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The employment of teachers of the deaf is a matter for education authorities, to be addressed in light of their local circumstances and priorities.

Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with a sensory impairment. This includes ensuring that there are the staff and resources in place to support pupils in their learning.

To support teacher training in sensory impairment the Scottish Government provides £150,000 annual grant funding to the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide high quality Career Long Professional Learning.

The Scottish Government remain committed to ensuring that all children and young people get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential.

Following recommendations made by the Education and Skills Committee, in 2016 the Scottish Government undertook its own survey of education authorities to establish the picture of support for children and young people with a sensory impairment in Scotland. Following this, the Scottish Government set out a range of actions to support pupils with a sensory impairment. A number of these actions have already been delivered, and we continue to work on those outstanding.

The Trunk Road Operating Company Contracts for the A7, A75, A76, A701 and the M74 between Junction 1 M8 and Junction 12 Millbank (excluding Junction 3 – 6) are due for renewal in August 2020. The procurement competitions for the contracts which contain these routes will commence this Autumn.

The M74 between Junction 3 Daldowie and Junction 6 Hamilton is part of the recently completed M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements project. The management, maintenance and operating contract for this section of the M74 expires in May 2047.

The management, maintenance and operation contact for the M74 between Junction 12 Millbank and the Scottish border expires in July 2027.

Management of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve is an operational matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. No discussion regarding wildfowling in Caerlaverock has taken place between the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The most recent research conducted on this matter ( Impact of Wind Turbines on House Prices in Scotland, by ClimateXChange in October 2016) found no evidence of a consistent negative effect on house prices. This finding was similar to the findings of the other research published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in march 2007 We are not aware of any new evidence which would warrant a review of this issue.

The Scottish Government is aware of the recent changes to park home legislation in Wales. While we have no plans to make further changes to park home legislation in Scotland we will monitor the development of the changes in Wales as we continue with the implementation of the new licensing regime for residential mobile home sites in Scotland under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.

Police Scotland are responsible for recording accidents on the trunk road network. By law the Police are only required to record damage only accidents, and the public to report them, if a criminal offence occurs or there is damage to crown property. Damage only accidents are not recorded consistently or to the same standard as personal injury accidents and therefore are not considered to be a reliable data source.

Through our annual assessment of trunk road safety performance we have identified the A701 for further investigation this financial year. Next steps are dependent on the outcome of the investigation, however mitigation measures arising from this will be prioritised and delivered as appropriate.

We have recently modified the traffic signals at Heathhall in Dumfries to moderate speeds through the junction on the A701 approaches and are planning vegetation clearance in the Parkgate area.

From April 2017-April 2018 the Scottish Government has invested £2,215,639 maintaining the A76. This figure includes all aspects of maintenance including major resurfacing, drainage improvements and routine maintenance activities such as vegetation clearance and grass cutting. It also includes targeted road safety measures, maintenance of bridges and structures and winter service.

The assessment methodology used to produce Energy Performance Certificates for existing buildings does not consider hydro-electric generation as such systems are an exceptionally uncommon feature in buildings.