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I refer the member to the answer to questions S5W-13047 and S5W-13048 on 11 December 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

At this late stage in the life time of the scheme, it is unlikely that it will be worth amending the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) to incorporate beaver management payments. The Scottish Government will consider whether beaver management that benefits the public interest should be part of any scheme that replaces the SRDP.

The Scottish Government appointed four external agriculture champions in January 2017 to provide advice and recommendations on a future agriculture strategy for Scotland. The Champions recently published an interim discussion document which identified six strategic themes, all underpinned by the concept of Public Value. One of those themes, Enhancing Scotland’s Natural Capital, highlights the need to make optimal use of our natural capital, for economic as well as environmental reasons if we are to ensure a long-term sustainable future for Scotland's farming industry. The champions will analyse responses to their discussion document and publish a final report in spring. It will not be possible however to plan a long-term policy without knowing what kind of budget will be available to us, and we will continue to press UK Government for clarity on this as a matter of urgency

The position on advice will be one of the issues looked at when we are deciding the shape of the new policy.

Clause 1 of the draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and the Recognition of Sentience) Bill is intended to require Ministers of the Crown to have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings when formulating and implementing government policy. This would include matters applying to Scotland, to the extent that they are reserved.

The Scottish Government is considering the extension of this duty to have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings when formulating and implementing policy to Scottish Ministers as regards matters devolved to the Scottish Government.

Clause 2 of the Bill relates to penalties for animal welfare offences in England and Wales only.

The Scottish Government is keen to encourage self and custom build housing in Scotland and to encourage alternative house building models including options like cooperative housing. However, it is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the appropriate housing required in their areas, based on the findings from their Housing Need and Demand Assessment and Local Housing Strategy policies. We encourage local authorities to consider all types of delivery models to provide a wide range of housing types to suit the needs of people of all ages. Housing is also addressed in current planning policy documents and we are committed to reviewing the National Planning Framework and Scottish Planning Policy, including their role in supporting housing development.

Publishing the detailed reporting framework for the Land Use Strategy has been delayed following the result of the EU referendum. The Scottish Government is looking to integrate work on future strategic policy for the environment and agriculture with the next steps for the Land Use Strategy, however we have made progress on several of the proposals and policies put forward as part of the Land Use Strategy, such as policy 5 (the publication of the Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement on 28 September 2017).

The results of the scoping exercise carried out by Scottish Natural Heritage, which was a proposal in the Land Use Strategy 2016 – 2021, were published in July 2017. We are currently considering the results, including the recommendations made, and will take a decision on their implementation in due course.

Scottish Government does not record farmed salmon mortalities by year but does maintain and publish the percentage of fish harvested from each year class in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey; . Mortality is included in the number of fish not harvested for human consumption, which also consists of fish which have escaped, have been culled for production reasons, have been removed for sampling purposes, statutory culls or have been selected for broodstock production.

A year class represents all smolts put to sea in any one year. The production cycle of any year class is complete within two years. The following table details the data from the 2010 year class onwards, as these fish will have contributed to mortality in 2012. The latest fin fish production survey was published in September 2017 and the most up to date information available is for the 2014 year class.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. As fire safety is a responsibility of local authorities, this information may be available by contacting local Authorities directly and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

However, I wrote to all local authorities in August seeking reassurance of fire safety across the school estate. From the detailed responses received, we are reassured that local authorities have taken all steps necessary to ensure the fire safety of their schools.

Responsibility for monitoring Performance against the Neurological Health Services Standards (HIS,2009) is a matter for NHS Boards. These standards are currently under redevelopment by HIS.

From 1st April 2018 the Health and Social Care standards will be taken into account by the care Inspectorate, healthcare Improvement Scotland and other scrutiny bodies in relation to inspections and registration of health and care services.

The Review of Targets and Indicators for Health and Social Care in Scotland report, published on 15 November 2017, identified some key principles in how to use targets and indicators across both health and social care to improve outcomes for people. A further stage of work will be undertaken aimed at ensuring a broader-based assessment of the overall quality of care whether in hospital or in the community.