Chamber and committees

Individual health boards are responsible for allocating staff, in recognition that they best understand local priorities and needs. The Scottish Government understands that many NHS staff have been unavoidably redeployed since 2020 to support the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that as the pandemic subsides, staff will begin to revert to their pre-Covid duties.

The Scottish Government welcomes this, but remains committed to working closely with Health boards to support recovery of sexual health and blood borne virus services, including those focused on Hepatitis C, through on-going engagement with the Scottish Health Protection Network and development of the next iteration of the sexual health and Blood Borne Viruses Framework.

The majority of investment has been in relation to the Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa electrification and improvement work, and I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05903 on 21 february 2022 for that detail. 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

In addition to the referenced rail investment, we have awarded £500,000 through our Bus Partnership Fund to the Forth Valley Bus Alliance for improvement on key bus corridors in the region. £230,000 of this funding will look at key bus corridors in Stirling.

Renewable energy is a crucial element of our transition to deliver a net-zero economy and we are determined to maximise the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from our offshore wind potential. We remain fully committed to using every lever within our devolved competence to support and grow the offshore wind supply chain here in Scotland.

To demonstrate this, applicants to the ScotWind leasing round were required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) setting out the anticipated level and location of supply chain impact. Developers can update their Statements throughout the development phase. Failure to deliver the commitments laid out in the final SCDS can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to seabed lease.

The introduction of Supply Chain Development Statements demonstrates how serious the Scottish Government is about holding developers to account if they do not honour their supply chain commitments. We fully expect developers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to be engaging with the domestic supply chain from the outset and to work in collaboration with the public sector and with communities to ensure that those commitments come to fruition. We have also been calling for, and welcome, the additional conditionality required by the UK Government for supply chain commitments in Contracts for Difference (CfD) rounds.

Offshore wind development and operation provides a strong route for a Just Transition, helping high carbon sectors and staff transition into low carbon activity. The forthcoming pipeline of ScotWind projects has the potential to transform the energy sector and economy in Scotland, including the potential to diversify our existing industries and generate thousands of new jobs. We therefore welcome the public commitment made by developers who have been awarded lease options to invest a combined £25bn in the Scottish supply chain via ScotWind projects, and their aspiration to invest a further £10bn as indicated in their ‘high ambition’ statements. We need to make the most of, and focus on, the opportunities from this investment and for diversification and skills transfer from oil and gas to drive forward offshore wind skills development. The knowledge and experience of the oil and gas sector, and its supply chain, will be a differentiator for Scotland in developing floating offshore wind technologies, in line with our commitment to a just transition.

In addition, the introduction of Supply Chain Development Statements by Crown Estate Scotland will help to release wide ranging economic benefits across Scotland. We expect the successful ScotWind projects to be fully engaging with the domestic supply chain and to work in collaboration with the public sector and with communities to ensure their commitments come to fruition.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05833 on 4 February 2022. 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 .

Both prior to and throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have prioritised domestic abuse trials. During the pandemic this has included supporting the running of a Specialist virtual Domestic Abuse trial pilot Courts in Inverness and Aberdeen which allowed the re-commencement of trials taking advantage of technological advances. As part of the recovery programming generally to manage the backlog of cases created by the pandemic, 10 additional Summary trials courts have been running since 6 September 2021. Pre-covid the optimal waiting period for domestic abuse trials was eight to ten weeks, but due to the impact of the pandemic this has increased to around thirteen weeks nationally at this time.

The latest statistics published by the Sottish Courts and Tribunals Service on 2 December 2021 indicate that in Q2 (between July to September 2021), domestic abuse cases accounted for 34% of Sheriff Summary trials called and 43% of those Sheriff Summary trials in which evidence was led. Three in every ten, of the 14,286 complaints concluded in court were domestic abuse cases, an increase of 24% compared with Q1 2021-22.

This is a matter for Stirling Council. However, for the 2018-19 academic year, Stirling Council reported they had purchased 22,752 period products in total. The number of period products purchased and distributed since Sept 2019 is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has committed to invest at least £1.8 billion in heat and energy efficiency over the course of this parliament. This funding is delivered via a range of support options, which are available to households across Scotland, including those in rural areas.

The priority for our delivery programmes is to reduce fuel poverty and accelerate progress with decarbonisation of heating. Rural areas of Scotland experience higher rates of fuel poverty and already benefit from additional investment in energy efficiency measures. In line with our Heat in Building Strategy, we have expanded our offer to provide more whole house retrofits and a wider range of support for fuel poor households in rural areas.

We continue to invest in our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area-Based Schemes (ABS). This year we have increased funding for both schemes to a record £50 million for Warmer Homes Scotland (an increase from £32 million in 2020-21) and maintained funding at £64 million for our local authority led Area Based Schemes (an additional £9 million compared with 20-21).

We also continue to fund Home Energy Scotland to provide free and impartial advice on how to reduce bills and make homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

Home Energy Scotland Loans are available to homeowners who live in the property they own and to self-builders. Loans are available for both energy efficiency measures and renewables measures with up to 40% and 75% cashback grants respectively.

The Scottish Government will consult on a draft Islands Energy Strategy in 2022, setting out its approach to supporting island residents and communities to develop renewable energy solutions that can promote resilience, enhance sustainability, and meet their energy needs now and in the future. As part of this work, we will review the evidence base and options for an "islands uplift" across our delivery programmes as part of our commitment to provide additional support for rural and island homes for heat and energy efficiency.

The recruitment and appointment of children’s panel members is the statutory responsibility of the National Convener of Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS). A 2022 recruitment campaign is underway. The 2021 recruitment campaign for panel members won a Scottish Public Services Award for communications.

Scottish Government officials hold regular sponsorship and accountability meetings with CHS. Monitoring information on performance against agreed indicators and finance are routinely provided to the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government has received no information that would indicate that there are significant concerns regarding the recruitment of new volunteers, or regarding any CHS internal processes.

Although Scottish Ministers are not responsible for day to day operational matters of public bodies, and Ministers neither direct nor guide the National Convener in relation to specific statutory functions, I have asked officials to make enquiries with CHS for any further information.

CHS have advised that they are not aware of anyone raising concerns regarding this year’s recruitment process, or any failures of internal processes. CHS reported some minor revision activity on internal policies, which has either been completed or is on schedule.

We expect the expert panel to be assembled in the coming months and to consist of a broad range of stakeholders. There are a diverse range of issues to be considered including biomass availability, competing demands, technology readiness, environmental and sustainability issues. Representation and format for the panel are yet to be agreed.