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The decision to grant planning permission for an extension to an existing substation at Bearholm near Moffat was made by the relevant planning authority, Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Planning authorities are required to determine any valid application submitted to them in accordance with the relevant local development plan and National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) unless there are material considerations which justify a departure from the plan. The decision notice of the authority is required to include the reasons for the decision. In addition, as part of the decision-making process the authority is required to produce a report setting out their consideration of the application and the material considerations taken into account. The decision notice and report are published on the planning authority’s website.

Applications for consent for the Rivox Wind Energy Hub and Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm projects are currently with the Scottish Ministers for determination under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Ministers have now made a decision on the final budget to support the Strengthening Communities Programme for 2024-25. The decision has been communicated through the delivery partners, including the Development Trusts Association Scotland, in order to advise all the community anchor organisations involved.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water has advised that investigations have been on-going into reports of sewage leaking to a nearby water channel in the area; these investigations have included camera surveys and extensive dye testing of a nearby sewer pipeline. A fault has been identified and a repair made in a buried manhole chamber. Scottish Water has advised that they are continuing to monitor this area and remain in communication with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

I refer the member to answer to question: S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies.

I am delighted to confirm that this financial year, up to £8.8 million of funding will be made available to expand access to diabetes technologies in Scotland. The focus will primarily be on providing access to all children that want Closed Loop Systems, but will also allow us to continue increasing access to adults.

This investment will allow us to continue developing innovative care models for diabetes in Scotland that have a focus on digital pathways and peer support.

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 .

Yes – this funding is specifically for the provision of diabetes technologies and will be managed by a central team. A small part of this investment will cover costs of infrastructure to enable delivery at scale.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Scottish Ambulance Service publish their weekly performance statistics, which can be found here - https://www.scottishambulance.com/publications/unscheduled-care-operational-statistics/ .

The Scottish Government recognises that cyber resilience is paramount for the delivery of secure digital public services, and it works closely with the Scottish public sector to strengthen its cyber security posture through the implementation of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.

Staying ahead of cyber criminals is an ongoing battle; as technologies evolve, so do their tactics. Public bodies are responsible for their own cyber resilience and security arrangements and must continually adapt to emerging threats.

The Scottish Government supports public sector bodies to help strengthen their cyber resilience and address areas for improvement. This includes embedding robust security standards, controls and governance, maintaining and regularly testing incident response plans, training staff and learning lessons identified from incidents.

Additionally, the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre plays a key role in coordinating effective multi-agency response to incidents which impact on the public sector.

Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011.

NatureScot, the licensing agency in Scotland, may consider issuing licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to undertake actions for a specific purpose, such as to prevent serious damage by badgers to agriculture.

Recent research investigating reports of badger predation on lambs on Scottish farms was undertaken in 2022 and 2023 by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), in conjunction with NatureScot, Scottish Land and Estates, and the National Farmers Union Scotland, The research found that whilst the results cannot fully rule out the occurrence of badger predation, they strongly suggest that foxes are most likely to be responsible for the majority of lamb predation events on Scottish farms. A copy of the report of this research can be found at:

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1345-investigating-role-badgers-meles-meles-lamb-predation-scottish-farms

We announced last year that we will look to make the new £10 million fund available across the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. As a result there has been no funding to date. We know how important it is to develop clear funding criteria to ensure the best possible use of the fund. We will confirm future funding after this has been finalised.

The Scottish Government published updated national policy guidance on Funding Follows the Child in December 2023, which outlines the principles and criteria local authorities should follow when delivering funded early learning and childcare. The local authority is responsible for local delivery and has a duty to ensure that the statutory funded early learning and childcare entitlement is made available for each eligible young child belonging to its area. Local authorities also have a duty to publish local delivery plans outlining the choice available to parents and carers.