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We published our new draft Biodiversity Strategy on 13 December 2022, which sets out 26 Priority Actions to put us on the path to a nature positive future, and halt biodiversity loss by 2030. We are now working closely with public bodies and other stakeholders to develop the first 5 year delivery plan which will support this strategy. The delivery plan, to be published in 2023, will set out how we will achieve the vision and outcomes in the new strategy, and will include further details of key related policies. The strategy will also be supported by a Natural Environment Bill, which will provide a framework for statutory targets for nature restoration.

We will be undertaking further consultation work on the strategy and delivery plan from early 2023.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about the continuing discussions to renegotiate the Energy Charter Treaty, with a view to identifying and mitigating any particular impacts on Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the concerns raised by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others that International Investment Agreements, such as the Energy Charter Treaty, may lead to ‘regulatory chill’. That is why, in our Vision for Trade, we are clear that no part of a trade or investment agreement should limit the ability of the Scottish Parliament to regulate in devolved areas, or constrain much-needed action to achieve our net zero goal.

The work to replace and upgrade the security equipment across the Scottish Government estate is part of a multi-year improvement programme, and is therefore subject to the usual resourcing and prioritisation variables, common with such large-scale programmes.

It is not in the public interest to publicise details of the Scottish Government’s physical security across its estate, however I can confirm that all Hikvision CCTV cameras have been replaced at those Scottish Government buildings identified as “sensitive sites”, as described in the recent UK Government statement.

Biodiversity is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture and our ambition to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland.

Our aim is to develop a support framework that delivers climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration and high-quality food production.

In addition the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 sets out a clear ambition for Scotland to be Nature Positive by 2030, and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity across the country by 2045. Work is underway to ensure agricultural policy aligns with these goals and the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.

The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 is the principal piece of legislation governing the use and development of land. The act is supported by various pieces of subordinate legislation, such as the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development (Scotland) Order, which provides permitted development rights for certain categories of digital communications infrastructure. Guidance on these permitted development rights is set out in Scottish Government Circular 2-2015

Specific guidance in relation to the siting of telecommunications equipment is contained in Planning Advice Note 62: Radio telecommunications This document is currently in the process of being updated and will include guidance on the siting of 5G mobile telecom masts. The intention is to publish this in the early part of 2023.

Through our revised draft National Planning framework 4 , we have proposed policies which support the delivery of such infrastructure which is carefully balanced amongst other factors such as visual and amenity impacts.

On 22 March 2021, the Scottish Government published a draft Independence Referendum Bill. The total costs of publication were £258.22.

Costs incurred for the Lord Advocate’s reference to the Supreme Court were published on 22 September. The information can be found here: www.gov.scot/publications/independence-referendum-supreme-court-referral-legal-costs . The information will be updated with final costs later this month.

As the Deputy First Minister noted in his appearance at the Finance and Public Administration Committee meeting on 4 October 2022, decisions in respect of amendments to the rates or bands for LBTT are to be taken as part of the Scottish Budget. This ensures that any prospective decisions are taken with all the relevant data and evidence in hand, while also supporting the principles of tax certainty and stability.

Unboxed was a major UK-wide programme celebrating creativity and innovation, featuring ten large-scale commissioned projects designed to reach millions on-line and in person, bring people together and showcase the Four Nation's creativity.

Scottish Ministers appointed EventScotland as the Strategic Delivery Body for the commission and delivery of the Scottish UNBOXED project, Dandelion, which was funded by the Scottish Government through EventScotland.

The detailed external evaluation of all ten of the Unboxed programme, including Dandelion, is due to be published in Spring 2023. In the interim, the latest details are set out below under the relevant headings.

(a) attendance figures for Dandelion projects

Live events and hands-on schools activities

The following table shows the engagement figures to date for Dandelion, involving over 1,000 events at over 500 locations across Scotland.

While the Scottish Government keeps alcohol licensing legislation under review, there are no current plans to update legislation for on-sales premises. Operation of the alcohol licensing regime is the day-to-day responsibility of independent Licensing Boards and Scottish Government officials regularly engage with a range of licensing stakeholders including clerks to Licensing Boards to help inform regular review and assessment of whether any legislative changes should be considered.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12234 on 5 December 2022. 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 .