Chamber and committees

Where a person chooses a care home that does not accept the National Care Home Contract, the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 and associated guidance Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidance (CRAG) allows for topping up of care home fees. The Act and guidance also sets out the conditions around the top up of care home fees and states that these arrangements should be sustainable.

Any contract agreed when an individual enters residential care should clearly set out what happens if any top up fees can no longer be paid, and this contract is covered by consumer protection laws. The Local Authority also has a statutory responsibility for the delivery, commissioning and charging for care home services.

Scottish Ministers have set out our public commitment to ensuring that every penny of consequential funding received from the UK Government is invested in assessing buildings and making unsafe buildings safe. Information on expenditure on the programme is published quarterly and can be found here:

Single Building Assessment programme: spending information - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The most recently published figures show a spend of just over £3.6m. This publication also includes information on the number of buildings in the programme. Information is provided on a regional basis in line with requests from residents and homeowners to protect their privacy.

The Scottish Government is not aware of these reported comments from the EIS. The up to date national picture on Behaviour in Scotland’s Schools will publish later this year.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate.

However, the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 61% in April 2007 to 90.4% in April 2022.

The summary of 2022 reports will be published in the coming weeks at: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The statutory responsibility for the planning and delivery of social care, including that care home capacity meets the needs of the population, sits with the NHS and local Councils, and not the Scottish Government. Where there are care home closures in any local area including Glasgow, the Scottish Government expects professional leads from the local Health and Social Care Partnership to work together to implement the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and Care Inspectorate national good practice guidance on managing the closure care homes (Good Practice Guidance on the Closure of a Care Home): https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/1477/cosla_-_good_practice_guidance_on_closure_of_a_care_home.pdf .

This is to ensure any closures are managed smoothly and suitable alternative placements are found for care home residents based on their needs and preferences.

The Scottish Government is providing nearly £13.5 billion in the 2023-24 Local Government Settlement. Following the flat-cash position set out in the 2022 Resource Spending Review, the Scottish Government listened to councils and increased the resources available to Local Government this year by over £793 million.

I have discussed the national picture on teacher recruitment with COSLA and the Strategic Board for Teacher Education. I will continue to work with Councils on this important issue, recognising that it is they who employ our teachers.

Over the past 10 years the number of teachers in permanent posts has remained stable at over 80%. It is important to note that temporary teachers play a role in providing flexibility in the teaching workforce for absence cover, including sickness and maternity leave, ensuring continuity of provision of learning for our young people. For some teachers, supply work is a personal choice to suit their own individual circumstances.

I have tasked the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of education bodies, to look at issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail. This includes, for example, geographical and subject-specific issues, as well as how we can increase diversity within the profession and improve support for early career teachers.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

From the launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme in December 2022 to the end of July 2023, 2107 legally committed offers have been made for standalone solar PV/energy storage systems. Legally committed offers are where an application has been submitted, approved and a funding agreement has been put in place.

Note these figures include some instances where an application was submitted under the previous HES Loan and Cashback Scheme, but were processed and became legally committed under the HES Grant and Loan Scheme.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems (ZDEH), energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of energy generated from solar PV in contributing to the decarbonisation of Scotland’s electricity supply, offsetting energy bills, and contributing to emissions reductions in cases where it supports ZEDH.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. In these cases, solar PV and energy storage can be used to generate and store some of the electricity required to run the ZDEH measure, supporting their uptake by reducing grid electricity demand and the running costs for the householder. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

This decision was taken to prioritise finite funding to those uses of solar which best support our Heat in Buildings Strategy, reduce carbon emissions and for which there might be more limited delivery without government support, as solar PV is an increasingly established technology which is often viable without government subsidy.

Due to the range of measures supported through the scheme, the Scottish Government does not hold specific analysis for solar PV/energy storage system measures. Benefits are assessed on a scheme wide basis.

Energy Saving Trust estimate that across the 6,447 ZDEH and renewable measures that had been paid or committed through grants and loans in 2022-23, the lifetime CO2 savings were estimated to be 199,488 tonnes. In addition, it is estimated that the savings on lifetime fuel bills across the supported households to be £23.3 million.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating (ZDEH) systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances. While solar PV installations often have other benefits such as reducing electricity bills, they do not directly reduce carbon emissions in the absence of a ZDEH system.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. In these cases, solar PV and energy storage can be used to generate and store some of the electricity required to run the ZDEH measure, supporting their uptake by reducing grid electricity demand and the running costs for the householder. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

Due to the range of measures supported through the scheme, the Scottish Government does not hold specific analysis for solar PV/energy storage system measures. Benefits are assessed on a scheme wide basis.

Energy Saving Trust estimate that across the 6,447 ZDEH and renewable measures that had been paid or committed through grants and loans in 2022-23, the lifetime CO2 savings were estimated to be 199,488 tonnes.