outlines our approach to achieving this. A period of engagement and consultation followed publication, and the analysis and consideration of the consultation responses have shaped the final route map which will pe published in the coming months. The route map was co-produced with CoSLA, in recognition of the importance of local-level interventions, and we will continue to work closely with local and regional partners to achieve this commitment.

The route map contains over 30 national-level interventions, and recognises the need to shift towards sustainable alternatives to car use. We know that to reduce car use, public transport has to be available, affordable and accessible so, as part of the Fair Fares Review, a pilot to remove ScotRail peak fares on all routes will start in October. In addition, £421.8 million has been allocated in funding for bus services and concessionary fares in 2023-24, providing up to 2.3 million people in Scotland with access to free bus travel. This is part of a total of over £2 billion spent on supporting public transport by the Scottish Government annually.

The answer to question S6W-18396 on 12 June 2023 to the member outlines some of the practical measures being undertaken in order to achieve this commitment, and deliver a fairer, greener transport system for everyone in Scotland. However, given the Scottish Government recognises the need to go further in order to meet our statutory climate goals, and we are committed to finding ways to make alternative travel modes more attractive, and supporting people to take fewer journeys by car. The evidence is clear travel behaviours can only be changed on the required scale through a broad combination of interventions, including infrastructure, incentives and regulation.

As outlined in the draft 20% car KM reduction route map, we have commissioned research exploring equitable options for demand management to discourage car use. This will form the basis of a Demand Management Framework by 2025. The most direct levers on the cost of buying or running a petrol or diesel car – fuel duty and vehicle excise duty – are currently reserved, and the recent rises in the cost of motoring underline the unfairness of the current, regressive motoring tax regime. We will continue to press the UK Government for a fair and progressive future transport tax system that better incentivises the transition to zero-emission vehicles, reduces unnecessary journeys and raises revenues to fund policies to support a shift to more sustainable travel.

The Scottish Government plans to continue with the approach outlined, and the updated 20% route map which will be published in the coming months will provide further detail on how we will deliver this commitment.

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

Ministerial Engagements, travel and gifts are published within 3 months in line with the Scottish Ministerial Code.

The Freedom of Information request referred to, detailing meetings and summaries of each, was published on 19 May 2023 on the Scottish Government Website. Details can be found at this link https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300352406/ .

Follow up actions from business meetings are contained in the meeting summaries. Actions include, but are not limited to: offering to support links to centres of excellence in technology and data science; continued support of the encouragement of talent access; gathering examples of best practice across industries; supporting development of events; working with our diaspora partners to support improving delivery of Tartan Week results for Scotland; and continuation of support from Scottish Enterprise for development activities.

Specific actions that are sensitive to the future operations of those companies and diaspora groups, have been omitted in order to protect business interests and the strong US Scotland relationship.

The Office of the Chief Statistician and Data Officer engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in December 2022, setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

Ministers are not aware of any meetings, discussions or consultations made by the OSR that the Scottish Government has not been able to attend or convene.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13092 on 10 January 2023. 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

No engagement has taken place between any Ministers who used the statistic and the UK Statistics Authority since December 2022.

I refer the member to the answer to the similar question, S6O-02277, on 25 May 2023. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 25/05/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

I reiterate my thanks to Changeworks for this important report.

The average energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of Highland and Island properties is lower than the national average rating because of the typically more expensive fuels that are used or available, how those are reflected in the current EPC metric, and the historically lower energy efficiency standards.

We propose that all housing in Scotland should meet the equivalent of EPC rating C by 2033, following reform of EPC metrics. We intend to consult on reformed EPCs shortly.

We offer support to improve the energy efficiency of rural homes, including a funding uplift to our Home Energy Scotland grant and loan scheme, and targeted fuel poverty support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17984 on 31 May 2023. 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

Data on the possession of a National Entitlement Card by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles comes from the Scottish Household Survey, which asks questions regarding concessionary bus travel on alternate years.

The Scottish Household Survey 2021 was published in April 2023 but covers the year prior to the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme coming into force in January 2022.

Work is now underway on the one year evaluation of the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. The evaluation will include questions looking at barriers to bus travel and to accessing, or using, the scheme. It will collect information from children, young people and parents (both users and non-users of the scheme) about their experiences. The evaluation study will also draw on scheme cardholder data on young people in various data zones, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.