Chamber and committees

I refer to the member to the answer to question S6W-12709 15 December 2022. 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 remains committed to reforming crofting law. A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

The Crofting Bill Group was reinstated in May 2022, to consider crofting legislation, including those issues raised by the Crofting Bill Group in 2016-2018. Five meetings have taken place between June and November 2022. The Crofting Bill Group discussions will resume in early 2023.

The detail requested around loan repayments made by Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential.

The length of the time that long debt forbearance will be tolerated varies significantly from lender to lender and from case to case. In this instance, it is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise as the lender and therefore a matter for discussion between them and the company.

The Scottish Government wants Local Government to continue in its role as a direct provider of social care services. This includes continuing to hold and invest in assets and employ staff directly. Ultimately decision on the role will be taken at a local level by individual authorities. It is therefore not possible to provide the detail requested on assets.

More generally an ability to transfer assets is necessary to support the transfer of accountability. It is vital that Ministers will have the ability to step in, or appoint, an operator of last resort as required. That may at some point require the ability for the transfer of Local Government assets and staff. If necessary, assets would be transferred on the most appropriate valuation method. It would therefore be remiss not to include powers to do so on the face of the Bill.

The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill requires Ministers to have a strategic plan if they are delivering, or arranging for the delivery of, national services.

In order to ensure that national services remain aligned with changing population need it is important that Ministers regularly review, with partners, stakeholders and people, the strategic plan.

We will continue to liaise with those who plan and deliver services to ensure that the Bill sets out appropriate national and local strategic planning requirements.

The answer to this question is set out in Paragraph 48 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill Policy Memorandum. This can be accessed at: https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/national-care-service-scotland-bill/introduced

Everyone has the right to a safe workplace and to live their lives without fear or intimidation. The Scottish Government is determined to tackle the scourge of sexual harassment wherever it happens: in public spaces, places of education and workplaces.

That is why we published our Fair Work Action Plan on 9 December 2022. It will take forward the next phase of actions to drive forward Fair Work and will make it easier for employers and partners to access information on the critical role Fair Work has to play in the workplace. We will be writing out to interest groups, MSPs and Ministers about the Action Plan in the week of 12 December, with further engagement activity planned in early 2023.

Additionally, as part of our Equally Safe strategy, we are providing over £330,000 in funding to Close the Gap to develop “Equally Safe at Work”, the first accredited programme to focus on equality at work. The programme focuses on themes such as workplace culture, and supports organisations to improve employment practice, advance gender equality and prevent violence against women.

All workplaces must have robust processes for reporting and dealing with harassment or bullying. But we recognise that sexual harassment takes place in a range of public places as well as workplaces, which is why we are consulting on women and girls’ safety on public transport. Additionally, we are continuing to take forward and fund a range of actions in schools to address gender based violence and sexual harassment. This includes but is not limited to Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence prevention programme, our Equally Safe at School programme, our Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, and Mentors in Violence Prevention Scotland programme.

The Scottish Government will continue to drive forward this work to build a safer Scotland free of sexual harassment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12831 on 15 December 2022. 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 following table shows number of homes and projects that have been submitted for approval in August, September, October and November 2022, broken down by baseline benchmark type and whether above, at, or below benchmark. To note that the table includes some projects still under active appraisal:

City and Urban

The Scottish Government is in regular communication with a number of charities concerning the cost of living crisis and other welfare issues. No one wants to see beloved pets relinquished due to affordability and that is why we will continue to work with animal welfare charities and organisations such as the Scottish SPCA to monitor the on-going situation.