Chamber and committees

Local Action Group (LAG) Membership has continued with the LEADER membership that was based on a skills matrix. Plans to recruit new LAG members through a procurement process are planned. Representation will be drawn from the public sector, businesses/third sector and community interests.

LAG members may be representatives of wider rural bodies or applying on behalf of organisations they represent. LAG members are not permitted to participate in any decision making process where they have a conflict of interest. This is a standing item on the agenda for the LAG.

There is no allocation of funding to individual LAG members since decisions are taken as a collective LAG.

The Ayrshire LAG and South Ayrshire Council Internal Audit have approved and undertaken technical checks on all projects applying for funding. Guidance on these checks is in the public domain.

https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/media/5979/ARIA-Fund-Applicant-Guidance/pdf/ARIA_Fund_22

Only those projects that meet the technical checks progress for consideration by the Local Action Group. Of the twenty seven organisation that applied, seventeen of those progressed to the technical check stage, sixteen of which proceeded to assessment stage.

I have today published our public consultation paper on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion in Scotland, as set out in our Programme for Government 2022-23. This is available at https://consult.gov.scot/alcohol-policy/alcohol-advertising-and-promotion .

Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion is a crucial element in changing our troubled relationship with alcohol and is one of the World Health Organization’s three best buys to reduce alcohol-related harms.

Alcohol advertising and promotion is seen by, and appealing to, large volumes of children and young people in Scotland. International evidence shows that seeing alcohol marketing is associated with an increased likelihood that children and young people will start to drink alcohol or, if they already drink alcohol, drink more . This is harmful to them in both the short and long term.

It is also likely that alcohol advertising and promotion influences higher-risk drinkers and can be a trigger for those in recovery to drink alcohol and relapse . This is in addition to the likely impact marketing has on our wider society, by normalising alcohol and presenting it as fun, sociable and commonplace. Young people in Scotland , as well as people in recovery and their families , have told us directly that they see a lot of alcohol marketing and want us to take action to tackle this

The consultation paper is wide ranging and covers potential restrictions on all of the major sources of exposure to alcohol advertising and promotion in Scotland, including advertising on TV, outdoors, through sports and events sponsorship as well as through branded merchandise and online.

The aim of any restrictions would be to reduce exposure to marketing generally in Scotland which should in turn reduce initiation of drinking and levels of consumption in young people, reduce the potential of relapse for those in recovery and reduce attractiveness of alcohol, and thereby consumption, amongst the general population.

We are seeking responses from all stakeholders to fully understand their views and any concerns they may have about any proposed restrictions. The Scottish Government will be carrying out a programme of engagement with key stakeholders throughout the consultation period to ensure all voices are heard.

The Scottish Government intends the New Build Heat Standard to apply to all new buildings, applying for a building warrant, from 1 April 2024 onwards.

This is in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net zero legal obligations legislated for by the Scottish Parliament.

The timescale reflects the need to act to reduce the emissions associated with heating our homes and businesses, and the introduction of the New Build Heat Standard will ensure that these buildings are future-proofed - avoiding any potentially disruptive retrofit works as we progress towards the decarbonisation of our remaining building stock in line with our Heat in Buildings Strategy.

The New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) is our proposed new standard that will prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems (DEH) in new builds warranted from 1 April 2024.

Independent analysis of the responses received to the recently closed Part II New Build Heat Standard consultation is currently underway.

As part of this consultation process, the Scottish Government sought evidence on whether there any limited, specific situations where the use of direct emissions heating systems would be required in new buildings.

We will publish our report into the consultation prior to bringing forward the regulations.

In line with due process, the joint Scottish Government/COSLA Settlement Distribution Group will make recommendations on the allocation mechanism for the funding at their next meeting on 15 November. COSLA Leaders will be asked to give their final sign-off on 25 November.

As soon as possible after that date we will be in a position to share further information.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the independent regulatory body for teachers and, as such, Scottish Ministers have no locus to intervene in their procedures. The GTCS fitness to teach policy sets out key principles and acts as a mechanism for dealing with a teacher who presents a risk of harm. The fitness to teach process also aims to ensure that we have a teaching profession in Scotland that is and remains fit to teach so that public trust and confidence in teachers is maintained and the learning of our children and young people is protected.

The Scottish Government Child Protection Unit engages with GTCS on a regular basis on child and public protection and safeguarding issues, and to clarify the role of the bodies that are responsible for dealing with teachers who present a risk of harm to children.

The Scottish Government has also recently established an internal forum on the implementation of the child protection guidance in schools, and will continue to facilitate discussions on reporting and investigation processes of child protection issues within schools.

A Local Authority cannot apply alone for funding. This funding is not intended to replace core/statutory duties of Local Authorities. Local Authorities may however allocate funding to facilitate the commissioning of recruitment, upskilling and the rebuilding of the Local Action Group (LAG) but are not direct recipients of the funding.

Funding is allocated to Local Action Groups rather than single Local Authorities areas. Local Authority area spend is ongoing and unavailable at present. The LAG allocation breakdown is provided in the following table;

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12054 on 17 November 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 doesn’t want anyone to stay in a hotel or temporary accommodation for longer than necessary. We are therefore taking action to strengthen the matching process to help more displaced people access host or longer-term accommodation as quickly as possible. Through our review of the super sponsor scheme, we have identified a number of interventions to improve matching that we are already taking forward. This includes introducing a new digital matching tool to support the matching process.

This is in addition to the £11.2 million the Scottish Government has committed to Local Authorities to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, help integration and enhance the pace of checks.

We have also introduced the £50 million Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund: Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Through this Fund, the Scottish Government is working with Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords to increase the number of homes available to support the longer term resettlement of displaced people from Ukraine, by improving and bringing void homes back into use. The Fund has so far provided over £400,000 to North Ayrshire Council and £6 million to Aberdeen City Council to increase the number of homes available to support displaced people.