Chamber and committees

East Linton station is currently scheduled to open by the end of the current Railway Control Period, which ends on 31 March 2024. The station will be served by all ScotRail services on the route. Timetable planning discussions remain ongoing with other train operators, including UK Government train operating companies, and the wider industry to secure an appropriate service for all stations on the East Coast Mainline. Once these discussion have concluded Transport Scotland will be in a position to advise of the proposed timetable at East Linton station.

Transport Scotland only holds information on charge points registered on the ChargePlace Scotland network, however this information is not held by parliamentary constituency only by Local Authority boundary.

Across all the local authorities that this constituency covers there are 455 rapid chargers on CPS. The location of these chargers can be viewed on the CPS map. Information on rapid chargers operated by other networks is available on electric vehicle charging platform Zap Map.

Our Heat in Buildings Strategy, published on 7 October 2021, confirms our intention to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards equivalent to EPC C for the private rented sector alongside new standards for owner occupied housing. We propose that regulations containing this energy efficiency standard will be introduced in 2025, with a backstop date of 2028 for all privately rented properties, and 2033 for all owner occupied properties to comply. We will consult on these proposals within the coming year.

We had previously committed to introducing regulations to ensure properties in the private rented sector reach an EPC D by 2025. However, we recognise that the private rented sector has been significantly affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, and to reflect the need to reduce pressure on the sector, we have removed this step and are now working with the sector to introduce regulations in 2025.

The Scottish Government welcomed the Setting the Bar report and its findings will inform future policy decisions.

Social workers make a valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. Social work professionals need to have the time to build relationships and trust, undertake person-centred assessments, plan for the future and arrange or provide appropriate support. We acknowledge the significant pressures social workers face around increasing workloads, staff shortages and the more complex needs of those they support – all of which have been exacerbated by Covid.

Social workers are primarily employed by local authorities. It is the responsibility of local authorities to plan their workforce and ensure they have the appropriate levels of staff in place to provide social services for their residents. To aid with this, the Scottish Government provided additional funding of £25m, announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. As agreed by COSLA Leaders, £22m of funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure for adult social work for 2022-23. It will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce to respond to the current pressures.

The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support the social work profession in a range of areas, including: workforce planning and social work terms and conditions.

Considering the findings of the report, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and other stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.

The Scottish Government welcomed the Setting the Bar report and its findings will inform future policy decisions. Social workers make a valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. Social work professionals need to have the time to build relationships and trust, undertake person-centred assessments, plan for the future and arrange or provide appropriate support. We acknowledge the significant pressures social workers face around increasing workloads, staff shortages and the more complex needs of those they support – all of which have been exacerbated by COVID.

Social workers are primarily employed by local authorities and it is the responsibility of local authorities to plan their workforce and ensure they have the appropriate levels of staff in place to provide social services for their residents. To aid with this, the Scottish Government provided additional funding of £25m, announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. As agreed by COSLA Leaders, £22m of funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure for adult social work for 2022-23, It will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce to respond to the current pressures.

The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support social work in a range of areas, including: workforce planning and social work terms and conditions.

Considering the findings of the report, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and other stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work report and will consider its findings for future policy decisions, including any potential developments of a public information campaign. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. We acknowledge the significant pressures social workers face around increasing workloads, staff shortages and the more complex needs of those they support – all of which have been exacerbated by COVID.

The Scottish Social Services Awards have been held annually since 2017 (except in 2020 due to COVID-19) and provide an opportunity to recognise the social work and social care workforce, raise the profile of the sector, demonstrate that it is valued and highlight the commitment and innovative approaches of those who work within it.

Further, the recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support and invest in the social work profession by providing national leadership, and overseeing and supporting social work in a range of areas, including: workforce planning, improvement and social work terms and conditions.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. We acknowledge the significant pressures social workers face around increasing workloads, staff shortages and the more complex needs of those they support – all exacerbated by COVID.

Social workers are primarily employed by local authorities and it is the responsibility of local authorities to plan their workforce and ensure they have appropriate levels of staff in place to provide social services for their residents.

The Scottish Government’s investment of £25m, announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget, was additional funding to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. £22m of funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure for adult social work for 2022-23, as agreed by COSLA Leaders, and will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce to respond to the current pressures.

The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support and invest in the social work profession by providing national leadership, and overseeing and supporting social work in a range of areas, including workforce planning.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the newborn hearing test and newborn infant physical examination. These would need to be requested from health boards directly.

Further to the answer to question S6W-02448 which provided information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme for each month between January 2019 and July 2021. 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 following table provides information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme, for each month in the period that followed from August 2021 to June 2022:

Further to the answer to question S6W-02449 which provided information on the number of people who attended an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening appointment between January 2019 and July 2021. 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 following table provides information on the number of people who attended an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in each of the months that followed from August 2021 to June 2022.

The Scottish Government does not hold national data for infectious diseases screening, antenatal haemoglobinopathies screening, or foetal anomaly ultrasound examinations within the pregnancy screening programme. These can be requested directly from individual NHS boards.

Further to the answer to question S6W-02453 which provided information on the number of trisomy screens taken between January 2019 and June 2021. 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 following table provides information on the number of trisomy screens taken each month in the period which followed from July 2021 to June 2022: