Chamber and committees

Social Security Scotland works with individuals and supporting organisations to design services so that everyone who may be eligible for benefits understands how they can apply for and receive them.

Clients can apply in ways that suit them best either by paper or online application, by telephone or they can receive application support from our Local Delivery team who can arrange a face-to-face appointment in a client’s home, a community setting or video or phone call.

Social Security Scotland has processes in place to ensure telephone calls are answered, paper applications are processed and Local Delivery face to face appointments are made within reasonable timescales to ensure anyone applying for benefits or contacting Social Security Scotland is not disadvantaged, regardless of the method they choose to contact.

The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the UK Government on this issue.

The Scottish Government is in discussion with the DWP about the proposed reforms set out in the Health and Disability White Paper published by the UK Government on 15 March, including to ensure that people in receipt of Scottish disability benefits are not disadvantaged in any way as a result of those reforms.

We are aware of concerns that have been raised about how the current operation of reserved benefits impacts upon learning disabled, autistic and neurodiverse people in Scotland going into training and employment and have set up the Scottish Access to Work Stakeholder Forum, led by the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, to support discussion with DWP on these matters.

The Scottish Government is not considering implementing formal protocols for risk stratification of patients requiring oncology services.

We are fully aware that energy costs are an issue facing many sports facilities, particularly ice rinks.

However, given that the levers to respond to rising energy prices and the wider cost of living crisis are reserved, we continue to urge the UK Government to use all the powers at its disposal to tackle this crisis.

Scottish Government officials recently met with the Scottish Ice Rink Association to discuss the difficulties facing ice rinks.

It is vital that partners at a local level work together to explore all avenues and approaches to support local sport and leisure facilities.

Local sport and leisure facilities are vital in supporting the physical and mental health of the nation. We recognise the importance of facilities, such as Ayr Ice Rink for the overall wellbeing of those who use them regularly.

In recognising the important role that ice rinks play in many communities the Scottish Government supported thirteen privately operated ice rinks with over two million pounds (£2m) during the pandemic, through our Covid sport fund. Ayr Ice Rink received £181,000 through this fund.

sportscotland, our national agency for sport, will be meeting with representatives of Ayr Ice Rink to understand the current situation at the local level. It is vital that partners at a local level work together to explore all avenues and approaches to support local sport and leisure facilities.

We will continue to keep a dialogue with sportscotland and the sector on these issues, and consider how we can further support the sector.

Potential impacts of the re-development of Ardrossan harbour on ferry services to Arran are being considered as part of service continuity planning in collaboration with project partners, including the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee.

Information on the number of pupils and cases of exclusions is collected and published every two years. Statistics on the number of pupils excluded by local authority from 2007-08 to 2020-21 are available in Table 2.3 here:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2018/06/school-exclusions-statistics/documents/school-exclusions-2020-21/school-exclusions-2020-21/govscot%3Adocument/Exclusion%2Bstatistics%2B202021.xlsx

Cases of exclusion have fallen from a high of 44,794 in 2006-07 to 8,323 in 2020-21. There was a particularly notable decrease in exclusion between 2018-19 and 2020-21, with cases of exclusion falling 44%. This decrease is partly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 99% of all exclusions were for a fixed period of time (referred to as temporary exclusions), with pupils expected to return to their original school when the exclusion period is completed.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on discontinued bus services. The registration and deregistration of services falls under the remit of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.

The Scottish Government has committed to consulting on a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill by the end of this year. The Bill will aim to ensure that the rights of people with Down’s Syndrome, among others, are respected and protected.

An informal consultation took place last year as part of the scoping work for the Bill. The scoping report is available here: Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill: Scoping Analysis 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The Easy Read version is here: Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill: scoping work analysis 2022 - easy read - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The formal public consultation will provide an opportunity for people across Scotland, including those with Down’s Syndrome and their families and supporters, to express their views on what the draft Bill should include.

The exact timing of the public consultation will be announced in due course.

Our Vision for Agriculture clearly states that we will deliver emission reductions in line with our climate targets. A new Agriculture Bill will be brought forward in 2023 to enable the delivery of the Vision and we will establish a robust and coherent framework to underpin Scotland's future agriculture support regime from 2025 onwards. That framework will deliver high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature restoration.

We recognise that the most recent emissions envelope was missed and we are already taking action. In June, we published the second edition of the Agricultural Reform Routemap and set out what changes recipients of current farm payments will be expected to make from 2025 and beyond. This includes protection for peatlands and wetlands, and linking beef cattle payments to calving intervals to improve efficiency. This is in advance to a new Enhanced payment being introduced in 2026 which will focus on funding targeted actions for reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change, and protect, restore and improve nature.

We have also committed to bring forward a draft of the next Climate Change Plan later this year which will set out our policies, proposals and updated emission envelopes for meeting our statutory targets for climate change, which will include agriculture’s contribution to reducing emissions.