Chamber and committees

Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed that Cell Certification is conducted in all prison establishments. This process involves all prison cells across the estate being regularly checked a minimum of 3 times per week, with any issues being reported and acted upon immediately. Additionally, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Scotland (HMIPS) conduct routine inspections of all prisons in Scotland, which includes inspecting decency standards within prison cells.

With regard to the management of the police custody suites, this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government also supports His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland ( HMICS ) and Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) to undertake joint inspections across Police Scotland’s network of custody suites to ensure the safety of these facilities.

Where recommendations have been made, Police Scotland, working with health partners as appropriate, work to address these quickly and effectively.

Forestry and Land Scotland has no plans to increase the number of artificial nest platforms for (a) raptors in Scotland’s national forests in the two National Parks nor for (b) priority national conservation initiatives.

This position will be kept under review if new evidence is presented.

In December 2023, UK Ministers confirmed their positive strategic policy decision to support blending of up to 20% hydrogen into GB gas distribution networks. We welcomed this announcement and now continue to urge UK Government to make progress and provide a timetable for future decisions on blending and the role of 100% hydrogen in the gas grid to provide clarity for us and for stakeholders.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce has been established to build on efforts to make Scotland the best place for nurses and midwives to come and work by developing plans for the retention of the existing nursing workforce, as well as looking at recruitment. The Taskforce is making good progress with the development of its recommended actions and will continue to work until members have agreed a comprehensive action plan. We anticipate the publication of a report later in 2024.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the Scottish Regulatory Steering Group, comprised of key regulators, to assess regulatory requirements for the development of the hydrogen sector in Scotland. We are working with UK and Scottish regulators to ensure that action is taken to address identified issues and create a clear regulatory framework for hydrogen projects.

The criminal investigation by Police Scotland, supported by other agencies, into this attack is still going on. As such there is a limited amount that I can share at this moment in time. As the investigation progresses the Scottish Government and partners will undertake a lessons identified exercise and share its findings with public bodies so they are able to take preventative steps to defend against similar attacks.

There are several Regional Hydrogen Hubs developing in Scotland. We have provided up to £15m to support the development of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub which is now developing as a joint venture between Aberdeen City Council and Bp.

Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub presents an important opportunity to deliver a commercially investable, green hydrogen production facility focussed initially on the decarbonisation of transport and phased to grow into other markets such as industrial heat.

We are building the evidence base to help support other hydrogen hubs to develop in Scotland, examining hydrogen production and potential demand across Scotland’s geography through a number of key reports, such as ‘Hydrogen demand in Scotland: a mapping of industrial and transport applications’ which can be found here and a detailed report focussing specifically on the distillery sector which can be found here .

Data from these reports is also included in Scotland’s Hydrogen Asset online map .

We also published a report last year on the potential capability and interest in Scotland in developing a SAF sector, which could become a major end-use of hydrogen. That report can be found here .

Further engagement in support of hydrogen hub development is ongoing.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy-duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

The Scottish Government is funding the Hydrogen Business Development service, delivered through the Energy Technology Partnership, to accelerate knowledge exchange between academia and enterprises to stimulate innovation in the hydrogen sector.

While the Scottish Government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare, it is for each individual NHS Board to decide best how to utilise funding, facilities and staff while taking account of national and local priorities to meet local health needs. We expect NHS Boards to plan their facilities and workforce to deliver these services, ensuring the provision of safe, effective and high quality patient care, delivered by the right professional at the right time.