The Scottish Government’s Marine Litter Strategy promotes better fishing waste management both here and abroad to reduce fishing related marine litter, supporting KIMO and the Global Ghost Gear initiative.

In our 2018 Programme for Government we prioritised action to tackle the issue of fishing litter and lost gear. This included a session at our International Marine Conference in February 2019, and focus at the first British-Irish Council Environment Ministers Marine Litter Symposium. The British-Irish Council members are now working together to improve recycling opportunities for gear and marine litter education within the fishing industry to prevent this material becoming ghost gear.

We are also reducing this waste source by working towards implementing the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive with an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for fishing gear while considering how its design can be developed to improve recyclability and contribute to our circular economy. In addition we will action the Port Reception Facilities Directive, ensuring adequate waste disposal facilities at all ports, including fishing gear.

And to ensure that fishing vessels are discouraged from disposal of end of life gear at sea, we are considering the mechanisms by which we could establish littering from vessels as an offence, as per our Future of Fisheries Management in Scotland: National Discussion Paper.

To reduce the amount of gear lost accidentally as a result of being dragged to another location in situations of gear conflict, we are implementing the recommendations of the 2015 Gear Conflict Task Force with the publication of Best Practice Guidance for marking static fishing gear. Furthermore, a Scottish Statutory Instrument is being laid in Parliament in early 2020 regulating the marking of static gear.

We are making progress towards delivering Scotland’s ambitious recycling targets. However, we recognise there is more to do and are working with partners to identify opportunities to accelerate the pace of progress. In December 2019, we hosted a recycling summit that brought together senior public and private sector leaders to consider key issues and opportunities.

In terms of tax, Scottish Landfill Tax supports our efforts to reduce waste, increase recycling and cut waste going to landfill and consideration is being given to the role that it could play in supporting a transition away from the landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste. We are in contact with the UK Government on a range of taxation issues, but have no current plans for an incineration tax.

This appeal remains on hold pending an indication from the appellant of their intentions following the statement on 3 October setting out the Scottish Government’s final policy position on onshore oil and gas. The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) have sought views and will shortly be contacting the appellant again to obtain their views on how they intend to proceed with this appeal.

Both statutory and voluntary landings returns are helping to improve our understanding of wrasse stocks and the impact of commercial fishing activity on wrasse species.

We manage all quota stocks towards MSY where it is practically possible and in line with the current objectives of the CFP with which we are bound. There are no estimations of what MSY could be for these particular data limited, non quota stocks. However we seek to manage all commercial fisheries sustainably and currently have a suite of voluntary measures which we are reviewing that will help us establish the sustainability of current fishing activity.

The Government has committed to laying a draft update to the Climate Change Plan in Parliament by 30 April 2019. Updating the plan within 6 months is a fraction of the time it would take to produce a new Plan, in recognition that there is Global Climate Emergency and there should be no delay in stepping up action to respond to it. The Government has recommended that the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee take a similar approach and respond to the draft Plan within 30 days.

Since the publication of the first Strategic Transport Projects Review in 2008, a significant number of its recommendations have been implemented or constructed across Scotland. The first STPR was not a funded delivery plan, it was a set of recommendations which, with the exception of the four priority projects, would be subject to prioritisation through normal spending review processes.

The new National Transport Strategy (NTS2) provides a new policy context through which the recommendations from the first STPR that are not committed, will be reviewed as part of STPR2. The appraisal work for STPR2 will reassess these remaining interventions from the first STPR and determine if they are still relevant to the new priorities and outcomes set out in NTS2, particularly within the context of the published Sustainable Travel and Sustainable Investment Hierarchies.

Responses received as part of the consultation on the National Transport Survey (NTS) are being considered as the strategy is finalised. The NTS will inform the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), and many of the challenges identified relate to problems and opportunities with the strategic transport system in Scotland.

STPR2 is being undertaken in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance. Given that the purpose of STPR2 is to help deliver the NTS vision, priorities and outcomes, the consultation responses, along with the early engagement undertaken are being incorporated into the evidence base that supports the Initial Appraisal: Case for Change reports that will be produced as part STPR2.

A number of responses to the NTS consultation have included suggestions for new transport infrastructure and these have been included in the long list of potential interventions for consideration in STPR2.

Engagement on the Strategic Transport Projects Review, has to date included two rounds of regional workshops across Scotland (42 regional workshops in total since the early summer of 2019), 7 national/thematic workshops and 3 business focussed events and also a number of structured interviews with senior local authority officers and stakeholders who were not able to attend a workshop. The workshop events have involved representatives from some 300 organisations with more than 1,000 invitees. Sessions are also taking place with local elected members in the different regions and a programme of school engagement is also being undertaken across Scotland with 18 school workshops having taken place so far.

Stakeholders and the public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the outputs of the “Initial Appraisal: Case for Change” work which will be published next year. These reports will consolidate the extensive data analysis undertaken, together with the feedback from the stakeholder workshops and in turn will be validated by the results of the on-line survey that opened on the 2 December 2019.

The final outcomes of the Review will be published with an accompanying Strategic Environmental Assessment for which there is a statutory 12 week consultation period.

Road Safety is of paramount importance to this Government. We do support the draft Stockholm Declaration and I intend to represent Scotland at the Conference in February. This will allow me to confer with other Transport Ministers to share the development work on Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 and underline our commitment to playing our part in contributing to the reduction of deaths and serious injuries on Scotland’s roads.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review will provide the evidence to support Scottish Ministers transport investment priorities to help deliver the new National Transport Strategy over the next 20 years.

Members will have the opportunity to see the initial outcomes from the Review as they emerge this year. Our programme for disseminating information is currently being updated and I will provide further details when I update Parliament on the new National Transport Strategy.