Chamber and committees

The Patient Safety Commissioner is a Parliamentary office-holder and is being recruited by the Scottish Parliament. They will be appointed by His Majesty on nomination of the Scottish Parliament.

As the Commissioner will be an independent public advocate for patients on issues of safety the Scottish Government does not have a role in the recruitment process. The Commissioner will champion the value of listening to patients and will hold organisations to account for their responsibility to take patients’ concerns seriously.

The Scottish Government is committed to early and meaningful community consultation. It is important that communities and stakeholders are appropriately engaged throughout the pre application and application journey.

As noted in the answer provided for S6W-31574 on 4 December 2024, resourcing requirements for the Energy Consents Unit are kept under review, with a view to addressing the expected intake of applications.

Introducing fees for pre-application activities will allow the Energy Consents Unit to be adequately resourced to administer any increases in pre-application activities.

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

Scottish Forestry are a key stakeholder in the consenting process.

The ‘Verity House Agreement’ and the ‘New Deal for Business’ have set out how the Scottish Government intends to work collaboratively with local authorities and others to deliver a just transition to net zero.

The reform process launched by this consultation creates an opportunity to re-set the expectations on the bodies providing essential support to the application process, taking account of their views, suggestions and their specific circumstances.

Scottish Government officials have worked closely with UK Government counterparts to demonstrate the challenges that are faced by all stakeholders in the process.

We are seeking views and any further evidence from stakeholders on the proposals contained in the consultation and these fill inform the decision on the next steps.

Through the consultation, Scottish Government is keen to understand what further support mechanisms, and practical measures, could be explored within a collaborative framework to reduce the time needed to provide consultation responses.

Through the consultation, Scottish Government is keen to understand what further support mechanisms, and practical measures, could be explored within a collaborative framework to reduce the time needed to provide consultation responses.

Applications relating to the construction and/or operation of a generating station which may require section 36 consent, must be considered on a case-by-case basis in line with any applicable legislation, which includes the Electricity Act 1989, and in some cases, the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. The benefits and impacts of any proposal, such as they are material to an application, are particular to each case.

The Scottish Government works closely with CMAL in relation to improvements and upgrades to its ports and harbours as required. Ministers and officials meet with CMAL regularly to discuss challenges and opportunities for the sector and how these can be considered in future funding and business plans.

The Scottish Government also provides grant funding to support CMAL to adapt and modernise their ports and facilities to changing demand and to facilitate new investment. Regular maintenance of harbour facilities are the responsibility of CMAL as Harbour Authority and this aspect of work is led by them.

The Vessels and Ports Plan outlines the need for significant and sustained funding to achieve its delivery as an integral part of progress towards establishing a secure and sustainable long-term financial foundation for our ferry networks, as set out in our Strategic Approach paper.

The consideration of qualifying land and the active farmer eligibility rules is part of the agricultural reform programme. We will look at how we best support farmers and crofters to deliver the vision for agriculture including the right balance of incentives and conditions to ensure the protection of existing features such as marsh, trees, ponds and scrub.

The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out our approach to ensuring that people living with HIV have equitable access to high quality care and treatment to support them to live well.

We are aware of the recent HIV Outcomes Beyond the Virus report and will be working with the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Implementation Group and the Scottish Health Protection Network’s HIV Clinical Leads Group to consider its recommendations and ensure that psychological support for adults living with HIV meets the high standards we would expect.

The Scottish Government is also providing NHS Education for Scotland with around £30 million in 2024-25 to deliver multidisciplinary education, training and workforce expansion for staff supporting adult and children’s mental health and psychological wellbeing. In September 2023, the Scottish Government published the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions and the Core Standards for Mental Health. These set out the standards to which we expect psychological therapies and mental health services to be delivered, including appropriate staffing.