Chamber and committees

No - we have set out a clear definition of what counts as residential rehabilitation and used it consistently since its publication in 2021.

The Scottish Government uses the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group definition of residential rehab as "facilities offering programmes which aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle and to be re-integrated into society, provide intensive psychosocial support and a structured programme of daily activities, and which residents are required to attend over a fixed period of time."

The UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment (UKCGAT) will help to influence the national specification and subsequent overarching guidance for alcohol treatment in Scotland through looking to introduce new approaches to treatment and will apply to a broad range of settings including primary care, hospital and justice settings.

The UKCGAT aims to develop a clear consensus on good practice and help services to implement interventions for alcohol use disorders that are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The intention is to promote and support consistent good practice and improve the quality-of-service provision, resulting in better outcomes, similarly to the Orange Book supporting treatment for drugs misuse and dependency.

Residential rehabilitation services in Scotland are regulated by appropriate governing bodies independent of the Scottish Government; namely the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland or the NHS.

It is the responsibility of these bodies to monitor and ensure that residential rehabilitation services are providing safe, quality support to people in recovery across the country.

The Scottish Government are working with regulators and providers to develop and publish a series of “Principles for Residential Rehabilitation” to support regulatory bodies with their evaluation of RR providers, and to empower individuals to understand what they should expect from a stay in residential rehab, including pre-rehab support and appropriate aftercare.

We are aware of two alcohol death reviews that have been conducted since 2020. These were completed by the Borders Alcohol and Drug Partnership and NHS Fife.

To date, 9 school infrastructure projects have opened through the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP). Furthermore, 16 projects are currently in construction.

The LEIP aims to deliver 47 projects by the end of 2027-28.

The Scottish Government school estate statistics are collected and published annually at: School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The number of schools refurbished since April 2021 is (a) 88 in primary and (b) 13 in secondary. Only projects with a cost of at least £500,000 for primary and £1m for secondary have been included.

As Scotland moves towards a circular economy, we must treat residual waste responsibly. This is why the Scottish Government commissioned the independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy (the Review), published in 2022.

The Review underlined that that the best form of residual waste treatment is preventing waste from occurring in the first place, but in the short-term incineration has a role to play as we make the transition to a circular economy and end the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2025.

The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) regulations 2012 (“the PPC regulations”) require that SEPA make impartial assessments of all PPC Permit applications and make decisions relating to environmental permits in accordance with these regulations. Whilst Scottish Ministers do have the ability to intervene in the PPC process by way of a direction, they would not normally do so in the absence of exceptional circumstances.

The Review recommended that no further planning permission for incineration facilities, beyond what was already in place, should be granted. This was reflected in National Planning Framework 4, which came into force on 13 February 2023 and is clear that development proposals for energy from waste facilities will not be supported except under very limited circumstances.

An updated incineration capacity analysis by Zero Waste Scotland (which is being finalised for publication later this year) indicates that facilities currently in development are required to help meet Scotland’s impending waste management needs, including for when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force on 31 December 2025.

The key policy levers on this matter exist within the planning system. We will continue to work with SEPA, planners and the wider sector to ensure appropriate management of incineration capacity issues.

The Scottish Government is proud to have played a leading role in the Under2 Coalition for the past four years. The Coalition is made up of 260 governments representing over 1.75 billion people and 50% of the global economy and has been named one of the international partnerships with the highest potential for emissions reduction - 3.3-3.9GtCO2e/year in 2030 – more than the current annual emissions of the EU.

Over the last four years as co-chair, we have increased member governments’ ambition via a new MoU committing them to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.

We have increased the influence of non-party governments in the global climate debate, including in UNFCCC processes and in COPs. Finally, we have increased the sharing of best practice between sub-nationals via our co-chairing of the Net Zero Futures Policy Forum and establishing and funding the Just Transition Taskforce.

Going forward, the Scottish Government will continue to play a key role in the strategic direction of the coalition. We will look to increase devolved, state and regional government’s role and influence within international climate policy and processes and to develop the capacity building and knowledge exchange offer for the coalition, via the Net Zero Futures Policy Forum.

The Scottish Government continues to value the important contribution music offers to Scotland’s arts and culture as well as to the wider economy and recognises the role venues play in providing opportunity and support to all levels of talent.

No specific assessment has been carried out by the Scottish Government in relation to bus and public transport access to grassroots music venues.