Chamber and committees

Procurement for vessels 801 and 802 was the responsibility of CMAL. Scottish Ministers were not aware of any potential impropriety in CMAL’s procurement process.

Following the Disclosure Scotland allegations, Scottish Ministers asked the Permanent Secretary to speak with the Auditor General on this matter and we welcome confirmation that Audit Scotland will be looking at the substance of the allegations and deciding if further audit work is required.

Provisions within Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, introduce a temporary cap on in-tenancy rent increases. The cap is set at 0% until at least 31 March 2023.

This means that a landlord is able to set the rent for any new tenancy and is allowed to put the rent up between one tenant moving out and the next tenant moving in.

Where a tenant remains the same person, but is required, in line with statutory processes, to be issued with a new tenancy agreement, the rent cap provisions within the Act do not apply.

Information on what the age profile of the NHS midwifery workforce was in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board, in (i) 2016 and (ii) the most recent year can be found in the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The Employment - demographic tab gives the percentage of the workforce over the age of 55 and the median age, this information can be broken down by board and job role from 2012.

The UK Government has to-date not committed any funding for design or development work on the A75, as, along with all other transport recommendations identified by the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, it remains a devolved matter.

The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has previously welcomed significant progress made by Scotland in strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. Work is in progress or planned in relation to the areas of concern which were raised in decision VII/8s. The Scottish Civil Justice Council has been asked to undertake a review of court rules relating to Protective Expenses Orders, and this is currently underway. Following a public consultation which closed in March this year the Scottish Government has introduced an exemption for court fees for Aarhus Convention cases in the Court of Session. This exemption is now in force. Work is underway on planning for a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland, which will include a commitment to a right to a healthy environment. The Scottish Government is committed to introducing legislation to reform legal aid in the course of the current Parliament, informed by ongoing engagement with stakeholders. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.

The implications of the recommendations of decision VII/8s are being considered and work is ongoing to strengthen compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. A number of strands of work are being undertaken in relation to a review of the court rules governing Protective Expenses Orders, a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland which will include a commitment to a right to a healthy environment, and consideration of Legal Aid Reform in the course of this Parliament. The Scottish Government has already introduced an exemption from court fees for environmental 'Aarhus' cases brought in the Court of Session. In terms of the recommendations that relate directly to unauthorised development within the UK, we are working with the other UK administrations to assess the options and identify appropriate actions.

The Scottish Government is always happy to work with stakeholders and fully intends to continue to engage with environmental stakeholder groups going forward. Officials have met with the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland a number of times, most recently on 12 October, and will continue to engage with them and other stakeholders as we look to strengthen our compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.

Improvements to the A75 were proposed as part of the UK Government’s Union Connectivity Review (UCR) and an offer of potential funding has been made from its Union Connectivity Development Fund.

To date, the UK Government has not committed any funding for design or development work on the A75, as, along with all other transport recommendations identified by STPR2, it remains a devolved matter.

Historic Environment Scotland is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). Under Treasury rules, any underspends generated by NDPBs within a financial year forms part of the wider Scottish Government budget position. NDPBs cannot hold their own reserves from Grant in Aid.

Please be assured that the Scottish Government engages in regular financial discussions with Historic Environment Scotland, as we continue to monitor the impacts of the pandemic and to work within the constraints around current public spending.

We recognise the scale and impact of non-communicable disease across Scotland and are taking a range of actions to address their impact on our health and wellbeing.

Living with overweight or obesity is linked with an increased risk of developing a range of serious health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver and lung disease. We are taking wide-ranging action to support healthier choices, as set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan. This includes a challenging aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce diet related health inequalities.

As stated in our recent Programme for Government, we will introduce a Bill to restrict the promotion of less healthy food and drink as part of the 2022/23 legislative session. We will also urge the UK Government to stick with its commitments to ban junk food advertisements on TV programmes before the 9pm watershed and for similar restrictions online.

We continue to support NHS boards to improve weight management services in line with our Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Early Detection and Intervention Framework and Public Health Scotland’s national standards. We are in year 5 of delivery of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Framework, which has seen the adoption of effective and evidence based treatments, across Scotland.

Alongside the Framework, our Diabetes Improvement Plan sets out our priorities to deliver safe, effective and person-centred healthcare, treatment and support to those living with diabetes. Priority 1 of the Plan is focussed the Prevention and Early Detection of Diabetes and its Complications, supporting the implementation of the Framework.