Chamber and committees

Scotland’s wool industry is covered by the British Wool Board which is a Public Non-Financial Corporation who have regional offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is a cross-border public authority with ministers in all 4 administrations having limited sponsorship functions. British Wool is a farmers’ co-operative who presently represent the interests of around 40,000 producer members, they collect, grade and sell wool on behalf of registered producers aiming to maximise income for producers from the sale of wool.

In addition its established shearers training programme is successfully tackling skills shortages in the UK and reducing reliance on shearers from abroad.

A review of the British Wool Board is presently being undertaken.

Scottish Government are engaging with NHS 24 and stakeholders to review the MSK pathway, using data and learning from quality improvement initiatives to inform future developments that will enhance the patient journey. No date has been set for the implementation of a new MSK pathway.

As of the end of the day on 12 September 2022, there had been a total of 21,723,100 journeys made under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10488 on‎ 8 September 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

No it has not. The Scottish Government continues to explore all options to ensure that there is sufficient and safe accommodation for any displaced people from Ukraine arriving in Scotland. This includes contingency plans for emergency accommodation as well as increasing temporary accommodation, by for example getting the second ship, which has now docked in Glasgow, prepared to safely host displaced people from Ukraine.

The Scottish Government is clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary, including on our two passenger ships.

Our priority is to ensure that people who have already arrived, and will arrive from Ukraine, are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support, then move into safe, sustainable longer term accommodation.

I wrote to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer on 31 July to request that he consider providing appropriate funding for public sector pay, given that our current funding was set in last October’s UK Spending Review which was based on 3% pay uplifts. This followed a letter from the Finance Secretary and the Finance Ministers of the other devolved governments outlining their concerns, including on the cost crisis and public sector pay. This letter was sent on 15 July, following prior engagement on this when they met with the Chief Secretary in Cardiff in June. The Scottish Government is still awaiting a formal response to these letters. I raised these matters with the new Chancellor upon his appointment on 6 September and hope to receive a response from him shortly.

The contract notice with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd, was published on 9 August 2022. The contract is to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine including accommodation in hotels and on the M/S Victoria I and M/S Ambition.

The full contract has a value of up to £100 million with a start date of 8 July 2022 and an end date of 12 December 2024.

In the period 1999 to 2007, schemes promoted by Councils under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, and confirmed by Scottish Ministers, were supported with grant funding. The grant was allocated to approved schemes on a project by project basis and paid to local authorities as those projects progressed. During that period 19 local authorities received funding for 29 flood protection schemes.

In 2008 a number of ring-fenced grants, including the Flood Prevention Grant, were amalgamated into a single General Capital Grant.

In 2012 an arrangement was agreed between Scottish Government and COSLA whereby the flooding component of the General Capital Grant would be distributed to major projects according to an agreed set of eligibility criteria. Applications were sought from local authorities in 2012 and 2014 to cover the period 2012-13 -‎ 2015-16. In 2012 local authorities applied for funding for 8 schemes and 3 were successful. In 2014 local authorities applied for funding for 8 schemes and 4 were successful.

In July 2016 it was agreed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA that from 2016-17 there would be a change in the distribution of funding for flooding. 80% of the available flooding capital grant would be allocated to large-scale projects and distributed according to the prioritisation of flooding schemes and works set out in the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies which were published by SEPA in December 2015. In 2016 it was decided that 40 flood protection schemes, set out in the Strategies, were eligible for funding under the prioritisation described above. 2 schemes that were also on the prioritised list of schemes were not eligible for any new funding under the criteria agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA.

The Scottish Government’s priority continues to be ensuring the wellbeing and safety of displaced people from Ukraine. There are extensive procedures in place to ensure the welfare of those temporarily accommodated on the MS Victoria in Leith.

City of Edinburgh Council’s resettlement teams have an ongoing and visible presence on-board the ship, alongside teams from the third sector. Regular drop in clinics and appointment bookings are available daily for all on-board guests held by various partners. Nominated public protection officers on board provide support and are the first point of contact for safeguarding issues arising when local authority professionals are not available.

Weekly meetings are held for all stakeholders and daily meetings are held between Council staff and other agencies on board to address and monitor any concerns arising. Joint Assurance Review (JAR) meetings are held monthly. Additionally, there are regular liaison meetings above and beyond what is in place for those in other temporary accommodation arrangements. Collaboration and open communication lines between the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and third sector parties ensures high standards of welfare and care are maintained.