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The draft Long-term Plan for Vessels and Ports was developed in consultation with various stakeholders including local authorities and is a delivery plan for the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services networks. The draft Plan was shared with key stakeholders on 30 December 2022 and made available at Draft for consultation - Long-Term plan for vessels and ports on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles networks (2023 – 2045) - Islands Connectivity Plan | Transport Scotland . We expect to launch a formal consultation on the plan over the summer period and we will welcome further comments from stakeholders during this time.

However, the draft Long-Term Plan recognises that local authority ferry fleets face similar challenges to those facing the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services networks.

Ferry services provided by Orkney Islands Council, including developing equivalent investment plans and spending on vessels and ports, are wholly a matter for Orkney Islands Council. The Scottish Government continues to engage regarding these matters, including through the Orkney Islands Councils' Ferry Replacement Task Forces.

Orkney Islands Council is wholly responsible for their inter-island ferries, including vessel maintenance, and therefore they or Orkney Ferries Limited would be best placed to provide this information.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collate data about electric vehicle charge points which are not part of the ChargePlace Scotland public charging network. Data about public charging devices on privately-managed networks can be obtained from third party data suppliers, such as Zap-Map, who publish monthly statistics on electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Our sympathies are with the victims of historical abuse.

The independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football, commissioned by the Scottish FA Board to examine what was known about abuse in Scottish Football in the past and what actions were taken as a result, acknowledged the significant physical and mental harm caused to individuals. The review delivered 97 recommendations, all of which were accepted, and which the Scottish FA is continuing to implement and report on annually. Over 80% of the review recommendations have either been implemented or are on track to be completed in the next 12 months. We believe a continued focus on the implementation of these recommendations is critical to help us ensure the safety, rights and wellbeing of children involved in football today.

In terms of justice for the survivors of historic abuse, investigation and prosecution of those guilty of abuse remains a matter for Police Scotland and the courts. In the civil justice system, the Scottish Government has removed a longstanding legal hurdle for adult victims of child abuse seeking damages claims by legislating to scrap the three-year ‘time-bar’ for all cases involving child abuse. We support the ongoing work of Scotland’s police and prosecutors to bring perpetrators to justice.

There are currently 2522 publicly available charge points registered on the ChargePlace Scotland network.

Alongside our aim to accelerate the development of industrial scale renewable hydrogen projects, the Scottish Government continues to foster demonstration, innovation and manufacturing and workforce skills development in the hydrogen sector.

To support research and innovation in hydrogen production, storage, and distribution, we launched the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme in 2022 and offered over £7m in grants to 32 projects last May.

Additionally, our £26 million Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund provides support to Scottish manufacturing businesses looking to grow through the development of low carbon products.

Many of the levers required to support the emergence of a flourishing hydrogen economy in the devolved nations are reserved to the UK Government, and so we will continue to work closely with the UKG to ensure that our collective vision for the development of the hydrogen economy is aligned and the benefits are realised across all nations of the UK.

Scotland’s research base has a global reputation for excellence which is strengthened by the extensive collaborations the sector undertakes both across the UK and worldwide. The research base delivers wide ranging benefits, including economic impact.

We monitor data available on economic impact data through the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey on collaboration and knowledge exchange activities. This includes information on collaborative research with non-academic organisations, employment numbers, the number of active spin-offs founded at Scottish HEIs and the turnover generated at these spin-offs. This data showed that in 2021/22, over 1,200 active university spin-off businesses founded at Scottish HEIs generated an estimated turnover of £489 million. We do not hold information on the economic impact of research and development collaborations between Scottish universities and UK HEIs specifically.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 will consolidate, modernise and extend existing hate crime legislation in Scotland. We are working closely with justice partners to ensure effective implementation of the Hate Crime Act..

We continue to work towards a commencement period of early 2024 in order to provide sufficient time to allow justice partners to complete a number of IT change programmes which will support implementation.

Officials and Ministers are continuing to engage regularly with justice partners with a view to ensuring the necessary IT changes are delivered in time for implementation by our early 2024 deadline.

Hate crimes will continue to be dealt with under existing hate crime legislation until such time as the Act comes into force.

The Scottish Government has engaged Cosla, setting out its position on tariffs for the use of public charge points, a significant proportion of which are owned by Local Authorities. It is important that tariffs are structured to avoid unduly subsidising those who can afford to pay, support infrastructure maintenance and create the conditions that will be attractive for the future private investment that will be needed to grow the network. As highlighted in a market insights report (Opportunity Through Tariffs to Encourage Private Investment in EV Infrastructure Across Scotland) published by Scottish Futures Trust last November, adoption of such pricing regimes does not preclude local authorities from introducing flexible and off-peak pricing structures to enable more affordable charging.

As energy market policy remains reserved to UK government, the Scottish Government cannot take all of the action it would like to in order to support Scottish consumers. We welcome the intention set out by UK government to consult on how to rebalance the price of gas and electricity. The UK government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements presents an opportunity to reflect on the structure of the wholesale electricity market and consider what can be done to ensure it serves the best interests of consumers and delivers net zero. However, this review will take time, so the UK government must also work to identify short-term opportunities to support bill payers today.

Through Scottish Government’s commitment of £36 Million over this parliamentary term, The Climate Justice Fund [CJF] continues to focus on supporting communities being impacted first and worst by the climate crisis.

£7 Million of this has been committed to be spent on Loss and Damage over this parliament (to March 31 2026). £1.7 Million has already been delivered through grants. For details of expenditure I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13351 on 10 January 2023. In addition, once the selection process and delivery mechanism for the £5 Million funding for non-economic loss and damage is finalised, initiatives can begin to be funded through this programme on the otherwise underfunded and undervalued area of addressing non-economic and slow-onset loss and damage.

Scottish Government is expanding its Human Rights Defendership Fellowship programme to include two £50,000 Gender and Environment fellowships. The fellowship will allow human rights defenders from other countries to spend several months in Scotland to develop their work, skills and extend their networks in a safe place.

A further £24 Million will be awarded through the Climate Just Communities programme over three years. This will be split across Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia to build more inclusive communities that are resilient to the material and social effects of climate change.

Officials are developing options for Cabinet Secretary consideration for allocation of the as yet uncommitted funding.

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