Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government and CoSLA are jointly responsible for delivering the Creating Hope Together action plan 2022-2025 . We have appointed a new National Delivery Lead to work with Strategic Outcome Lead partners to drive forward delivery of the action plan; this includes ensuring the successful delivery of year one priorities to help achieve our vision of reducing suicide deaths.

Our previous suicide prevention action plan, Every Life Matters , created a suite of resources, learning, partnerships, and engagement forums, which has created strong foundations for delivering the new priorities. Specifically, we have ongoing work to build on in the following areas: United to Prevent Suicide social movement; Time, Space and Compassion approach to suicidal crisis; focused campaigns aimed at children and young people; tailored suicide prevention learning resources; suicide bereavement support services; and, reviews of suicide deaths.

Early development work has also started to support delivery of new priorities, including: creating peer support groups; improving safety at locations of concern; understanding help-seeking behaviour amongst people who may be suicidal; and, working in settings where there is a higher risk of suicide. We have already made progress in delivering the whole of Government and society approach to suicide prevention, which underpins our new strategy and action plan. For example, we have embedded suicide safety as part of the National Planning Framework 4 so that it can be actively considered in the preparation of local development plans and as part of new development proposals.

Finally, our new innovative delivery model, Suicide Prevention Scotland , creates a strengthened suicide prevention community for Scotland. This brings together valuable insights from our Academic Advisory Group, Lived Experience Panel and Youth Advisory Group, alongside the experience of national, local and sectoral partners who are working to prevent suicide. We will also bring in partners with particular skills and expertise as required. This delivery model harnesses our collective knowledge, expertise and resources allowing us to design and deliver our priorities in a way that is relevant and impactful across Scotland’s communities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on 14 August 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting integration of former Hong Kong residents into our communities. We have published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website.

We continue to provide significant levels of funding to a range of organisations supporting the integration of migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum. This includes supporting organisations, such as COSLA, the Scottish Refugee Council and British Red Cross. We aim to ensure that all arrivals to Scotland are welcomed and supported to integrate into Scottish society from day one of arrival. This work will continue.

The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities currently provides funding to a number of national organisations to provide support to people arriving from Hong Kong across the UK, including Scotland. For 2023-2024 this includes:

Hongkongers in Britain Limited £300,000

Barnardo’s £300,000

Good Neighbour Church £300,000

Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers £170,921

The UK Government set up a network of ‘Hong Kong Welcome Hubs’ across the UK. These are hosted by existing ‘Strategic Migration Partnerships’ (SMPs). There are 12 SMPs across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland . SMPs have a coordinating and supporting role in delivering key national priorities on migration across the UK and play an integral role in the delivery of the Hong Kong UK Welcome Programme and VCSE projects. The Welcome Hub in Scotland is operated by COSLA, and is directly funded by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities.

There has been no change to the number of planned carriages on peak services on the North Berwick to Edinburgh line, with the majority of peak trains planned to run with six carriages.

From time to time operational difficulties do arise, for example disruption caused by late running cross border services, which may affect delivery of ScotRail plans on this route. This is an operational matter for ScotRail Trains Ltd. to manage, who may be contacted at Contact us | ScotRail for further information.

The purpose of the desktop review was to assess which properties should be investigated for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

In response to part (a), the desktop review identified that 254 buildings have two or more characteristics which are consistent with the presence of RAAC and that these should be further investigated to determine whether RAAC is actually present.

NHS Scotland Assure is leading on the national RAAC survey programme for NHS Scotland and has prepared options on how to proceed with discovery surveys of these properties, which are under consideration by the Scottish Government.

In response to part (b), a list of the Health Board properties which have been assessed as requiring further investigation has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 64387).

Completion of the discovery surveys will provide an accurate assessment of how many, and which, of these properties contain RAAC.

The Scottish Government does not have any information on Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders because the Scottish Government is not responsible for the subject. Immigration and asylum matters are reserved to the UK Government. The Home Office are responsible for the UK immigration and asylum systems, and they publish statistics on the operation of these systems.