Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises that the work of the Scottish Powerchair Football Association and Scottish Para-Football is extremely valuable in providing opportunities for people with a range of conditions to participate in football and to promote inclusivity in the game.

An ongoing priority is for the Scottish Government is to support participation across all groups and tackle inequalities in participation. We recognise the power of sport and the positive impact which sport can have on a person's physical and mental health and that those with disabilities are less likely to feel connected to their local community.

Through sportscotland we invest in the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to support the development of football. In financial year 2024/25 our investment is almost £1.35 million. This investment supports the national partnership agreement with the SFA which includes "empowering community football clubs to become sustainable, adaptive and inclusive", but the agreement does not dictate the detail of the expenditure.

I recently met with Scottish Para-Football to discuss current issues and priorities. I will continue to work with Scottish Para-Football to help promote, and support access to all elements of para-football, including powerchair football.

Every ‘scheduled’ award review carried out by Social Security Scotland is a light-touch review.

This means that Social Security Scotland do not require clients by default to provide information again that they already provided, that is not relevant to the changes they have reported, or that we can gather through other means.

Instead, Social Security Scotland will consider information they already hold about the client, where still relevant, and make use of appropriate decision-making tools, where needed, to reduce the need for further questions. They only ask for new supporting information in specific scenarios and take their usual supportive approach to gathering this information.

Our approach differs when a client’s circumstances or changes are more complex, or their reported level of need is unexpected. This is not light touch and Social Security Scotland will decide on a case-by-case basis what additional steps are required and appropriate to better understand the client’s needs, and to ensure they have the information needed to make a robust determination on the client’s entitlement.

With the commencement of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act taking place on 6 January 2025, it is timely to set out a brief statement of our strategic priorities for action on cladding in 2025. 

In particular, we will be:

• continuing to take forward our current programme of action  
• taking action to increase both the pace and breadth of action on cladding 
• seeking to develop a collective, national endeavour to address the risks of cladding. 

On continuing action – completing work currently underway 

We will deliver assessment and remediation for properties that have been part of our 'pilot' programme and for which the Scottish Government is taking responsibility in the absence of an identified developer:

• we will deliver assessment and if required remediation for an initial set of ‘pilot’ buildings for which the Scottish Government is responsible.  13 Single Building Assessments are underway at the moment.  Based on their findings, we will set in train all necessary remediation action, putting interim safety measures in place where needed

• based on due diligence work currently underway, we will also take forward assessment and remediation for any additional pilot buildings within the scope of the Act for which it is confirmed that responsibility falls to the Scottish Government.  Where responsibility falls to others, we will identify and communicate this to those parties and to residents. 

We will complete implementation of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024: 

• we are commencing the Act in its entirety on 6 January 2025 
• we will put in place practical arrangements for the long-term operation of the Cladding Assurance Register, building on the interim arrangements now in place 
• we will develop, consider and consult on proposals for a statutory Responsible Developers Scheme 
• as part of the response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report, we will confirm our position on the use of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (including use of the powers provided by the Act). 

We will enable the assessment and remediation of affected properties by the relevant larger developers: 

• we will seek swift agreement with the larger developers on the ‘Developer Remediation Contract’, enabling them to take forward assessment and remediation on properties for which they have accepted responsibility 
• as part of an ongoing process of engagement with the larger developers, we will track, assure and gather information on their remediation progress.

We will continue to improve communication with residents and owners affected by cladding: 

• we will continue to produce a quarterly newsletter aimed at residents along with monthly updates, backed by up-to-date information on the Scottish Government website including ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ 
• we will fully observe the new statutory duties on communication with owners and residents in buildings for which assessment and remediation is being taken forward under the new Act. 

On new action to increase pace and breadth

In parallel, we will work with partners to develop and deliver two new schemes of assessment and remediation:

• we will issue a new 'open call for further properties which may require Government-led assessment and remediation. This will enable residents faced with problems of potentially unsafe cladding, but for which no owner or developer is willing or able to undertake assessment and remediation, to bring this to the attention of Government, and to be considered for Government-led assessment and remediation
• we will also develop a further scheme designed to identify and address those buildings which appear to be at an elevated risk from cladding. In doing so, we will work with local authorities and fire services to help identify the buildings which should be prioritised, and will consider where responsibility for taking forward assessment and remediation should lie - including, where the Scottish Government has a part to play.

More generally, we will bring partners together to seek to make action on cladding a national, collective endeavour:

• we will engage proactively with local authorities, the fire service and other partners, to harness the skills, knowledge and capacity of all to greatest effect. In doing so, we will develop the clearest possible picture of the position across sectors in Scotland, and the action being taken. We will seek assurance where appropriate, and be prepared as Government to play our part where this is needed
• we will consider the circumstances of properties which are partly owned by a Registered Social Landlord or local authority but have a mix of tenure including private owners, or where the owners are not in a financial position to be able to take forward remediation. In these and similar situations, we will consider the potential need for Government funding on a case-by-case basis
• we will also work with partners to explore the potential for new, more effective delivery models for assessment and remediation.

We will publish a renewed plan of action in March, setting out how and when we will be delivering these priorities.

Interested parties can at all times sign up to receive our regular newsletter, and/or raise specific cladding issues with us on our website.

The Scottish Government wants all children and young people to develop mutually respectful, responsible and confident relationships.

While there are no plans to introduce anything specific into the school curriculum on this subject, we encourage bus operators to work locally with educational establishments. Transport Scotland are developing a behaviour code covering all concessionary bus passengers and align with existing operators’ conditions of carriage.

Transport Scotland will work with key partners to ensure that this code is widely publicised.

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has continued to support the Women’s Health Plan through their dedicated lived experience programme. This has included the development of the conversation café toolkit, available for anyone to use, to encourage information sharing and peer support on areas of women’s health including menstrual health and endometriosis.

More information can be found in the ALLIANCE Final Report on Women’s Health Plan.

Menstrual health and wellbeing education is a key part of relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education. RSHP education is an integral part of the health and wellbeing area of the Scottish curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence.

An online RSHP teaching resource, (www.rshp.scot) was published in 2019 and provides age and stage appropriate learning activities on RSHP education for use in all education settings and is aligned to Curriculum for Excellence. This resource includes learning activities on menstruation from second level (P5 to P7), with endometriosis introduced at third/fourth level (S1 to S3).

Social Security Scotland has an established process for requesting information from GPs. The initial request will always be sent through the Scottish Care Information Gateway system, unless we are informed otherwise. If no response is received Social Security Scotland will contact the GP by telephone and send the request via letter if required.

Social Security Scotland recognise the complexity of using that system, and the challenges GPs and the wider health and social care sector face in responding to information requests. They are actively working on engagement to increase awareness of Social Security Scotland and to identify potential improvements in how they can gather supporting information to ensure applications are processed as quickly and effectively as possible.

This engagement activity has started, utilising in-house Health and Social Care Practitioners to offer discussions at the GP practice when they are in contact about one of their patients.

Social Security Scotland will continue to work with senior leaders in Health & Social Care Partnerships and Health Boards in 2025 to offer similar meetings to raise awareness and understand how we can improve communication.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32271 on 6 January 2025. As I said during the Parliamentary debate on Changing Places Toilets, I am keen to work in partnership with members from all parties.

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

Work to develop the Changing Places Toilets Fund criteria, plans and processes is underway. Details of the Fund launch date will be confirmed once arrangements have been finalised and will be dependent on Parliamentary approval of the Scottish Government’s Budget Bill.

The judgements and issues in the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan are informed and influenced by recent developments in UK Government energy policy and by court decisions.

This is a rapidly changing landscape and we are taking time to reflect on those developments before drawing any conclusions and publishing a final strategy.

The Scottish Government is working closely with public sector delivery partners to identify priority investment opportunities designed to mobilise private investment in ports, manufacturing and fabrication, to maximise the economic opportunities from offshore wind. As set out in our Offshore Wind Focus paper, the approach to prioritisation is underpinned by a strategic assessment of current market opportunities, considering the combined impact of a programme of public sector investments. We are working with delivery partners to target funding at projects that will have a catalytic effect on wider economic growth, and identifying and prioritising those with potentially high Benefit Cost Ratios.