Chamber and committees

The Scottish Youth Parliament are provided with core funding through the Scottish Government’s Children Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) Fund. This fund is administered by the CORRA Foundation on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

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.

There has been no increase to the funding allocated from the Scottish Government’s Children Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) Fund to the Scottish Youth Parliament in 2021-22.

Under the current Forestry Grant Scheme (2014 - 2024), Scottish Forestry estimate that 160 million trees have been planted.

Of these, 93.6 million were non-native conifers (predominantly Sitka spruce, Douglas fir and other species), and 10.4 million were native conifers (mainly Scots pine). A further 52.5 million were native broadleaves (typically oak, alder, ash, birch, hazel and hawthorn) and 3.5 million were non-native broadleaves (sycamore, beech etc).

The Scottish Government does not offer any tax incentives to support woodland creation through any devolved taxes.

The Scottish Attainment Challenge Programme, including the Pupil Equity Fund, has a vital role to play in building upon the progress being made to close the poverty related attainment gap.

In 2021 to 2022, over £215 million of targeted funding will be invested to help close the poverty related attainment gap. It marks the first year of record investment in an expanded £1 billion Attainment Scotland Fund which will be provided over the new Parliamentary term after an investment of over £750 million in the previous Parliamentary term.

As a part of this, in 2021-22 Headteachers will receive almost £147 million of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) which they will decide how best to invest to support disadvantaged pupils. This includes a top up PEF Premium payment of up to £20 million, recognising the new and additional challenges schools face as a result of the pandemic.

Closing the poverty-related attainment gap and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential remains central to this Government’s work. Our ambition is a long-term one and we know that the challenges presented by the pandemic mean our efforts to deliver equity in education are more vital than ever.

The Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues has concluded that the previous position on self-isolation for children and young people as contacts was not commensurate with the risk going forward and should be revised to exempt all children and young people from isolation as close contacts unless they are symptomatic or have a positive test. The sub-group concluded that, when a COVID-positive case is identified, school-aged close contacts should be advised to book a PCR test as soon as possible, and only end self-isolation and return to school if/when they receive a negative PCR test result. Further details of the sub-group’s conclusions can be found in their recently published advice .

Updated guidance on reducing the risks in schools published on 3 August details changes to self-isolation for schools in line with sub-group advice, which apply from 9 August onwards.

The Scottish Government continues to promote testing in its communications and public messaging. To raise awareness of how individuals can access testing at walk-through test centres and mobile testing units, the Scottish Government has:

• supported local authorities and health boards to promote new sites by creating a communications toolkit, which includes templates for news releases, social media content and signage,
• engaged with local authorities and health boards to inform them of upcoming Test and Protect communications campaigns and new site openings, and,
• promoted new sites online with the public and health journalists, broadcasters and bloggers with a Ministerial quote and UK Government news release.

Local suicide prevention partnerships are at different stages of developing action plans following the publication in April 2021 of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) guidance ( https://www.cosla.gov.uk/about-cosla/our-teams/health-and-social-care/local-area-suicide-prevention-action-plan-guidance ). The guidance sets out advice on developing appropriate governance, engaging with those who have lived experience, undertaking a local needs assessment and developing outcomes which would inform an action plan.

Some local partnerships already have established plans in place, whilst others are at an earlier stage of developing plans in line with the guidance. Many have increased the priority given to mental health and suicide prevention over the course of the pandemic.

As set out in response to S6W-01462 on 6 August 2021, to support local partnerships there is ongoing engagement between the NSPLG’s delivery lead on local suicide prevention action planning and local suicide prevention leads. This supports the development and continuous improvement of suicide prevention plans - through advice, support and sharing of good practice. It also ensures there is appropriate alignment and learning between national and local plans. Whilst responsibility for local planning and delivery rests with local partnerships, NSPLG will review progress on the development of local suicide prevention action plans across Scotland in April 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 .

In line with local partnerships’ responsibility for local suicide prevention planning and delivery, NHS Forth Valley recently appointed a strategic suicide and drug related death prevention co-ordinator who is engaging with the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group’s delivery lead for local suicide prevention action planning. This has enabled support and advice on local suicide prevention planning and evaluation in line with the (NSPLG) April 2021 guidance ( https://www.cosla.gov.uk/about-cosla/our-teams/health-and-social-care/local-area-suicide-prevention-action-plan-guidance ). Further details on local suicide prevention planning, including specific activities taking place in the area, can be provided by the local co-ordinator.

More broadly, the Scottish Government understands that mental health and suicide prevention has been identified as a strategic priority in the Falkirk area, and that the Community Planning Partnership has developed practical resources to support people with their mental health, including in response to the impacts of the pandemic.

The National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) published guidance to support local area suicide prevention action planning in April 2021 ( https://www.cosla.gov.uk/about-cosla/our-teams/health-and-social-care/local-area-suicide-prevention-action-plan-guidance ). The guidance supports the delivery of Action 1 of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan ‘Every Life Matters’, which is sponsored by COSLA.

Whilst responsibility for suicide prevention planning and delivery sits locally – with recommendations and decisions informing action at that level - the NSPLG will review progress on the development of local suicide prevention action plans across Scotland in April 2022. Meantime, there is ongoing engagement between the NSPLG’s delivery lead on local suicide prevention action planning and local suicide prevention leads. This supports the development and continuous improvement of suicide prevention plans - through advice, support and sharing of good practice. It also ensures there is appropriate alignment and learning between national and local plans.