Chamber and committees

The Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 was published in August 2020. We then undertook a significant scoping exercise to understand the current status of rehabilitation services in Scotland, from the perspective of the staff working in them. This was done using a self-assessment tool and the report on the findings ( Rehabilitation Framework Self-Assessment Tool: Analysis of Survey Responses ) was published on 9th December 2021.

The findings from the self-assessment tool, along with demand and capacity data, will inform the development of a national programme of improvement work which we will work with NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector to implement. This will deliver a ‘Once for Scotland’ rehabilitation pathway that will ensure everyone who requires rehabilitation will be able to access it.

The National Advisory Board for Rehabilitation last met in October 2021, and it is expected it will meet again in early 2022 now that the report on the self-assessment tool had been published.

The independent Office of Rail and Road has determined that the five year settlement in Control Period 6 (2019 – 2024) will be £2,245m; this represents a 16% increase compared to £1,925m in Control Period 5 (2014 to 2019). This determination is based on the work Network Rail expects to carry out within the entire funding period.

The overall planned rail infrastructure budget for Control Period 6 (2019 to 2024) remains £2,245m and is continuing to fund Network Rail fully in line with this.

In each year of any 5 year funding period, Network Rail programmes its workbank, which may increase or decrease from year to year, and this defines its in-year funding requirement from the ORR determination. This is why the entry in the Scottish Budget can show year on year increases or decreases.

In the 2021-22 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to the introduction of a Human Rights Bill within this Parliamentary session.

The Human Rights Bill will incorporate into Scots law, as far as possible within devolved competence, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This includes a right to adequate food, as an essential part of the overall right to an adequate standard of living.

We consulted on a draft of the Heat in Buildings Strategy in February 2021. 178 individuals and organisations responded. This consultation asked for views on the impact of the strategy on island and other remote communities. We have published the analysis of the consultation alongside the Strategy.

Alongside the consultation, we organised a series of 7 consultation workshops, including one on Place, one on Communities and one on Islands. These were open to all interested participants, aiming to communicate the vision and actions planned as part of the Strategy and collect feedback.

The consultation events were attended by 156 individuals in total, and included representatives of organisations, community groups, housing associations and local authorities located in rural and island areas of Scotland.

We have also published an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) drawing on the engagement and responses generated from the Draft Heat in Buildings Strategy consultation. Officials also met with islands representatives from Highlands and Islands Enterprise during the initial stages of the ICIA. Where possible negative impacts on island communities were identified, relevant mitigating actions were outlined. The ICIA also noted multiple positive impacts heat decarbonisation will bring to islands communities.

The Climate Justice Fund does not currently contribute to projects tackling forest fires or reforestation in the Amazon Basin or Indonesia. The focus of the Fund is on actions to achieve climate justice, principally supporting communities most affected by climate change build a more resilient, inclusive and equal future. Projects in Scotland's three international development partner countries of Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia will remain the primary focus of the expanded Fund.

The Scottish Government is engaging closely with COSLA and Heads of Planning Scotland to understand the pressures faced by the planning service and to promote a highly performing system which can deliver on the ambitions for planning set out in the emerging NPF4.

Consideration of capacity and skills in planning is informed by recent research commissioned by Skills Development Scotland, undertaken by EKOS and published by Partners in Planning, available at https://www.partnersinplanning.scot/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/23623/Skills-in-Planning-Research-Final-February-2021.pdf The research report provides an independent perspective on the challenges faced and a series of proposed actions. Scottish Government is working with the other partner members of Partners in Planning to take forward the proposed actions to help ensure the future pipeline of planners needed to deliver on our ambitions. This includes supporting a short project recently commissioned by Heads of Planning Scotland and the RTPI to explore options and set out proposals to help increase the numbers of people entering the planning profession.

Reviewing the planning performance and fee regime is a key part of our planning reform programme. We are currently progressing proposals to increase planning fees, following a public consultation carried out in 2019-2020. Although implementation of these proposals was postponed during the pandemic, this work has now recommenced and we will shortly lay regulations in the Scottish Parliament bringing the proposed fee increases into effect. The new regulations are expected to come into force in April 2022, subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The proposed measures would increase fees by between 25 and 50% in some cases, moving fees closer to covering authorities’ costs in determining the applications and providing substantial additional income to authorities.

Ministers will also shortly undertake recruitment and appointment of a new national planning improvement coordinator for Scotland. The core purpose of the coordinator’s role will be to support improvement within the Scottish planning system, by providing constructive input which promotes an outcomes-based approach.

Alongside the Heat in Buildings Strategy we published a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment which sets out the evidence relating to capital and running costs of converting to zero emissions heat.

We recognise that the costs of conversion for island and rural homes can be higher than equivalent urban properties for a variety of reasons, including supply chains, transport needs and weather disruptions. Further details and mitigating actions are set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy Island Communities Impact Assessment , and we will publish an Islands Energy Strategy later this year. Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan will include a specific focus on developing local supply chains particularly in our islands and remote communities to help bring costs down.

The financial implications for households will depend on how heat and energy efficiency measures are funded and financed. This is an area of active policy development. We already run schemes to help households retrofit their properties to cut emissions, and are committed to supporting those least able to pay. We have established a new Green Heat Finance Taskforce which will recommend ways the Scottish Government and private sector can collaborate to scale up investment.

In Scotland, food insecurity questions were introduced into the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) from 2016. As of 2019, food security levels are measured for the whole of the UK, including Scotland, as part of the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

Despite differences in approach between the surveys, food insecurity levels in Scotland have been consistent since data collection started in 2016; around 8% or 9% of individuals, and 8% of households.

Food Insecurity Rates in Scotland:

The Scottish Government has not sent such a letter. The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) proposes radically improved and significant new policies aimed at addressing the climate emergency, including a proposed new policy which states: ‘When considering all development proposals significant weight should be given to the Global Climate Emergency.’ Once adopted, NPF4 will form a part of the statutory development plan and will be a material planning consideration, requiring the policies and priorities set out in NPF4 to be influential factors in planning decisions.

The draft NPF4 is currently subject to Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny, alongside a public consultation, prior to a finalised version being presented for Scottish Parliament approval. We are working towards laying a final version of NPF4 in the Parliament for approval this summer, following which it will be adopted by the Scottish Ministers.

I also refer the member to the Scottish Government’s earlier answer on the issue of the climate emergency in planning decision making, given in the answer to question S6W-02155 on 6 September 2021. 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 is already engaging with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) regarding the decommissioning of the Hunterston B site and the sharing of the NDA’s extensive knowledge and skills across its estate, including the Dounreay site.

This follows on from the designation direction agreed by Scottish and UK Government Ministers, and laid last year at both the Scottish and UK Parliaments under the Energy Act 2004 (available on the link below). This direction facilitates the process of decommissioning and the eventual transfer of ownership of the site to the NDA once it has been defueled by its current owners, EDF Energy.

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-net-zero-energy-and-transport-committee/correspondence/2021/directions-to-the-nuclear-decommissioning-authority-hunterston-b-and-torness-sites

The Scottish Government will continue to support the process of decommissioning as it progresses.