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The UK Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG) published their Environmental Quality Standards recommendation for emamectin benzoate on 30 June 2022. The Scottish Government will now respond and consult on the implementation of the recent UKTAG environmental standard recommendation. In the meantime the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) updated its interim regulatory position on emamectin benzoate, to apply the new standard when determining new applications to discharge emamectin benzoate.

SEPA is also progressing work to update its framework for regulating bath treatment medicines. This has included introducing a new computer model of the dispersion of the medicines in the environment and taking account of the latest evidence on the persistence of the medicines in the environment. It is also working to support innovation in the capture and removal of bath treatment medicine residues to reduce discharges to the environment. SEPA is looking at the suite of bath medicines to understand if the latest scientific evidence suggests that the existing environmental standards need to be updated.

Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) makes clear the planning system should maintain a presumption against further marine finfish farm developments on the north and east coasts, and that local development plans, or supplementary guidance, should take account of Marine Scotland’s locational policies when identifying areas potentially suitable for new development and sensitive areas which are unlikely to be appropriate for such development.

All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. As a statement of Ministers’ priorities, the content of the SPP is a material consideration that carries significant weight, though it is for the decision-maker to determine the appropriate weight in each case.

We laid our fourth Draft National Planning Framework (NPF4) in parliament on 10 November 2021, including proposals for updated planning policy on aquaculture. Alongside Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft, we ran a public consultation, supported by an extensive engagement programme, with comments invited by 31 March 2022. Once approved and adopted, NPF4 will be part of the statutory development plan, and will replace Scottish Planning Policy. We are considering the broad range of views shared with us before laying a finalised NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

The recent Programme for Government also commits to the development of a new National Marine Plan to address the global climate and nature crises and to supporting local authorities to guide development to the right places.

The Scottish Government remains committed to funding the expansion of free school lunches to all children in primary and special schools during the course of this parliament. We will also establish a pilot of the provision of free school lunches to secondary school pupils.

As the First Minister stated, during her statement to Parliament on our Programme for Government on 6 September, having delivered free school meals for all pupils in primary 1 to 5, we can now announce that we will start work with local authorities to extend universal provision to all pupils in primary 6 and 7. This work will be supported by £30 million of capital funding during this academic year to support the expansion of catering and dining facilities to accommodate increased uptake.

Where families do not meet the regular eligibility criteria for receiving free school meals, local authorities have the flexibility to make discretionary offers of free school meals where families are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances. We would encourage any families experiencing difficulty with meeting the cost of school meals to contact their local council to enquire about what assistance may be available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07063 on 4 May 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 .

The Scottish Government supports research and development in a renewable energy system through a range of funds, ensuring Scotland will be at the forefront of new transition opportunities. Our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray has offered £20 million to projects this year, ranging from testing and promoting emerging technologies such as electric vehicle battery recycling, offshore green hydrogen, and decommissioning, to innovative projects such as a digital innovation lab and a supply chain pathway and challenge fund.

This builds on support offered through our £75 million Energy Transition Fund (ETF) and £100 million Emerging Energy Transition Fund (EETF). The ETF supports four projects: the Energy Transition Zone, Global Underwater Hub, Net Zero Technology Transition Programme, and Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, which will all support the sector to make progress on energy transition. The first tranche of the EETF’s hydrogen investment programme was launched via the £10 million Hydrogen Innovation Scheme with a focus on innovation in green hydrogen, storage and distribution technology. To provide a coordinated vision for the sector, our upcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will set out the energy system’s role in delivering a just transition to net zero and climate resilience.

The purpose of the consultation document, Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation, is to seek views on a range of proposals for land-related reforms, including specific measures that could be included in the next Land Reform Bill. As part of that, views are sought on criteria that could be used to classify landholdings as 'large-scale'.

The criteria put forward for consultation in the document are based on the principle of proportionality. They are:

a. A fixed threshold of 3000 hectares

b. Land that accounts for more than a fixed percentage of a data zone (or adjacent data zones) or local authority ward(s) designated as an Accessible Rural Area or Remote Rural Area, through our six-fold urban/rural classification scheme

c. Land that accounts for more than a specified minimum proportion of a permanently inhabited island.

Meeting one or more of these criteria would mean that a landholding would be considered 'large-scale'.

The proposal to set the fixed threshold at 3000 hectares reflects a suggestion made by the Scottish Land Commission that the 'aim should be to establish a threshold that would ensure that family farms and small businesses would not fall in scope, but that modest estates that could pose risks [of harm to the public interest] would.'

As set out in the consultation document, the proposed threshold of 3000 hectares has been informed by data held on land and property titles by the Registers of Scotland, and the Scottish Government's Integrated Administration and Control System (which records data on all businesses with agricultural and non-agricultural land in Scotland that receive public subsidies.) Based on this data we consider that setting the threshold of 3000 hectares would be proportionate, in that it would bring into the scope of measures proposed for the Bill a substantial proportion of land in Scotland, while affecting a very small proportion of landowners, few of whom would be considered 'family farms'.

The Scottish Government’s contract with First Marine International (FMI), a subsidiary of HaskoningDHV, sets out deliverables around timing and the quality of the work done on the report that the Scottish Government has commissioned. These are being used to determine performance and are linked to milestone payments to the supplier. The use of milestone payments is a common mechanism in Scottish Government contracts.

Any decisions around potential investment at the yard will be subject to value for money considerations and to subsidy control rules.

Following the publication of the analysis of responses to the consultation on A New Deal for Tenants, the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights met with Living Rent, alongside other key stakeholders, at a roundtable meeting on 25 August 2022.

The Minister also met with Living Rent on 6 September, as part of his one to one conversations with key stakeholders, immediately following the publication of the Programme for Government 2022-23. These meetings included discussions on proposals for rent controls, emergency cost of living measures to support tenants and a rent freeze.

As we move at pace to introduce emergency legislation to implement a rent freeze and moratorium on evictions, we will ensure a continued dialogue with a range of key stakeholders, including Living Rent.

There are numerous initiatives currently in operation across the country that enable children to walk, wheel and cycle to and from school, through our Active Travel Delivery Partners (ATDPs).

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel event in April of this year had 360 schools across Scotland take part. The Sustrans' Ibike project sees dedicated officers provide a programme of classroom-based and outdoor learning, aligned to the Curriculumn for Excellence, tailored to the schools needs and reflecting the local area.

Cycling Scotland's Bikeability Scotland Cycling Training Scheme is available to all schools in all 32 Scottish local authorities. This training provides lifelong learning skills from how to balance on a bike to tackling roundabouts and junctions, where awareness of other road users and road position is crucial.

Living Streets coordinates the "WOW" project which encourages school children to walk once a week to school and provides schools, with both online and physical resources to encourage more walking, through an inter school competition. Over 130 schools took part in the WOW event at the end of the 2021-22 academic year.

However, it is the responsibility of the local roads authority to ensure that all road users are able to travel safely to their destination. To help deliver this, the Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding for active travel, and as part of our £150 million investment this year, £35 million goes directly to local authorities for Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes projects. Local authorities are also able to bid for further funding through our ATDPs, mainly Sustrans, for infrastructure projects, such as segregated walking, wheeling and cycling paths, including routes to schools .

The following table details the number of recorded crimes of theft of a pedal cycle for the March year end data for reporting years 2016-17 to 2021-22.

Table: Number of theft of a pedal cycle crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, 2016-17 to 2021-22