Chamber and committees

The Scottish Budget 2025-26 identified funding of £5 million to help support independent hospices deliver pay parity with Agenda for Change (AfC) levels for 2025-26. Officials are undertaking work to explore the mechanisms for providing this funding, while respecting local commissioning arrangements. Funding will be provided in financial year 2025-26. Officials continue to take forward positive discussions with the Chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group.

This funding does not bring hospice staff under AfC terms and conditions and is only intended to provide pay parity with NHS levels. Independent hospices will have their own terms and conditions for the staff they employ.

Social Security Scotland carefully considers what information on counter fraud can be placed into the public domain to ensure it does not undermine the ability of Social Security Scotland to prevent and detect crime and protect the public purse. It does not disclose details of the size of the Counter Fraud Branch.

Counter Fraud Branch consists of officials who work closely together to prevent, detect, identify and investigate allegations of fraud against Social Security Scotland. The staff undertake fraud risk assessment, intelligence management and investigation activities and are located throughout Scotland.

The majority of the staff resources within the Counter Fraud Branch are fully engaged in delivering the Counter Fraud activities highlighted above. A small proportion work to understand, monitor and where appropriate investigate potential internal threats – which includes, but is not limited to, insider fraud. This team also provides specialist investigation support to other business areas within Social Security Scotland.

Scottish Government continues to call on the UK Government for analysis and mitigation of the impact of National Insurance changes on all commissioned services in the public sector, including GP practices.

Since the Autumn Statement published on 30 October 2024, Scottish Government has made continued representation to the UK Government on the significant impact that the changes will have on the health and social care landscape. In particular we note the continued inequity which leaves many commissioned services unable to claim the Employment Allowance, despite its extension to more businesses from 6 April due to the relaxations announced in the Budget.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury last month again highlighting the risks to GPs and other contractors and asking for specific consideration and review of the Employment Allowance to allow them to claim this relief. She further pressed the Chief Secretary on the impact of the National Insurance changes in a meeting on 27 February.

It remains the view of Scottish Government that mitigations are essential to safeguard existing service provision, and that greater recognition is needed of the impact to these vital public services – and the people who rely on them – if appropriate compensatory funding or extension of existing tax reliefs is not afforded.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Health Boards across Scotland, provide access to fertility services for those within their population who may be unable or finding it difficult to conceive.

Falling birth rates are a demographic trend replicated across many high-income countries, with significant future implications for our economies, communities and public services.

The Family Friendly Nation strand of our 2021 Population Strategy sets out our ambition to ensure Scotland is the ideal place to raise a family, and to support people to have the number of children they wish to have. We are clear that it is not for government to attach value judgements to different families.

In delivering this Strategy, during 2024 the Ministerial Population Taskforce undertook new analytical work to further explore family friendly policies internationally. This was presented to the Taskforce in December 2024 and next steps are now being undertaken to scope their application within the Scottish policy context.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS recognise and appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our neighbours as we try to deliver a lasting solution to the impact of noise.

We have taken a number of actions relating to the estate and supporting the women in our care to minimise the impact of noise.

We are in the final stages of designing and implementing a physical adaptation to the estate that is expected to deliver a significant reduction in noise from parts of the establishment identified as impacting our neighbours.

Local residents’ association and local elected representatives have been invited to a meeting at the establishment on 24 March, where SPS will present an update on progress and answer any queries presented by the group.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I can confirm that to date, the liquidated damages provisions have not been triggered.

FOI/202500450646 contained the spend category, Catering; Bar Equipment and Accessories. The following items are within this category -

Items for sample processing (knives, potato peelers, chopping boards, scoops, mills)

Protective clothing (disposable aprons/lab coats)

Storage boxes, plastic trays and jugs

Catering trolleys

Mops and cleaning chemicals

Water boilers to sterilise sample processing equipment

Freezers

Servicing of mills, and replacement of parts

Dishwashers

Compact Mobile Trolley

Vacuum Milk Jug

Replacement boiler for crew mess

Fridges

Crockery and cutlery

Chefs whites

Pots and sauce pans

Miscellaneous kitchen equipment

Bed sheets and linen for crew cabin areas

Milk Fridge, including materials, Powder/Hotwater/ Tank and maintenance agreement

Coffee Machine

Water Filter, Filter Cartridge

Cleaning Container and Carriage

Glass Rack 16 compartment x 5

Glass Rack 16 compartment x 4

Folding table,

Turbofan Convection Oven

Catering supplies for family and witness rooms

Kettle

Flasks for Tea/Hot Water

Please see the following table outlining the funding made available to the Association of Chief Officers or Scottish Voluntary Organisations and the objectives associated with that funding for each of the last five financial years.

a) Scottish Government has not made any budget provision in this or future years to underwrite private investment in nature restoration.

b) No capital allocation has been made in the 2025-26 budget to pilot blended finance models in nature recovery. Any payments associated with it will not finalised until the pilot progresses. Resource to take forward the pilot will be from within existing staff time.

There may be contingent liability implications to the agreements entered into as a part piloting blended finance models for nature restoration and these will be managed in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information because the statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining the school estate rests with local authorities.

However, through the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme, the Scottish Government will provide local authorities with substantial funding support to modernise their school estate, and also includes replacements for schools which were significantly damaged by deliberate fires. For example, we will provide funding support of £25.8m for a replacement Peebles High School in the Scottish Borders, and £40.2m for the new Greenfield Academy in Dundee which will replace Braeview Academy and Craigie High School.