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The Scottish Government’s Budget prioritises a just transition to a net zero, climate resilient and biodiverse Scotland, with over £2.2 billion of investment in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government’s public sector climate funding map , highlighting funding opportunities in a range of areas including transport, heat and waste, is available on the Sustainable Scotland Network Website.

On the specific question on Highland Council's Corran Ferry Infrastructure Improvement Scheme, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13974 on 31 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

Ensuring the development and availability of sector-specific skills is central to a just transition towards reaching our net-zero targets.

We will be taking forward work on sector-specific skills needs for the renewable energy sector as we finalise the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and the refresh of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.

In addition, through our work on oil and gas analysis, which will be published in due course, we are developing our understanding of the opportunities in sectors across the energy economy, and we will use that to inform future skills work.

The School Libraries Improvement Fund (SLIF) is distributed via the Scottish Library and Information Council (as is the Public Libraries Improvement Fund). £200,000 has been allocated in 2022/23 to SLIF which has supported a total of 18 initiatives across Scotland. In this year’s funding round, priority was given to applications which focused on supporting anti-racism and racial equality, supporting the aims of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme.

In 2022-23 the Scottish Government has also provided funding of £450,000 to the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) for the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF), which enables libraries to undertake a wide range of pioneering projects within communities. Eight initiatives were selected to receive grants from the 2022-23 PLIF, supporting sustainable development and innovation within Scotland’s public libraries.

Applications for the 2022-23 School Libraries Improvement Fund were accepted from 29 August 2022 to 29 September 2022.

We are engaging with the Scottish Library and Information Council and will set out future plans in due course.

Work on the precise methodology, design and evaluation for the peak rail fares pilot is currently underway. Transport Scotland officials are working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail Trains Ltd to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

Further details on the peak rail fares pilot including timescales during the next financial year will be confirmed as soon as practically possible.

The ScotRail peak fares pilot will apply to all ScotRail services.

Work on the precise methodology, design and evaluation for the peak rail fares pilot is currently underway. Transport Scotland officials are working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail Trains Ltd to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

Further details on the peak rail fares pilot including timescales during the next financial year will be confirmed as soon as practically possible.

Information on local authority spend on their professional learning is not held nationally by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are best placed to advise on their spend in this area.

In 2022, we ran a public consultation on the draft of the new physical intervention in schools guidance Physical intervention in schools: draft guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The draft human rights-based guidance is clear that restraint and seclusion should only ever be used as a last resort and to prevent a child or young person coming to harm. This position is also clear in existing guidance on the use of physical intervention and seclusion.

The draft guidance includes links to free professional learning resources that are focussed on promoting positive relationships and behaviour to minimise the use of restraint and seclusion. The draft guidance also recommends that the any training in the use of restraint is certified as complying with Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) training standards.

We are carefully considering all consultation responses received and recognise that there are calls for further legislation in this area. A consultation analysis report is currently being prepared. Alongside the publication of the guidance, and in line with our original commitments, we are exploring options to strengthen the legal framework in this area, including placing the guidance on a statutory basis.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09365 on 7 July 2022. Information on the number of complaints regarding the use of restraint in schools and care settings is not collected at a national level by the Scottish Government. Under existing guidance, any use of physical intervention in schools, including restraint, must be recorded and monitored by local authorities. This is in addition to the inspection roles of carried out by Education Scotland.

The Scottish Government encourages all concerns or disagreements in relation to service provision to be resolved at as local a level as possible, where that is appropriate. Complaints can also be submitted in line with the service’s complaints handling procedure, with referrals made to the local authority and public services ombudsman, where appropriate. Where there are concerns about the professional conduct of a teacher registered with the GTCS, these can be referred to the GTCS for further examination. All children and young people, and their families, should be informed of all the routes available to them to make a complaint.

In all settings, police or social work should be informed without delay if there are concerns that a child or young person has suffered harm as a result of restraint. A child protection referral can run in parallel to local complaints handling and disciplinary procedures. Child protection procedures will be initiated when police, social work or health determine that a child may have been significantly harmed or may be at risk of significant harm.

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

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has not provided funding to local authorities in the last six months to provide free bus passes or rail cards to people seeking asylum and does not hold information on whether local authorities have received funding from elsewhere.

However, Refugee Survival Trust and partners have been provided with funding from the Paths for All Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund. This has enabled them to begin a pilot scheme to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum living in Glasgow through the provision of three month bus passes, along with information and digital support to access and use the pass.

The Pilot will run until summer 2023 and will help inform options on how to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to consider how best to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum across Scotland.