Chamber and committees

Decisions about the commissioning of individual community justice services, such as the 218 Service in Glasgow, are a matter for local authorities.

Community justice funding is primarily based on a local model, with the Scottish Government providing funding to local authorities which then provide or commission services according to local needs. Even where aspects of that funding are targeted at more specific needs, the commissioning and management of those services - including any re-tendering exercises - is a matter for the relevant local authority.

The Scottish Government has not reduced the overall funding available for community justice services across Scotland nor asked local authorities to reduce any specific funding within that.

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding electronic monitoring use across a broader range of licences and community orders, including exploring use of remote alcohol monitoring as provided for by the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019.

Following passage of the Act a new national contract was procured that would allow for use of new technology. The majority of the Act has now been commenced and from 17 May 2022 provisions were commenced to allow electronic monitoring as part of bail and to allow electronic monitoring with Community Payback Orders at first disposal. As work continues to embed these recent changes, we are now engaging with justice partners to explore the potential uses of new technologies, including remote substance monitoring technologies.

The Scottish Government has welcomed the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) that the UK nations should move towards implementing a programme of lung screening for those between 55-74 with a history of smoking. However, careful consideration and planning is required given the complexities of rolling out such a programme – the complexities of implementation were acknowledged by the NSC and resulted in the establishment of a four nations expert Lung Task Group.

The Scottish Government has now established a Scottish Expert Advisory Group (SEAG), which will assess the specific challenges and opportunities for a Scottish lung screening programme. The SEAG met for the first time in August, and represents an important first step in ensuring that a Scottish programme is developed with long term sustainability and effectiveness at its heart.

We have also provided funding for LungScot, the University of Edinburgh’s study into the feasibility of targeted lung health checks for high risk individuals. This work will support the considerations of the SEAG.

It is important to note that the complexity of the challenge means a national screening programme will take years rather than months to implement. However, lung cancer remains a national priority, which is why we have a dedicated chapter in our £114.5m National Cancer Plan, and last December we redesigned lung cancer diagnostic services to help ensure patients receive faster access to treatment.

Zero Waste Scotland has worked with Transport Scotland and Scottish Enterprise to produce three reports , published in 2021, forming the series ‘Battery use in Scotland now and in the future’.

Further to the original three reports, Transport Scotland (in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland) commissioned a report to explore actions required to support the establishment of a circular economy for batteries in Scotland, which will be published in due course.

The enterprise agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank have a key role in promoting and scaling up circular economy practices and business models.

We do not hold information in which country each vehicle was manufactured.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20796 on 12 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Detail on how funding has been used specifically for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

The breakdown for STEM bursaries awarded by local authority is available in the STEM Teacher bursary evaluation reports on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website: Search Results | Skills Development Scotland .

The previous STEM bursary scheme has been expanded this year to include Gaelic and renamed to the Teaching Bursary in Scotland bursary scheme. As of 31 August, 61 Teaching bursaries have been awarded.

All Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) have distinct methodology and approaches for the attraction of inward investment, impacting each IPA’s reporting and monitoring of country-level or sub-national inward investment performance and securing of inward investment global market share. Without a full and detailed knowledge of how other IPAs approach this, including the approach adopted by the IDA Ireland, it would be inappropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on comparative inward investment agency performance.

However, the Scottish Government does take an evidence-based approach to inward investment attraction and performance, which we keep under regular review. According to the most recent independent, industry recognised EY Annual Attractiveness Survey 2023, Scotland has been the most attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) location outside of London for the last eight years, providing clear evidence that our Team Scotland approach to attracting good quality inward investment is working.

For ease of reference I’ve included a link to EY’s independent Annual Attractiveness Survey 2023 if you would like to know more Scotland’s foreign investment grows with record results | EY UK

We published the NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021, which sets out our plans for health and social care over the next 5 years. Backed by over £1 billion of funding, the plan will support an increase in inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity to address the backlogs of care, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

The first annual progress update was published on 4 October NHS Recovery Plan: annual progress update - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This update detailed the progress being made against the actions to address the backlog in care and meet ongoing healthcare needs for people across Scotland.

The plan will be reviewed regularly and reported on annually to ensure its actions and outcomes are delivered. We will also remain open to new ideas and initiatives that can help accelerate recovery and shape sustainable ways of working.