Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises that Social Isolation and Loneliness is a public health issue, which has been exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between August 2021 and March 2022, £1 million was allocated by the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights to organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness. This funding has supported work including helplines, befriending, and practical support. Many of the 48 organisations funded through the Equality and Human Rights Fund (2021-2024) also make a valuable contribution to tackling social isolation.

In addition, £21 million has been spent in 2021-22 via the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which helps to tackle priority issues including social isolation and loneliness. This fund has been continued for 2022-23 with a further £15 million.

The information requested on how many dental nursing vacancies currently exist across Scotland, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally by The Scottish Government.

The latest data received by the Scottish Government from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland indicated that as of March 2022, a total of 1,498 referrals were made to the long COVID Support Service since its inception in February 2021.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland welcomes doctors of all grades and experience. To practice medicine in Scotland, individuals must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). For individuals who studied at a medical school outside of the UK or EEA, they will likely need to sit a Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB). Further details on the PLAB tests or GMC registration can be found here Join the register - GMC (gmc-uk.org) .

The GMC may provide assistance to refugees and those with UK resettlement leave, further details can be found here Help for refugee doctors - GMC (gmc-uk.org) . When successful in obtaining a position within NHS Scotland, the salary a recruit receives will be dependent on the banding of the role, therefore a Ukrainian refugee would receive the NHS rate of pay.

1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare is available to all three and four year olds in Scotland, and two year olds who will benefit most. National eligibility criteria for access to funded early learning and childcare at age two is largely aligned to free school meals criteria, as well as care experienced families. Local authorities also have powers to provide discretionary access to a funded ELC place for any child they see fit.

As set out in Best Start, Bright Futures: Tacking Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26 , we will review eligibility to inform the future development of childcare policy in Scotland. This work will ensure a coherent joined up system for families with children of different ages and identify the best approach to expanding access to funded childcare for more of the identified priority family groups, including families with a disabled adult or child.

The third sector plays a critical role in supporting the people of Scotland.

In 2021-2022 the Scottish Government spent over £123 million on funding third-sector organisations that help children and vulnerable groups. Over £109 million was provided via specific grants or funding streams, with an additional £13.8 million in core funding being provided to third-sector organisations via the Children Young People Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities third sector fund.

In addition, I refer the Member to S6W-10137. In 2021-2022, the Scottish Government invested over £12 million to support free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services. This overall figure includes some funding to third sector organisations to provide debt advice to vulnerable people and funding for Scotland’s National Advice and Information Line.

Circularity Scotland (CSL) is a private not for profit business, therefore the Scottish Government was not involved in the negotiations between CSL and the vendors for any of its contracts.

I can also confirm that Circularity Scotland have finalised and signed a contract with Reverse Logistics Group to become its IT services provider.

As stated in the Business Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 22 December 2022, we expect that there will be around seventeen thousand return points operating in Scotland. We do not have a breakdown by local authority.

Circulars to enact the 4.5% pay uplift for NHS Medical and Dental staff were published on 5 August 2022.

This pay uplift will be backdated to 1 April 2022.

The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net-zero obligation legislated for, and agreed by all parties, in the Scottish Parliament.

Heat pump operating costs will vary across properties, with the precise impact depending on factors such as the design and quality of the heating system, user operation, and the energy efficiency of the property.

We have commissioned two research projects which considered the running costs associated with zero direct emissions heating (ZDEH) technologies within new homes, including heat pumps, against a gas boiler counterfactual. A copy of these research reports is available here:

• Costs of zero emissions heating in new buildings (climatexchange.org.uk)
• Renewable and zero direct emissions heating systems in affordable housing projects (phase 2): evaluation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This analysis supports the reasonable assumption that the costs of an air source heat pump are generally comparable with gas in a new home. However, we would highlight that the analysis pre-dates the energy crisis, and that we do not have updated modelling available to reflect the current price cap. We also urge the UK Government to follow through on its commitment to publish proposals to rebalance energy bill costs by the end of 2022. Given the abundance of low cost renewables in the UK and the urgent need to decarbonise buildings, it should be cheaper to run an electrically-driven heat pump than a gas boiler.

A full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) will be published when these regulations are introduced, incorporating the findings from these research reports and other relevant information.