Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has awarded the following funding to the Health and Social Care Alliance for work related to the Chronic Pain Patient Reference Group since 2019 to cover all activities including support for representatives attending meetings of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain and capacity building activities. Funding has been provided since 2019 as follows:

Information on resource planning assumptions and outturn spend for financial years 2016-17 to 2019-20 can be obtained from our annual Outturn Reports . The Outturn Report for 2020-21 has not been published as yet, and a table comparing resource planning assumptions with the outturn expenditure in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2020-21 has been placed in SPICe under BIB number 62906.

Local authorities have worked with local partners to undertake a significant workforce expansion to support delivery of the 1140 commitment and we have seen an increase in the availability of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) places across the local authority, private, third and childminding sectors.

The underpinning policy framework for the ELC expansion, Funding Follows the Child, was developed jointly between the Scottish Government and COSLA. Local authorities are responsible for adhering to the guidance and ensuring they undertake appropriate impact assessments to support their policy and investment decisions, as they do routinely.

Implementation of Funding Follows the Child is overseen by the ELC Joint Delivery Board which is chaired by the Minister for Children and Young People and the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People. The Joint Delivery Board regularly reviews the risks and impacts of the ELC expansion programme, including any issues with adherence to the Funding Follows the Child and National Standard guidance.

Chronic Pain services in Scotland are currently unable to gather electronic data on return appointments in a consistent manner and one that could support routine national data collection by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

The 18 Weeks Referral To Treatment (RTT) standard applies to the entire patient journey from the initial referral to the start of treatment and so repeat appointments after the start of treatment would not be included in this metric. Achieving the target depends on waiting times for diagnostic tests, new outpatient appointments, inpatient and day case treatment.

As per the previous answer to question S6W-03267 highlighted, a consultation has taken place on the Planning Specification and Context Report for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas Decarbonisation (INTOG). That consultation closed on 20 October 2021 and the Scottish Government is aiming to publish the results of that consultation alongside the Initial Plan Framework, which sets out all parameters and spatial components, shortly. This document will include definitions for both Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas components. It is, of course, the intention to ensure that projects delivered under INTOG are competitive.

In 2016, agreement was reached between Scottish Ministers and COSLA on a new strategic funding plan for flood protection schemes. The agreement guarantees that until 2026 the level of flooding capital grant in the local government settlement is set at a minimum of £42 million per annum. 80% of the available £42 million is allocated to prioritised flood schemes and the other 20% is allocated between all 32 councils to take forward other flood risk management actions.

The Programme for Government published in 2020 included a commitment to invest an extra £150 million in flood risk management over 5 years in addition to the £42 million per annum. This funding will also be distributed to local authorities through the general capital grant. We are working with partners on the best way of allocating this additional funding.

The amount in the general capital grant available to local authorities for flood risk management this year and each year up to 2023-24 is:

The participation of competitors, including Scottish competitors, at the Olympics and Paralympics is a matter for the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, which are required to operate independently of Government under International Olympic Committee regulations.

The Scottish Government shares the concerns which have been widely expressed in relation to China’s human rights record, including the reports of serious, widespread and systematic human rights violations being committed in Xinjiang.

Scottish Enterprise continue to be closely engaged with Peel Ports and are collaborating with them, along with North Ayrshire Council, under a Memorandum of Understanding to advance and secure the delivery at Hunterston of regional and national investment objectives defined in the Scottish Government Inward Investment Strategy and Ayrshire Economic Strategy. Work is progressing across a range of sectors including the Circular Economy to develop a refined position identifying market gaps, industry demand and alignment with the assets of Hunterston PARC. In addition, the Scottish Government is in regular communication with the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership of which Peel Ports is a member.

Due to Covid-19 there have been no visits by senior Scottish Government representatives to the Hunterston industrial site in an official capacity since 1 January 2021. However, the Scottish Government has always taken a keen interest in this development and looks forward to visiting it at some point in 2022.

Scottish Government takes the preservation (protection) and restoration of native and ancient woodlands seriously. Protection for all woodland is in place via felling regulations under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018, and is also controlled by the Control of Woodland Removal Policy and The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

Priority for restoration is given to those woodlands that are designated sites in unfavourable condition, and to sites identified by the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland to be in unsatisfactory condition.

Under the Programme for Government we have committed to establishing a National Register of Ancient Woodlands, and will then work with owners and agencies to maintain and protect them.