 Ar gael Brian Whittle yno y cyfnodd y bydd y cyflwyng. Aeth y bydd y Gweithio Lywodraeth yn ei ddweud aeth y bydd y bydd yn gweithio'r gwaith neu yn gweithio'r gyfnodd yn ei ddweud hynny o'r bwysig yr cyfforddol o'r cyfnodd o'r cyfrifiedigol o'r cyfrifedigol i'r gwaith. Mae'r Gweithlennu Cymru yn y cyfrifedigol yng nghymniadol cyflwyng dechreu i bussfleid, gan glwTeolwyr wedi ddiweddill yn ei amlwg yn ysgolon, mae'n thisbwysiau nadiell yn llwythoedd ar gyfer y Cymru. Yn ymddirionedd ymddirionedd 113 miliwn'i ddechrau, syrcaeth 548 bussleidol ac yn cyfrofiad o ganfer. Yn ymddirionedd SME yw'n iawn o'r fanlwg cyflyisiau oedd o'r ddweud i rŵsgolol yr aial sydd yn oedd o'r dweudio ni'n eu ddweud i chi i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud o'r scheme o'r 10 ag i gyda'r cyfnod y cwmaint o bryddiol, am y ddych chi i'r gwahodau perthynau ar gyfer. Brian Whittle. The cabinet secretary of the response. Despite bold promises from the Scottish Government, the reality of delivering a zero-carbon public transport system by the end of next year looks set to fall well short. I think that earlier this week the cabinet secretary provided zero energy and transport, as Scotland's greatest industrial opportunity, since oil and gas, which I absolutely agree with. Despite that I can encounter a number of hydrogen refuelling stations in Scotland today, on one hand. So does the cabinet secretary agree that the Scottish Government must support investment in hydrogen refuelling infrastructure now, to give bus operators and transport operators more widely the confidence to commit to hydrogen as a fuel source and support the growth of new hydrogen industry in Scotland? Rwy'n credu, mae'n rhaid i ddweud rwy'n bod yn ddweud ar y busgledd yn Europa, ac mae'n gweithio ar y pryd yn Aberdeen o y ddau fundig ffordd ffordd yn y ddweud. Rwy'n credu i ddweud ar yr hyn, rwy'n credu i ddweud ar y busgledd yn y ffrif. Rwy'n credu i ddweud ar yr hyn. Rwy'n credu i ddweud ar y ffrif mwy o'r cyfrif mwy o'r provide the growth of technology. However, the way in which the bus decarbonisation funding operates is to be agnostic on the technology and the vast majority of bus operators have chosen to invest in electric battery. Many of the buses, which fortunately are built in my constituency at The Fantastic Factory in Alexander Princesses, are world leaders in battery electric technology as well. We want to make sure that we see them using If that is what they choose to do and to make sure that there is the right fueling infrastructure to support them, should they choose to go into hydrogen? Jackie Dunbar. I am aware of the difference that the Scottish Government's investment is making in my constituents with Aberdeen Benefitten from exciting new hydrogen vehicles. The SNP has huge ambition to decarbonise buses as part of our commitment to our net zero journey and the UK Government seems, through its actions and rhetoric, llawer to a war and nature in a race to the bottom on environmental standards? How does the Scottish Government's approach differ from what is happening elsewhere in the UK? On the substantive question please, cabinet secretary. The Scottish Government is investing in the members' constituency and other towns and cities across the country in helping to decarbonise the bus fleet. Aberdeens benefited from Scottish Government funding to the tune of some £12.7 million gyda 37 battery electric buses, and some £7.5 million to support 25 hydrogen fuel cell buses, which is in addition to the decarbonisation transport. The hydrogen bus helps support that we have also provided through the Scottish emerging hydrogen economy programme. I can also assure the member that we will continue to help to support our bus sector to decarbonise and to do so in a way. It helps to not only improve connectivity, but it also helps to ensure that it supports indigenous Scottish businesses that are world leaders in developing decarbonised bus fleets. Question 2 was not lodged. Question 3, Maurice Golden. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the progress that has been made on a deposit return scheme. Minister Lorna Slater. Scotland's deposit return scheme will begin on 16 August 2023. Good progress has been made in recent months, including the scheme administrator signing contracts for its logistical and IT services, the start of construction of the sorting centres and significant financial investment being made by the service providers and retailers, as well as the £18 million loan funding from the Scottish National Investment Bank and the Bank of Scotland. With just under one year to go until the scheme goes live, businesses are preparing for launch and we are working closely with the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland, to ensure that they are ready. Maurice Golden. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for that answer. The minister and I both want deposit return to succeed, but industry are worried that it is turning into a car crash. Their concerns are mounting. The huge costs of the scheme, labelling and point of sale, not clarified, an online take-back system that is impossible to deliver as planned, complete lack of information on collection services, a risk of dealing with broken glass, product lines being withdrawn and an utter lack of central guidance from either the Scottish Government or the secretive company that they created. Will the minister publish the latest Gateway review from May and accept that action must be taken before it is too late? I thank the member for the question and, as always, for his interest in the success of this scheme. We are now at the stage that we are looking at the operational details of the scheme and are engaging very closely with industry stakeholders, SEPA, local authorities and Circularity Scotland. We are at the stage of working out exactly those details that the member asks about. The legislation as passed by this Parliament is quite broad, meaning that industry has the opportunity to adapt the scheme to its specific needs. Of course, this is the stage that we are at, that we are making the scheme work for industry, and we are doing this very closely. I am very confident that the scheme will be a success and will launch next August 16. To ask the Scottish Government what resources are available to protect important equipment within the health sector in the event of incidents such as fire or floods. I thank James Dornan for his question. All NHS boards have developed fire risk assessments and flood risk assessments of NHS sites to help to manage and mitigate the risks of fire and flooding. The assessments are using the guidance that is required in all hospitals and, indeed, in all other NHS buildings from which healthcare services are provided. As part of the wider programme of work to understand the risks of climate change, climate change impact assessments and flood risk assessments have been prepared by NHS Scotland Assure for each health board to identify current and, importantly, future climate risks, including flooding to equipment and services. Does he agree with me that we should be investigating all angles to protect the environment, and is he aware of the good work being done in the field of protection of goods and equipment such as used in hospitals? In case of floods, by a scientist working with Glasgow University and Strathclyde University, a one such product was launched at COP26. Will the cabinet secretary agree to investigate that further to see if there are any more potential solutions in Scotland that we are yet unaware of? I am aware of the technology that he is referring to. In fact, my colleague Ivan McKayne, in her constituency capacity co-cap Stewart, went to see the autonomous flood tent that was developed by Mr Mohamed Iftikar in his role in Glasgow University. He is absolutely aware of it. Of course, Mr Donan is welcome to provide me with further detail, and we would pass that on through the appropriate channels to our NHS national procurement service. Question 5, Michael Marra. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether independent fiscal forecasts should be published alongside significant fiscal policy events. Cabinet Secretary John Swinney. Presiding Officer, following the devolution of tax and social security powers to Scotland, the Scottish Government set up the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission, which has provided credible independent forecasts to Parliament and the Scottish Government since 2017. The Scottish Fiscal Commission Act requires the commission to produce at least two forecasts each financial year containing its five-year forecasts of the economy, demand-led social security benefits and receipts from devolved taxes, non-domestic rates, income tax attributable to a Scottish rate resolution and assigned VET receipts. The Scottish Government will always respect the role of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and our budgets will always be accompanied by their independent forecasts. Michael Marra. Last month, the Tory Government's refusal to publish fiscal projections led to a collapse in our currency and economic misery that will endure for years to come. Last week, SNP MPs voted for those fiscal projections to be published immediately, yet—and, Presiding Officer, I find this scarcely believable—this SNP Government is refusing to publish their own fiscal projections to accompany their own economic policy. Presiding Officer, can it really be true that the Scottish Government will provide no fiscal framework prior to their proposed referendum? Well, I'm glad that Mr Marra's got some really good reading material. It might help changes mind about a few things and improve his views about certain questions. It's really important that Mr Marra, essentially, answered his own question in the way that he put it to me. The fiscal chaos created by the United Kingdom Government is hardly the backdrop to make a dispassionate assessment of the condition of Scotland's public finances because of the mess that the UK Government has created. As Mr Marra knows, this Government believes in fiscal responsibility and we stand on our record for fiscal responsibility, so we have delivered fiscal responsibility and we will continue to do so. The Deputy First Minister is doing his usual huffing and puffing. I suspect that he has been caught following Liz Truss's rulebook on fiscal probity. Isn't it time to be honest about the damaging impact of his plans for an independent currency for Scotland and publish an independent fiscal forecast for his dangerous plans for this country? I have everything to learn about huffing and puffing from Mr Rennie. I promise to be a faithful student of the art of huffing and puffing from Mr Rennie. I know also from the other oracle of huffing and puffing Jackie Baillie on the front benches here as well. When it comes to political honesty, I think that Mr Rennie should be honest about the damage that he and his colleagues inflicted on this country by proffing up the Conservatives in 2010 and creating the agenda of austerity that has delivered such misery for the people of this country. Can I huff and puff to ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given in its planning policy to the role of mixed energy generation methods? Our draft national planning framework 4 set out how planning and development will support our net zero ambitions by 2045. It proposed clear support for all forms of renewable energy and low-carbon fuel technologies, including transmission and distribution infrastructure and energy storage. We have been giving very careful consideration to the outcomes from the public consultation and the Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny of draft MPF4. I will lay a revised version in the Parliament for approval shortly. We have been pleased with the broad support for the general direction of travel we proposed in the draft MPF4. But the most recent climate change committee report to the UK Parliament makes it clear that nuclear and particularly advanced modular nuclear reactors must be part of an energy mix as a high priority to deliver energy security. That is from the climate change committee. What is it that the Scottish Government knows that the climate change committee does not? That it allows it to maintain its stance that nuclear is superfluous to Scotland's energy future? From that, I applaud the Conservative benches. It seems like Mr Kerr is the majority of one with that particular view. The Scottish Government is very clear on regards to its policy that we do not support new fission nuclear power stations. As regards small modular nuclear reactor, they are very much still at the design and licensing stage. As such, their economic competitiveness remains unproven. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include initiatives to respond to a range of barriers that are currently acting as a disincentive to planning for further solar deployment, and will the new energy strategy include targets to grow Scotland's solar generation capacity, which is currently around 3% of the UK total? The Scottish Government recognises the importance of energy generated from solar in contributing to the decarbonisation of Scotland's energy supply and helping us to meet our targets for a net zero emission society by 2045. In support of that, we will consult on a solar vision for Scotland as part of the draft energy strategy and just transition plan. That vision will consider the key barriers to enabling greater development of solar and set out the commitments that the Scottish Government will take in order to reduce those barriers and encourage greater solar deployment in Scotland. Most of the police to confirm that we are also bringing forward our consideration of permitted development rights for domestic and non-domestic renewable energy equipment, including non-domestic solar panels. We intend to consult on that early in 2023, and I hope that this is something that we will welcome across the chamber. To ask the Scottish Government what the implications will be for its budget of recent changes in the UK Government's fiscal policy. The United Kingdom Government did not engage the Scottish Government on the most recent changes in fiscal policy for our budget. We face the prospect of further reductions as the United Kingdom Government tries to manage the damage that was caused by the Conservative mini-budget some weeks ago. Indeed, the Chancellor himself has warned about decisions of eye-watering difficulty. I have just completed a call with the new chief secretary to the treasury, who has assured me that there will be dialogue with the Scottish Government in advance of the autumn statement, and I welcome that assurance. With inflation eroding the real-terms value of our budget by £1.7 billion since it was introduced in December, the United Kingdom Government needs to use the autumn statement on 17 November to set out how it will protect public services, households and businesses from inflation and the cost crisis and rule out our return to austerity. I thank the Deputy First Minister for his response. The U-turns made by the UK Government have caused great uncertainty for many Scots, with mortgage products being pulled and the pound crashing. This is only made worse by the UK Government's unwelcome delay to its budgetary plans announced by the Chancellor this week. People need certainty and stability. Will the Deputy First Minister agree with me that the only way we can provide certainty for Scotland's economic future is through the full powers of independence? I agree with Mr Beattie on the central premise of his question. One of the key points that was made in the 2014 referendum campaign by those who argued for the union was that it offered fiscal certainty. Any independent observer looking at the events of the last few, not just weeks but years, would understand the fiscal and economic damage that has been done as a consequence of our continued participation in the United Kingdom. Whether that is the economic effects of Brexit, which everybody knows is having a negative effect on economic performance and on migration, or whether it is the mind-numbingly damaging decisions that were taken in the mini-budget that will create economic hardship for people in this country who will lose homes and jobs as a consequence of the unnecessary increases in interest rates. Mr Beattie makes a very strong argument. I am delighted to associate myself with his arguments and to make sure that that argument is put to the people of our country. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the people's plan for action published hour this month by the Scottish Trade Union Congress, Poverty Alliance, Living Rent and a number of other groups. Cost of living crisis is the most immediate challenge to people and businesses across Scotland. I am keen that we work together to do what we can to support those who need it most. We are already providing significant support for households to mitigate the impacts of the cost crisis. By the end of March 2023, we will have invested almost £3 billion in a range of measures for households supporting energy bills, childcare, health and travel, as well as social security payments that are either not available elsewhere in the UK or are more generous here. We are making hard choices to prioritise spending and redirect resources and find savings so that we can provide support and reduce burdens where we can. I welcome that answer from the cabinet secretary. Enforcing fair work practices is one of the campaign's nine key asks. Requiring all those seeking public sector grants to pay at least the real living wage would be an example of this kind of enforcement and is a commitment made in the Bute House agreement between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government. Could the cabinet secretary therefore confirm that the Scottish Government intends to implement this conditionality as soon as possible? We remain fully committed to strengthening our approach to conditionality, including payment of the real living wage and channels for effective voice. It is clear that fair work, including fair pay, is more important than ever in the cost of living crisis, and we will use all the levers that we can to support those most affected. As committed to in the Bute House agreement, we will introduce a requirement on public sector grants to pay at least the living wage to all employees and provide appropriate channels for effective voice subject to limits on devolved competence. Ministers will confirm the detail of the conditionality on public sector grants in the coming weeks.