Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05691 on 9 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 .

The new fire and smoke alarms standard applies to all homes regardless of tenure, bringing the social rented and owner-occupied standards up to the same level as private rented and new build homes.

Where specialist alarms are required, these are in addition to the alarms required to meet the new standard.

While the restrictions on the number of people who can attend live events have been relaxed from 24 January, I understand it will take time for audience confidence to be rebuilt.

The Scottish Government is keen to encourage audiences to return to cultural events. The First Minister held a media visit at the Scottish Opera on 2 February. The First Minister welcomed the return of live events and encouraged people to support theatres and other aspects of the arts.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs & Culture is giving the opening address at the Association of British Orchestras conference on 9 February. Mr Robertson will highlight during this speech the need for audiences to feel confident in returning to cultural events.

The Scottish Government is keen to work with stakeholders, including the performing arts and live music sector, to seek opportunities to encourage audiences to return to cultural events, in line with current guidance for public places.

To date, Scottish Ministers have had no formal discussions with the survivors or stakeholders involved in the allegations of abuse at Fornethy House Residential School. The abuse of children in all circumstances and settings is wrong, and the Scottish Government takes this abuse very seriously.

Scottish Government officials have exchanged correspondence with a number of members of the Fornethy House Residential School Survivors Group in relation to the eligibility criteria of Scotland’s Redress Scheme. As the circumstances in which individuals came to be at Fornethy may vary, it is not possible to determine eligibility for the group as a whole.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all survivors of childhood abuse. Through the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) Fund, 29 organisations across Scotland are funded to provide support to adult survivors of childhood abuse including (but not exclusive to) those who have been abused in care.

A programme of work led by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) is underway to look at substantiating military-gained skills and qualifications (which are based on the English qualifications system) to be more easily recognised by civilian employers and institutions in Scotland. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) funding for SCQFP included support for extended work on the mapping of military qualifications against the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and a number of leaflets were produced for different cap badges which are available on the SCQF website. Additionally, following a £35,000 grant from the Scottish Government in 2021, SCQFP are developing a more sustainable online skills-mapping tool for Service leavers and veterans.

The tool, hosted on the Skills Development Scotland My World of Work website, is intended to offer veterans and Service leavers a simple method of inputting details of their military experience, training and qualifications so they can better understand the level of the formal and informal learning they have achieved and take this forward either into additional education or civilian employment in Scotland.

This tool is currently in the beta testing phase and a number of veterans have been engaged to ensure that the system meets their needs. The tool should be live by March 2022 and a final report will be produced with recommendations on the future development and promotion of the tool.

The Scottish Government welcomed the Commissioner’s latest progress report which demonstrates that we continue to make good progress in delivering the recommendations made by the previous Veterans Commissioner. I am delighted that, of the recommendations against which an assessment was provided, there are now no outstanding ‘red’ recommendations and only seven ‘amber’. The majority of the remaining ambers are from the 2018 paper on veterans’ health.

The Armed Forces Personnel & Veterans Health Joint Group brings together NHS Champions, representatives of the Serving community, veterans organisations, Scottish Government officials and other stakeholders. It is a key vehicle through which the Commissioner’s recommendations are delivered and its current priorities to address the outstanding recommendations include establishing a network for Veterans who have suffered Service-related injuries. This involves engaging extensively with key stakeholders and colleagues in NHS England to learn from the set-up of their Veterans Trauma Network, while recognising the distinct differences in the Health Board structure in Scotland. The Group is also connected to the implementation of the principles that underpin the Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan which ensure that the Armed Forces and Veterans community can access mental health and wellbeing services throughout Scotland.

We are also aware of the interlinked nature of the inequalities that veterans can face and these sit at the heart of the Joint Group's varied priorities. We recognise the positive role that employment has on mental wellbeing and broader socio-economic and health inequalities and we continue to work with partners to develop resources to support veterans to gain employment within the NHS and promote the NHS as a post-Service career.

We will continue to prioritise the delivery of the outstanding recommendations and look forward to contributing to the Commissioner’s next progress report later this year, which we expect will include his most recent recommendations on Employment, Skills and Learning and Housing, plus any recommendations made in his upcoming paper on Health.

(a) We would refute the assertion that the planting of non-native tree species is contributing to the biodiversity crisis. In Scotland, over the last 6 years, an average of 40 per cent of all new planting has been of native species, with the rest being productive conifers. Non-native productive tree species in well-designed woodlands can provide a valuable habitat and are an important part of tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises. Scotland needs to plant both native trees and productive non-native conifers for climate, economic and environmental outcomes.

The current Programme for Government increased the target of new native woodland creation from a minimum of 3,000 hectares per year, to a minimum of 4,000 hectares. This target will be reviewed during development of the next Scottish Biodiversity Strategy which is due to be published in October this year.

(b) Protecting our ancient woodlands is a priority for our biodiversity and forestry strategies. There is no current published evidence to suggest ancient woodland is being lost to non-native tree regeneration. The most significant threat to our ancient woodlands is from selective browsing by deer, which we are tackling as part of the Scottish Government response to the Deer Working Group Report.

Booster information was made available in the international travel section of the NHS Covid Status App on 9 December and on paper/pdf versions of certificates from 13 December.

The inclusion of booster information will allow those travelling to the small number of countries that are seeking evidence of more recent doses to provide evidence of their booster or third vaccination.

The domestic section of the NHS Covid Status App was updated on 13 January to include booster information. From Monday 17 January, for the purposes of domestic Covid certification, a person will need to show they have had a booster to be considered ‘fully vaccinated’ if their last vaccine dose was more than four months ago. This is in recognition of vaccine waning against Omicron, and will ensure that the scheme provides a greater level of protection to those attending venues.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided £2.5million support to outdoor education. We continue to work with the sector on an ongoing basis to support schools to access and use outdoor centres, and to ensure that our Covid-19 guidance provides clear advice on safe, supported outdoor learning experiences and visits to centres.

The Scottish Government recognises and values the importance of outdoor education centres especially in this challenging time, and is committed to ensuring learners have access to valuable outdoor learning experiences.