Chamber and committees

On 1 December 2022 the Public Health Minister announced the establishment of the HIV Transmission Elimination Implementation Group for Scotland. The groups primary focus will be on prioritising the recommendations within the HIV transmission elimination proposal, having particular regard to their impact, deliverability and resource implications. Of the twenty two recommendations outlined within the proposal, seven focus on testing. We will therefore await the outcome of the HIV Implementation Group’s deliberations on where efforts should be focused before making any new commitments.

However, while we await the outcomes of this work, we are providing funding for a national marketing campaign to tackle longstanding misconceptions around HIV. Our third sector partners, in collaboration with public health and academic experts, are currently developing plans for this campaign, but it is likely that increased awareness of testing will play a part.

The Scottish Government has been following the agreed process for excluding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) regulations from the Internal Market Act and it has been the subject of discussion with UK Government for many months.

Our original proposal back in 2021 was for an exclusion for both single use plastics and DRS to avoid duplication of effort. This was rejected by UK ministers, resulting in a narrow exclusion for single-use plastics only, and the ongoing process since October 2022 to secure a specific DRS exclusion.

On 28 February 2022 we published correspondence between the Scottish Government and UK Government on this and the First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister to seek the UK Government’s continuing constructive support in finalising the terms of an exclusion where it was needed. You can access the correspondence here: Internal Market Act: correspondence - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14639 on 7 March 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 Priority Action in the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, ‘Continue effective species recovery, reintroduction and reinforcement programmes’, is one of several actions that supports the recovery and protection of vulnerable species in Scotland, and will help us to meet Goal A and Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

We are committed to continue protecting vulnerable species, and are determined to step up our ambition in taking action to support nature-friendly farming, fishing and forestry, and to expand, restore and connect existing protected areas, to ensure high quality landscapes for all species across Scotland to thrive, and adapt to our changing climate.

While policy on energy markets is a matter reserved to the UK Government and the responsibility for supplier guidance sits with Ofgem, the Scottish Government opposes the forced installation of prepayment meters, which increases the risk of self- rationing and self-disconnection. The additional costs associated with prepayment meters also lead to increased debt.

We are engaging with Ofgem regarding its request to suppliers to immediately halt forced installations and remote switching to prepayment meters until 31 March 2023, as well as its consultation on the rules and guidance on the use of prepayment meters by suppliers. We will use this engagement to ensure that the rights and interests of Scottish consumers are fully considered.

Last year, the First Minister chaired two energy summits which were attended by energy suppliers. We continue to build upon the progress made at these summits, and are looking to suppliers for assurance that they are exploring all possible options to support struggling customers, especially those living in vulnerable circumstances.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service announcement of a review into the process for dealing with warrants. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service exercises its functions independently of Government - it is entirely a matter for the SCTS to consider what action is necessary here.

The guidance issued by Lord Justice Edis seeks to prevent utility warrant applications being made and considered in bulk. That is already the position in Scotland.

We know that it is vital that we continue to support work to build capacity in primary care settings to respond to eating disorder presentations given the increasing demand, complexity of presentations and impact on secondary care services.

We continue to build on the investment we have already made by including outcomes to improve eating disorder services and Mental Health in Primary Care in our Mental Health Outcomes Framework investment in 2022-23, which gives NHS Boards and Integration Authorities flexibility to improve existing pathways.

Through the funding allocated to Beat in 2022-23, we have also introduced Beyond the Symptoms Training for GPs and Healthcare professionals training to support them to identify when a patient has an eating disorder, and to confidently intervene early.

In addition, we are currently developing Eating Disorder Quality Standards which are due to be consulted on in Spring 2023. The Standards cover areas such as service structure and governance arrangements, and aim to improve the care and treatment that people receive from primary care services.

Lastly, we are currently taking forward planning to establish a National Eating Disorder Network in 2023. Included within the Network’s remit will be to further develop specialist eating disorder services and to improve the links between primary and secondary services.

We recognise that rises in the cost of living are putting a huge strain on some families and they are facing unforeseen challenges.

The management of debt is an issue for education authorities and their finance departments. Councils have the power to make discretionary offers of free school meals to families, where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances, who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria.

COSLA, working with partners from across Local Government, have developed a set of good practice principles for the management of school meal debt, which were published on 20 February 2023. The intended audience for these principles is local authority staff across a range of departments (including education, catering, finance and debt collection) as well as Head Teachers, class teachers and other school staff. The principles can be accessed through the following link: COSLA Publish Good Practice Principles for Managing School Meal Debt - 20th February 2023 | COSLA

David Lowrie is currently in the Acting Chief Executive Officer post until 31 March 2024. He is currently contracted to work 3 days a week.

Remuneration packages for the Chief Executive Officer post within Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd can be found on the their website via the following link:- Who we are — Scottish Rail Holdings

Transport Scotland currently has no plans to abolish return fares on ScotRail passenger services.