Chamber and committees

Scottish Government officials are currently working to identify the most appropriate and effective way to appoint a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care. This work is ongoing and further information regarding this appointment will be made available in due course.

The Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme will replace the UK Nursery Milk Scheme in Scotland from 1 August 2021 for pre-school aged children. Costings for the Scheme, including a budget for Year 1 of more than three times the amount invested in UK Nursery Milk Scheme, have been through an extensive development process which factored in feedback from dairies and other key stakeholders. Funds have been distributed to local authorities based on Local Serving Rates agreed with COSLA, taking account of the differences in the cost of providing milk and snacks in rural and urban areas.

While our key focus has rightly remained on ensuring that we are putting the health outcomes of children at the centre of this policy, we recognise the challenge of developing a funding model that is sufficiently sensitive to every local circumstance and have sought to ensure our approach will allow for milk or a specified alternative to be sourced sustainably at a fair rate, supporting our vital Scottish food and drink sector.

The information about the number of individuals requesting hospital-based palliative care is not collected centrally.

The following table shows the number of people recorded as receiving inpatient palliative care in 2019-20. However, this information may not reflect the totality of hospital-based palliative care as it only contains the patients recorded under the care of a palliative medicine consultant, in a Palliative care unit or diagnosed with a Palliative care condition.

We have worked with local authorities when developing the exemption process for events to ensure it is proportionate and workable in practice and we will continue to engage closely with them on the process going forward.

Scotland’s councils have been allocated an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government finance settlement and councils have also been granted additional financial flexibilities to address the financial pressures caused by COVID-19.

The 2021-22 Local Government Settlement of almost £11.7 billion provides a cash increase in local government day to day spending for local revenue services of £375.6 million or 3.5 per cent.

It is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01856 on 6 August 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.

Community benefits are increasingly included in public procurement contracts. As a result, thousands of employment and training opportunities have been achieved, contributing to national and local outcomes and achieving a positive social impact.

In 2016, the Scottish Government issued Statutory Guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, setting out how public bodies can include community benefits in relevant public procurements. In 2020, we published guidance for public bodies on ‘ Measuring social impact in public procurement (SPPN 10/2020) ’. This includes a focus on the use of community benefits and examples of how public procurement has been used to deliver social impact in communities.

Our sustainable procurement tools include additional guidance on employment, skills and training through public contracts.

No notifications have been received since issue of the provision in April 2021.

Four nations discussions on policy for fully vaccinated travellers has benefited from analysis and research from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and other sources.

The success of the vaccination programme means we have now started to change restrictions that apply to fully vaccinated travellers from Amber list countries. Initially this applied to UK residents who have been vaccinated by the NHS.

From 2 August, fully-vaccinated passengers arriving from amber list countries in EU member states*, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City, and the USA do not have to quarantine or take a day 8 test upon arrival in Scotland.

They have to carry with them a form of certification to provide details of their vaccine status. For US arrivals, this proof is a CDC card showing you are fully vaccinated, along with proof of residence in the US. All arrivals from Europe must show a record of vaccination through the European Digital COVID Certificate.

Amber arrivals who have been fully vaccinated must take a pre-departure test before arrival into Scotland, alongside a PCR test on or before day 2 after arrival.

The Private Rented Sector Landlord (PRSL) Loan was launched in April 2020. The following table shows the total number of applications received, the total number of offers made and the total number of expired offers. These figures represent the total number from launch to the end of June 2021, and relate to the location of the applicant.

The Scottish Government has been supporting bioenergy development in Scotland for over a decade. Our current policy continues to promote biomass (wood fuel) systems which achieve the greatest possible energy efficiencies and deliver the highest possible carbon savings. We have assembled a Scottish Government working group to understand the extent to which bioenergy should be used in each of our sectors to ensure bioenergy is deployed where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions. By 2023, in time to inform the next Climate Change Plan, and to take account of decisions that are reserved to the UK Government, we will publish a Bioenergy Action Plan.

The Scottish Government has allocated almost £1.6 billion to support the accelerated deployment of renewable heat and energy efficiency measures in homes and buildings across Scotland. Over the next 5 years, this investment will help to cut emissions, create jobs, strengthen supply chains, and tackle fuel poverty.

As part of this investment, we will build upon and improve existing advice and support programmes to accelerate deployment. The SME loan scheme, run by Energy Saving Trust for the Scottish Government, has already provided over £63 million in loans and cashback to Scottish small and medium enterprises (SME), funding more than 1300 projects to install renewable heating and energy efficiency measures. We propose to continue to run our SME loan cashback schemes until at least 2023.

The Sustainable Energy Supply Chain programme, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Energy Saving Trust, has provided support and assistance for businesses in Scotland since 2013. To augment this programme, we will develop an action plan, specifically focussed on strengthening the broad supply chains needed to deliver zero emissions heat and energy efficiency in buildings. Additional advice and support tailored for SME businesses can be accessed via our Energy Efficiency Business Support service.