Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-24676 on 30 January 2024. 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 .

It is clear that the High Speed Trains will need to be replaced as an early priority within a ScotRail fleet replacement programme. Work is currently underway, funded within existing rail budgets used for project development, to examine the business case of different options for replacement of these trains. Discussions continue to be held with railway unions to ensure that railway staff are properly engaged.

There are no additional social security benefits specific to autism however when someone is diagnosed with a long-term condition which may mean that they need a range of support they should contact Social Security Scotland for advice.

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery colleagues can guide people through the benefits they may be entitled to as well as helping people to apply for these benefits in a way which suits them best.

For Disability Payment applications, Social Security Scotland requires one piece of supporting information on an individual’s condition or disability to help them understand the impact the condition has on a person’s daily life.

Information to support an application often comes from medical professionals, both in the NHS and in the private sector, as long as they are familiar with the individual and their conditions, disability or needs in a professional capacity. Supporting information can also come from other professionals, such as those in health and social care, education, local authorities or the third sector. For example, if someone regularly sees a counsellor, physical therapist or support worker, they could be a better source of supporting information than a medical professional they may not have contacted for some time. Examples of supporting information include a diagnosis letter, a referral letter, a prescription list, a social work report, an additional support needs plan, a child’s plan or equivalent, this list is not exhaustive.

Social Security Scotland treats supporting information from professionals and the clients wider support network equally when they look at applications.

Social Security Scotland works with individuals and disability organisations to design services so that everyone who may be eligible for benefits understands how they can apply for and receive them.

Social Security Scotland is committed to continuously improving to deliver benefits for the people of Scotland based on dignity, fairness and respect.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.

The Scottish Government is continuing to develop the business case for the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancements project. This will be considered in in the coming months and within the context of the funding available for rail enhancements.

We remain firmly committed to infrastructure investment as a key factor in securing economic growth and high-quality public infrastructure across Scotland, including spending over £1.6 billion to operate, maintain and improve Scotland’s railway.

No changes have been made, or are currently being considered, to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NatureScot, Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium.

More recent statistics are available for comparison from the ONS Annual Population Survey.

• In the pre-COVID period October 2018 to September 2019, 762,700 people were classed as economically inactive. Of this, 215,800 or 28.3% said that long-term sickness was the main reason for inactivity.
• In the most recent comparable period of October 2022 to September 2023, 762,600 people were classed as economically inactive. Of this, 242,000 or 31.7% said that long term sickness was the main reason for inactivity.
• This is an increase of 26,200 people giving long term sickness as the reason for inactivity whilst the level of inactivity overall had fallen modestly by 100. This suggests that people are changing their reason for inactivity rather than becoming inactive as a result of illness.

We were among the first in the UK to turn serious attention to economic inactivity, initially focussing on ill health, and our National Strategy for Economic Transformation contains a commitment to address Scotland’s labour market inactivity challenges. To progress this commitment we have undertaken engagement with employers about how our health system can better support employers and employees to enable people to stay healthy in work and move back in to work from inactivity.

In addition, we are committed to supporting people into work through our devolved employability approach No One Left Behind, a lifetime skills offer for adults to target support at those who need it most, and supporting more diverse and inclusive workplaces as part of our Fair Work agenda.

The Scottish Government also funds NHS initiatives to support people with health conditions to sustain or return to work, including Working Health Services Scotland and Public Health Scotland's Healthy Working Lives . These provide advice and support on work-related physical and mental health promotion and ill health prevention, return to work practices and workplace safety for employers and employees.

The Scottish Government has no formal role in the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. SRN is a joint venture between the UK Government and the UK's four main mobile network operators. Equally, telecommunications policy is currently reserved to the UK Government.

Scottish Government officials continue to engage with the UK Government and the mobile network operators on SRN delivery and to encourage them to prioritise community and stakeholder engagement.

The Scottish Government recently completed the delivery of the Scottish 4G Infill programme, which deployed 55 masts in rural and island communities. Lessons learned from the programme have been shared with the SRN programme team, focusing in particular on the importance of thorough local stakeholder engagement at the mast site selection and acquisition stage. We will continue to facilitate discussions between UK Government and key stakeholders and to push for as much transparency as possible on the locations of masts and the rationale for why these have been chosen.

We share the concerns that have been expressed by Citizens Advice Scotland and others concerning the reintroduction of forced pre-payment meter installations. Ofgem's Code of Practice requiring suppliers to meet a number of conditions before taking such action is an important step; however, too many households in Scotland remain at risk from this practice, especially with energy and other costs that are still too high. We believe that energy suppliers must exhaust all possible options, including meaningful support to struggling households to manage debt before imposing pre-payment meters. I have raised the issue of pre-payment meters many times with my UK Government counterparts who hold all the levers to act on this issue, and I will continue to raise these issues and concerns directly with the UK Government and Ofgem over the coming weeks in addition to my calls for a social tariff for the most vulnerable customers of energy companies.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any economic analysis undertaken by South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE) on any economic benefits of attracting private investment into the region’s natural capital assets.