Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers note the court’s opinion and will carefully consider its implications. It would not therefore be appropriate to comment on the merits of the court’s decision or any planning application that may come before Ministers in the future.

We will set out our delivery approach later in 2016, once we have finalised the coverage to be delivered through the existing Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme and consulted with the market to confirm future commercial investment plans.

We expect new procurements, to deliver new investment to meet our 100% target, to begin from 2017. We published a Prior Information Notice on 9 September 2016 to formally start engagement with suppliers ahead of these procurements.

The Scottish Government will be launching a consultation this year on increasing organ and tissue donation. The consultation will include proposals for a potential soft opt-out system for Scotland.

The Scottish Government's forthcoming consultation will include proposals for a soft opt-out system for organ and tissue donation. Subject to the views expressed in the responses to that consultation, the government will then move to take forward any necessary legislation.

The Scottish Government, both ministers and officials, engage with the UK Government regularly on a range of issues to do with the devolution of social security powers. Most recently the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs Fair Work and I had a meeting 16 June 2016 of the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare. This group will be the vehicle for the transfer of social security powers between the two governments. A communique was issued after the meeting which can be found: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Joint-Ministerial-Working-Group-on-Welfare-2593.aspx

Introduction of parity in the burial and cremation costs is outwith the remit of social security. The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 will require burial and cremation authorities that are local authorities to publish their costs, and to keep those fees under review. The Act does not require local authorities to set particular fees for these services. It is the responsibility of each local authority to manage its own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Scottish Government has made an assessment of ‘Support for the Bereaved’, published by the Work and Pensions Committee of the UK Parliament and shares its concerns about the operation of the Department of Work and Pensions DWP funeral payment. We will be consulting on proposals to improve the funeral payment as part of a broad consultation on social security in Scotland, which will take place in 2016.

We expect to publish the funeral costs plan by spring 2017, following development in collaboration with stakeholders, through round table discussions and a national conference on funeral poverty due to take place in autumn 2016. It will include views gathered during the broad consultation on social security in Scotland which will take place in 2016.

In setting out implementation timetable we need to take legal, financial and delivery issues sensibly into account and consequently it is too early at this stage to confirm exact timescales. But we will increase carers allowance to the same level as jobseeker’s allowance as soon as practically possible.