Chamber and committees

We expect staff providing care for individuals who have had a stroke to be fully trained in providing stroke care. However, in smaller Health Boards, it is not always possible to maintain a dedicated stroke unit.

A range of online stroke care competency training programmes are available and as part of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme review process all NHS Boards are asked to complete an education template highlighting the training stroke staff have undertaken.

We expect staff providing care for individuals who have had a stroke to be fully trained in providing stroke care. However, in smaller Health Boards, it is not always.

As announced on 21 August as part of emergency budget controls, the Fairer Workplaces Fund 2024 to 2025 has been cancelled.

This is just one of a number of spending plans that we have been forced to withdraw due to the extremely challenging financial position faced by the Scottish Government following the continuing effects of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, alongside UK Government spending decisions. This does not in any way change our commitment to Fair Work or desire to promote Fair Work in Scotland. We continue to take forward the range of actions within the Fair Work Action Plan and to embed Fair Work throughout the delivery of the programme for government.

The Democracy Matters 2 national conversation received over 160 responses and was informed by engagement through multiple channels including facilitated engagement events. Engagement has informed a detailed findings report which will be published later in September 2024. The publication of the findings will be accompanied by a joint statement with COSLA outlining next steps for this process. As outlined in the 24-25 Programme for Government, we will work with communities and wider stakeholders to take forward the Democracy Matters findings on the future of community decision-making.

A key aim of Phase 2 of the Democracy Matters engagement process was ensuring that as many voices were involved as possible in the national conversation on the future of community decision-making. Therefore, resources were invested to remove barriers to participation, ensuring that under-represented groups, participants with protected characteristics, rural and remote communities and young people were all able to contribute.

A full breakdown of the Democracy Matters Phase 2 spend over the 2021-22 to 2024-25 financial years can be found in the following table:

Section 25 of the UK Fisheries Act 2020 obliges the Scottish Government (and other UK national fisheries authorities) to utilise objective and transparent criteria related to social, environmental and economic factors when allocating quota. It also requires that national fisheries authorities seek to incentivise the use of selective fishing gear and the use of fishing techniques that have a reduced impact on the environment.

The Fair Work First policy applies fair work criteria to grants, other funding and public contracts awarded by and across the public sector. In distributing fishing quota, the Scottish Government is not making an award of a grant, contract or other funding, so this policy is not a direct consideration.

In our recent consultation on the allocation of Additional Quota, we sought views on crew welfare as a criterion for distributing quota. In the consultation outcome report we recognise that the ILO188 Work in Fishing Convention, enforced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, is the appropriate framework for monitoring crew welfare.

It is the responsibility of Local Authorities to plan, develop and deliver flood protection schemes and other flood resilience actions.

Policy 3 of the National Planning Framework requires that development proposals contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity and that any potential adverse impacts will be minimised through careful planning and design. We would expect all schemes progressed by local authorities to include appropriate measures to conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering medium and long term solutions to address the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.

Delivery of a permanent and resilient solution is a priority and we will continue to seek ways to achieve that as quickly as possible. Following identification of a preferred option last year, the next step for the permanent solution, which is the detailed development and assessment of the preferred option, is progressing at pace and will conclude with the publication of draft Orders for comment, currently expected by the end of this year. As with all infrastructure projects, delivery of the scheme can only commence if approved under the relevant statutory authorisation procedures and thereafter a timetable for construction can be set.

At the same time, improvements to the existing Old Military Road (OMR) through the Glen Croe corridor are being made to make it a more resilient diversion route until the long term solution is in place.

The Scottish Government has spent the following amounts each year on the necessary design and assessment work for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project:

Through the £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund, the Scottish Government has provided each Local Authority with up to £140,000 to support the cost of carrying out analysis to identify future public EV charging requirements for cars and light commercial vehicles. This analysis is being used by each Local Authority to support bids for further funding to partner with private sector charge point operators to continue to expand the network. Funding for Dundee, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland Councils has already been announced, with further announcements expected later this year.

The Scottish Government will publish a draft Vision Implementation Plan by the end of 2024 for a public charging infrastructure network that works for all. The plan is being developed with input from owners and operators of light commercial vehicles, among others, to ensure that public charging meets the needs of users of cars and vans.

Electric charging for heavy vehicles is likely to be owned and operated by the private sector. The Scottish Government is working with transport operators including the HGV sector, charge point providers, electricity networks and trade bodies to develop a shared understanding of the energy infrastructure that will be required in the future. The first iteration of this work will be published shortly. Scottish Government will convene discussions with interested parties following this research to explore how to progress.

The second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, announced in July 2024, will deliver more than 200 new charger guns in bus depots across Scotland before 2026. Where possible these will be made available to other road users in addition to supporting the 252 new zero-emission buses delivered through the scheme.

All Scottish quota is issued in line with the requirements of the UK Fisheries Act 2020.

On 7 June 2024, the Scottish Government published the outcome of its consultation on the allocation of Additional Quota. Additional Quota is the extra quota the UK receives following EU exit.

As part of Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030, the Scottish Government committed to the maintenance of FQA system as the primary method of allocating Exiting Quota (the UK’s established share of quota prior to leaving the EU) following stakeholder feedback.

It is the responsibility of Local Authorities to plan, develop and deliver flood protection schemes and other flood resilience actions.

Local authorities carry out appraisals of flood protection schemes. It is expected that every scheme, which is delivered by a local authority, is developed with consideration of catchment processes and characteristics, making reasonable and practical efforts to enhance the landscape’s natural ability to slow and store flood water.