 Oeddais, yn fwy o hyd o meddwl i'r prinsig ac yn diwrnog ei leolol Yn dderydd y gyrfa oedd yn golygu i gael unig ar ei digwydd o'r Schineyr Cymru, Mynner LONornaol. Yn gyfnod oes y Llywodraeth Llywodraeth i ddweud feddwl i'r rôl o'r Cymünü ac'r Rhywun Llywodraeth i ddysgu'r llefydd, ein cyfnod o'r dingwyr gyda hwnny o'r Llywodraeth i ddechreuol i misgau i ddechreuol i ddimun i gael,Recruitment is underway to recreate 500 new jobs in Scotland in processing and logistics. Likewise, businesses of all sizes are continuing to make good progress as they prepare for launch in August of this year. Deposit Return is a transformational step change on our road to net zero and businesses here in Scotland have the momentum needed to get us there. Small producers in the Highlands and Islands, especially craft blowers including Fine i gym without materials and the Glenn Spian Brewery are deeply concerned about the many unanswered questions that remain about DRS, including the way how the contract of bifer will collect materials from rural and remote locations that are hard to reach. Given those legitimate concerns, why won't the minister pause the introduction of DRS until these matters have been fully resolved or at the very least grant smaller producers a grace period before joining the scheme? I take the concerns of small producers very seriously. This week, Circular Scotland announced a package of measures to specifically answer some of the concerns that are raised by small producers in terms of cash flow and labelling. The process of the organisation and logistic is a matter of co-design between businesses to ensure and end biff of the logistics partner to ensure that it works for everybody and that will be going forward. I will be meeting with small producers again this afternoon to find out what else we can do to support them. While I welcome recent changes on fees for small drink producers and other improvements to the planned roll-out of DRS, some businesses in my constituency are still concerned about implementation at a time of other serious economic pressures. I have practical concerns about storage space and cost pressures. Although the aims of DRS are understood with widespread acknowledgement of the need for it, does the minister recognise the continued uncertainty and how she is planning to address it and what practical changes has her very recent meetings with industry produced? I understand that implementing DRS is a big change to manage, particularly for small businesses. I have regularly been meeting industry stakeholders throughout the process. We have simplified the return point exemption process as a result of feedback from retailers, particularly on concerns about storage, and Circularity Scotland announced a package of support this week to improve cash flow for producers, which equates to £22 million of support. That was in direct response to specific asks from small producers. I will continue to meet businesses and listen to them, and later today I am meeting with a group of small producers. I ask whether the claim made by some MSPs operating curbside collections along DRS would be unlike any other country in the world that is accurate, and how the minister would like to see councils respond to DRS. Thank the member very much for the question. Those claims are indeed inaccurate. Many countries operating a deposit return scheme also have curbside collections, including Norway, Germany, Croatia and Iceland. Our scheme will mean that local authorities will have less waste to handle, as well as reduced litter and associated cleanup costs, which is good for residents and good for council budgets. We are supporting local authorities to prepare for the introduction of the scheme, and our £70 million recycling improvement fund is supporting councils to modernise recycling services. To ask the Scottish Government how many free bicycles it has issued to children in Glasgow. Our commitment to encourage our youngest citizens to make active travel choices by providing free bikes for children of school age who cannot afford them was initially met through nine pilots, which have operated since summer 2021. An independent evaluation on the pilots was published on 27 January this year, and the total bikes issued is 3,650, including 52 adapted bikes. The free bikes activity has taken place in 20 local authority areas, including Glasgow, although we do not record data at a local authority level. Roads in Glasgow are in disrepair, with potholes so big that some may be asking for submarines, not bikes. The avenues project, which is designed for cycling, wheeling, walking and driving, also has safety concerns. In all the safety of our roads, for cyclists, it is left wanting to say the least. Given the variation in approaches and the flexibility given to pilot schemes, what steps will it ensure to ensure that a minimum level of safety equipment or training is provided to children receiving bikes as part of the future national role light? In order to ensure safety for everyone who is travelling actively, we need to reduce the barriers to active travel. We also need to continue to invest in safe infrastructure, and this Government is doing that on a scale beyond anything that Scotland has ever seen. However, as Pam Duncan Glancy rightly said, we also need to ensure that there is a wider package of support. All the pilots issue safety equipment to the children who have been provided with a bicycle, and the range of models of pilots also need to be informing the design of the national scheme. That is why the evaluation of the pilots will be important and useful information in making sure that our national scheme is as successful as possible. Question 3, Foisal Choudhury. To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding it will provide to local authorities in response to a reported concern about swimming pool closers. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that community hubs such as swimming pools are accessible to the people of Scotland. Access to swimming pools can give children the opportunity to learn to swim—a life skill that can save lives. However, we also understand the challenging financial circumstances faced by local authorities largely due to the cost of living crisis. Our settlements from the UK Government have suffered a decade of austerity. In the most challenging budget settlements since devolution, we are providing over £13.3 billion in the local government settlement for 2023-24. Foisal Choudhury. My constituents, Lewis Conde, brought a fourth petition, PE1891, to make swimming lessons a statutory requirement in the primary school's curriculum. It was very disappointing that that petition was closed in January 2023. Now, potential swimming pool closers present further obstacles to providing crucial swimming lessons to children across Scotland. Swimming pools are vital community hubs for the population of Scotland. They provide crucial water safety skills, teaching more than 100,000 children each week the essential life skills of learning how to swim. They also act as part of Scotland's natural health service by safeguarding mental and physical wellbeing for all ages and inabilities. That saves the NHS an essential £357 million every year. Will the minister support swimming pool operators in keeping those vital community hubs open to provide the essential service? I thank Mr Choudhury for his subtle mention. Let me agree with him about the power of the preventative impact that swimming and, indeed, all physical health and exercise brings. The Scottish Government has been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, Sports Scotland and Scottish Water to develop interventions and approaches to provide opportunities for children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers. I touch on his particular point. Under the provisions of curriculum for excellence, schools and education authorities have the flexibility to decide upon the content of their lessons and, at the local authority level, to take into account the local needs and circumstances of all children and young people in attendance. Additionally, the Scottish Government will continue to work with Sports Scotland, our national agency for sport, to accurately understand the current swimming pool provision, lifecycle and predict a landscape in the short, medium and long-term to ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to realise the benefits of swimming. 57 people accidentally drowned in Scotland last year, predominantly young people. The plan that the Scottish Government has to half accidental drownings by 2026 was announced four years ago, but deaths last year rose to their highest level since 2015. What impact does the Minister think that the closure of swimming pools across Scotland is going to have on that? I absolutely recognise the importance of doing all we can to ensure that we promote water safety and that all people have the opportunity to be equipped with the vital life-saving skills of swimming. Ultimately, decisions around local authority pools are a matter for local authorities. Under an exceptionally challenging fiscal settlement, we are providing £13.3 billion for local government in the coming financial year. We have now passed the budget, but, as was made very clear numerous times in that process, if members wish to see additional resources and funding for local authorities, it was incumbent upon members to identify where that funding should come from. I think that as Parliament realises that there were no credible alternative proposals put forward and Parliament has subsequently passed the budget. Thank you. I am concise questions and responses. I appreciate it as ever. Question 4, Pauline McNeill. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Prison Service regarding the lifting of all Covid-19-related restrictions in prisons. The Scottish Government receives regular updates from the Scottish Prison Service on Covid-19 recovery within prisons. The only remaining restrictions are testing pathways and isolation for those who are symptomatic or test positive. Ask that out in the SPS Covid-19 transition plan. In the event of an outbreak, further restrictions can be reinstated. The prison service is prioritising restoration to further rehabilitative regimes, whilst balancing the need to protect the health and wellbeing of those living, visiting and working in our prisons. I raise the question because on November 22, HM chief inspector of prisons of Scotland, Wendy Sinclair-Gabyn, noted in her annual report that there was now no reason why prisons cannot return to regimes at least as open as they were before the pandemic, and I know that the minister supports the view that it is particularly important relation to routinely access to fresh air. Today, the Scottish Prison Service website still refers to a transition plan from July 22, and it was due to be reviewed in October 22. No statement has since been made about lifting all of the restrictions, and there is no way of knowing which regimes have remained in which have reverted to pre-pandemic status. I wonder if the interests of transparency and human rights concerns will the minister agree that it is time for the Scottish Prison Service to make it absolutely clear as to when all restrictions plan to be lifted? I thank Pauline McNeill for that question. Despite the required caution taking around lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions, given the close nature of the prisons, we are very aware of the reports that she does reference. The SPS operations directorate on the process of collecting information from establishments to establish any further support that may be required to maximise purposeful activity within each establishment, and we will seek to keep members informed. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on improvements to rail journeys in Fife. Jenny Gilruth. As a frequent user of ScotRail's Fife rail services, I am aware of the challenges with the operation of the current timetable. That has been compounded by the poor performance and availability of diesel trains in ScotRail's fleet on which Fife services are dependent. ScotRail will review Fife service provision in the next phase of the fit for the future timetable exercise to make sure that lessons are learned from the current performance, and as part of that review, the member has been invited to a meeting that I am hosting with Fife MSPs and ScotRail to discuss those matters in more detail. Anna-Bill Ewing. I thank the minister for her answer and I very much welcome the minister's commitment to include Fife rail service provision within the next timetable review, and I look forward indeed to the meeting offered by the minister. But can the minister say to those of my constituents who might be listening today when it will be that my constituents such as, for example, those in North Queensferry will in fact be able to get direct trains around Fife during the day and when their commute to Edinburgh will be in trains where they are not packed in, like Sardines. I thank the member for her question. I have to advise that my train to work this morning was not packed like Sardines. I had three carriages and plenty of seats, but nonetheless the member and I had a very useful conversation with my officials in Transport Scotland last year. Here I am being heckled from a sedentary position. I use our nationalised rail services very regularly. I would encourage other members to do likewise. That, in part, has led to the review of Fife service provision. Let us hear the minister, thank you. I welcome the input on behalf of our constituents. Since the member and I met with Transport Scotland, there have been some improvements to service provision. For example, ScotRail have advised that, in period 11, which ended on 7 January, 91.7 per cent of trains arriving at or terminating at Inver Keithing met the public performance measure compared with 90.9 per cent for Fife circle trains as a whole, notwithstanding, I am sympathetic to the specific issue in relation to the Fife circle and timetabling for Mr Ewing's constituents. I will ensure that ScotRail provides Mr Ewing with an update on that point when we meet next month. Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its hydrogen action plan, including regarding the role that local authorities can play in defining demand. In December 2022, we published our finalised hydrogen action plan, setting out the actions over the course of this Parliament, necessary to support the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland. The development of a domestic hydrogen sector and hydrogen production for exports supported by a strong supply chain will play an important role in supporting a just transition to net zero by 2045 and also present a significant long-term economic opportunity. We continue to work with our agency partners and local authorities to deliver on those actions. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Can I ask what role sport agencies that he represents, such as HIE, Scottish Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, alongside our university sector, will play alongside local authorities in developing supply chain capacity? Our enterprise agencies and our university sector will play a very important part in helping to build and support our hydrogen supply chain and the capacity within that sector. We work in a collaborative fashion at bringing together all parts of the sector, both public, private and academic sectors, to help to support the development of the hydrogen economy. Of course, our agencies can provide grants and loans and advice to organisations that are looking to develop hydrogen proposals and also our enterprise agencies work with our universities to help to take forward key aspects of research that are critical to supporting the development of hydrogen projects. 7. Rachael Hamilton To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the possible extension of the Bode Israel way through Huig to Cullisle. Minister Jenny Gilruth In October 2022, the Minister for Business and I met with the Borderlands inclusive growth deal partners to discuss the growth deal commitment partners had separately asked for a meeting with the UK Government by understanding that that did not happen. Nonetheless, it was agreed that the failure of UK Government ministers to engage at that stage was hampering progress. Scottish ministers subsequently wrote to our UK counterparts on 21 October to urge for progress on their side and a response was received from Lord Offord of Garville and Humennu Minn MP on 26 January, some three months later. Regional partners are now working to prepare costed proposals for scoping work to move forward on the possible extension of the Bode Israel way to Cullisle, and my officials in Transport Scotland will continue to provide support as needed. Of course, the Scottish Government commitment of up to £5 million towards this remains. Rachael Hamilton I thank the minister for that answer. Campaigners are keen to see the railway extended to improve transport links to the borders and beyond and to improve our economy and give it a much needed boost. Would the minister agree to meet with me and the members of the campaign for Bode Israel to provide us with a timetable for the possible extension of the railway and the timetable for the feasibility study? I have met already with the campaign group on a number of occasions. The member needs to reflect that the work itself is for regional and local partners to progress and to lead on. It is also worth remembering that the delay in progressing the commitment itself was directly impacted by the political turbulence in the United Kingdom Government during 2022. What that meant in practice was essentially that DFT officials couldn't engage as they normally would with Transport Scotland. It is perhaps the reason that no DFT officials attended the meeting that we had in October, where other partners, including Scottish ministers, were present notwithstanding. I recognise significant constituency interests, Ms Hamilton has. I have been more than happy to meet with the campaign group again, and I cannot commit to a timescale, because the work is being led by local and regional partners. It is for them to dictate the timescale in that respect. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of Brexit on investment in Scotland. In light of reports that Brexit has cost the UK economy £29 billion in lost investment. Cabinet Secretary, Angus Robertson. It is not surprising that investment has underperformed since the Brexit referendum. Many businesses in Scotland continue to report additional challenges, barriers and trade costs due to Brexit. That inevitably will act as a constraint on business investment in Scotland. Previous Scottish Government analysis has shown that Scotland's business investment could be 7.7 per cent lower in the long run due to Brexit. Evelyn Tweed. Can the cabinet secretary name one benefit to Scotland of Brexit because I can't? Cabinet secretary? No, I can't think of any advantages either. This Government warned before the EU referendum that Brexit would cause significant economic and social harm to Scotland, and so it has proved. The fact is that there are no benefits to be had from Brexit. It posed on us against our democratic will, which is one reason why Scotland needs to be able to choose our own future in an independence referendum.