Chamber and committees

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Ensuring that every child learns to swim is a priority for both the Scottish Government and Scottish Swimming. The National Learn to Swim Framework, which is supported by Scottish Water and delivered by aquatic partners every week, helps children to become safe, competent, and confident swimmers and these water safety themed lessons are an essential part of the Framework to help educate on water safety.

Our Programme for Government committed to double investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of the Parliament. We are working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportscotland and Scottish Water to deliver further interventions and approaches on learn to swim with inclusion central to that approach.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Ensuring that every child learns to swim is a priority for both the Scottish Government and Scottish Swimming. The National Learn to Swim Framework, which is supported by Scottish Water and delivered by aquatic partners every week, helps children to become safe, competent, and confident swimmers and these water safety themed lessons are an essential part of the Framework to help educate on water safety.

Our Programme for Government committed to double investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of the Parliament. We are working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportscotland and Scottish Water to deliver further interventions and approaches on learn to swim with inclusion central to that approach.

The Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review Panel 2020-22, with remit to review the use of BS 8414, has met on four separate occasions and the meeting minutes for the first three meetings which include the BS 8414 discussions can be accessed at:

Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review Panel 2021-2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The fourth and final meeting minutes are due to be published by the end of March 2022.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05600 on 19 January 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 Scottish Government is closely following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry proceedings and considering any evidence that may impact on building standards, including the role of BS 8414. Working groups for each phase of the Grenfell Inquiry have been set up by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety to address emerging evidence and key recommendations.

I am unable to provide this information because screening systems across Scotland do not have a flag for homeless status.

Since the late 1990s, an agreed definition of domestic abuse has been used to collate information on domestic abuse incidents within Scotland. This definition was progressed by the then Scottish Office and agreed through consultation with key justice agencies and stakeholders. It is as follows:

‘Domestic abuse is any form of physical, non-physical, or sexual abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship, committed either in the home or elsewhere. This relationship will be between partners (married, co-habiting or otherwise) or ex-partners.’

The Scottish Government has considered the statutory definition of domestic abuse contained at Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which relates to England and Wales. The principal practical difference between the definition contained in that Act and the Scottish definition above is that domestic abuse does not extend in Scotland so as to include abuse between certain relatives who are not partners or ex-partners.

The Scottish Government recognises that abuse can be committed by people who are not a person's partner or ex-partner, including by other family members. However, in line with the views of the majority of stakeholders who responded to Scottish Government consultations that led to the development of recent legislation concerning domestic abuse, the Scottish Government considers that it is appropriate that this legislation applies specifically to partners and ex-partners. This is because abuse committed by a person's partner or ex-partner typically has a dynamic that differs from violence or abuse more generally, including where this abuse occurs within a family between, for example, siblings or parents and their adult children. There is a range of existing legislation that can be used to address familial abuse.

While the Scottish Government keeps the law under continual review to ensure that it is effective, there are no current plans to amend the definition of domestic abuse in Scotland to cover abuse perpetrated by family members who are not partners or ex-partners.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, acknowledges that men and boys can also be victims of intimate violence. Which is why many of the actions within the Equally Safe delivery plan are intended to help everyone; such as an increased focus on the education of consent and healthy relationships and a focus on tackling negative gender roles and stereotypes that are harmful to men and women alike.

In the 2021-22 Programme for Government, we committed to invest in services and progress work to tackle violence against men and boys. This will build on the funding we already provide for a range of services which support male victims, including the Rape Crisis Scotland Helpline, its National Advocacy Project and the Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline.

Additionally, we are providing £5.6 million to ASSIST between 2017-2023 who provide advocacy support to male survivors of domestic abuse in the West of Scotland and the Lothians; alongside nearly £190,000, between 2017-2023, to help fund the Respect Helpline which signposts male survivors of domestic abuse to support services, and approximately £100,000 to SACRO’s fearfree service which provides individual support for male and LGBT victims of domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold this information. You may wish to contact the Scottish Housing Regulator who collect a range of information from all social landlords as part of their Annual Return on the Scottish Social Housing Charter or individual Local Authorities.

The function of Scottish Water is to treat and supply high quality drinking water as well as to collect, treat and safely dispose of wastewater for those customers who are connected to the public water and/or wastewater network. To this end, Scottish Water has delivered significant levels of investment since its creation in 2002 and local authorities would not be funding and undertaking work which falls under the specific functions of Scottish Water. Local authorities have separate responsibilities in relation to private water supplies, any private water and waste water pipes which fall under their responsibility, some roads drainage and also for flood risk management. In areas where there are inter-linking responsibilities, some partnerships have been established between Scottish Water and local authorities, such as the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership and the Edinburgh and Lothians Drainage Partnership. In addition to this, Scottish Water has partnerships with local authorities, where appropriate, where there is an opportunity to develop and deliver innovative solutions, such as the Stirling district heating scheme and work being delivered through Clyde Gateway, among others.

Scottish Water would be happy to further discuss its partnership work with Local Authorities if the member would find that helpful.