Chamber and committees

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, separate from the Scottish Government. As such, the information requested is not held by the Scottish Government and would have to be obtained directly from individual local authorities or from COSLA.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.

Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will engage with Autistic people and children, including their families where appropriate, in relation to decisions regarding the allocation of funding for autism services.

Scottish Government decisions on national funding in relation to the autism strategy, are taken in consultation with key stakeholders including autistic people through our national strategy leadership arrangements.

Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament, and the Scottish Government does not hold data on individuals seeking asylum who are living in Scotland. The latest Home Office quarterly statistics recorded 3,904 people in section 95 asylum support in Scotland as at 31 March 2021, including 122 who were receiving subsistence only. There is no geographical breakdown in the statistics of the number of people in receipt of section 98 or section 4 support. Home Office data is available on the UK Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets .

Transport Scotland has recently attended a meeting with Glasgow City Council on 26 May to discuss the maintenance and financing of the repairs for the Clyde Tunnel. My officials are willing to continue to engage with the Council on this matter in order to aid them in trying to find a solution, however maintenance of the local road network is the responsibility of local authorities.

The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Glasgow City Council will receive a total funding package of almost £1.5 billion in 2021-22 to support local services, which includes an extra £29.8 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2020-21.

To date, the council has been allocated an additional £221.7 million to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the local government settlement - over and above their regular grant payments.

By way of an update against the progress of the Aberdeen to Central belt rail project:-

(a) £1.68 million has been spent on this project to date.

(b) This funding has been used i) to identify the signalling and infrastructure interventions that enable the required capacity enhancements and journey time savings, and ii) on commencing the sifting process to select the options that, within the budget, will achieve the maximum benefits.

(c) the remaining amount of £198.32 million will be spent on delivering the enhancements that are identified at the option selection stage as providing the maximum benefits for the north east.

and (d) journey times savings achieved between Dundee and Aberdeen up to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic equated to an average of three minutes northbound and four minutes southbound.

In February 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, wrote to the Chief Operating Officer of Mears Housing Management about issues that had been raised with her about the mother and baby unit. She asked that no new women be transferred to the unit until there had been further engagement with local partners on its operation and concerns were addressed. In June 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote to Mears Group about issues raised with the suitability of the accommodation provided and asked for information about how they are addressing them. On both occasions we received a response from Mears Group setting out measures they have taken.

Officials from Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Mears Group sit on the Asylum Regional Partnership Board and the Delivery and Procurement Group, which support collaborative working on asylum accommodation and support in Glasgow.

Over the course of the last Parliamentary session, Scottish Ministers and government officials have engaged with industry representatives on priority issues for their sector, including planning for and supporting the transition to net zero. Additionally, sectoral engagement is regularly undertaken through forums including the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group, the Construction Industry Training Board and the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group.

As set out by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy in July, the Scottish Government is developing a 10 Year National Strategy for Economic Transformation. This strategy will prioritise investment in the industries of the future and deliver new, good and green jobs, therefore, co-production with industry will be key.

In March this year, I attended the first meeting of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group and continue to liaise with industry representatives such as The Construction Industry Training Board - most recently in July - on the importance of training and skills as we transition to net zero.

In addition, the former Energy Minister met with key stakeholders regularly to understand the specific challenges and barriers to the sector but also wider energy transition opportunities, with a key forum being the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group (SLG). The SLG held two focused meetings on workforce retention, skills and training challenges and opportunities and is representative of industry, OPITO, Skills Development Scotland and offshore unions.

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were approved by the Scottish Parliament on 10 February 2021 and will come into force on 1 September 2021. These regulations are concerned with modernising the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding activities, pet selling - including the trade in young dogs, the operation of animal sanctuaries and animal rehoming activities.

Additionally, the Scottish Government works closely with a number of animal welfare organisations, other UK Government departments, the veterinary sector and enforcement agencies on the Puppy Trade Working Group to disrupt the activities of unlicensed and/or low welfare breeders and educate the public about how best to buy a puppy safely.

The responsibility for the delivery of prisoner healthcare, including services to women living in the new community custody units in Dundee and Glasgow, rests with local NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government is working collaboratively with the SPS, NHS Tayside and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to determine what the healthcare provision will be in the community custody units. We are aiming to deliver a healthcare model that better meets the healthcare needs of women in custody and aligns with the transformative vision for the new female prison estate.

NHS Grampian’s current closure of Insch War Memorial Hospital is a temporary measure due to pressures resulting from the pandemic. Health and social care services continue to be delivered to the people of Insch and its surrounding areas.

Future use of the hospital will be shaped by the strategic needs assessment (SNA) of health and social care provision and services in Insch and the surrounding areas, which is currently underway. In consultation with the local community, the SNA will look at how health and care services can be improved and adapted to develop options for service delivery models that best meet the current and future needs of the local population. Further information on the SNA, including outline timetable is publicly available via: https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/insch-strategic-needs-assessment .

Over the next decade the Scottish Government will invest £10 billion in health infrastructure, which will include support for renewal or upgrading of primary and community facilities. The SNA that Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board is carrying out will inform plans for investing in the facilities serving Insch and the surrounding communities.