Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government funds five direct delivery partners to carry out peatland restoration projects through the Peatland ACTION partnership - NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority and Scottish Water.

Operational and delivery aspects of the programme, such as vetting of individual applications seeking funding for their projects, are a matter for each respective delivery partner and I would refer the MSP to those organisations for further information.

One Scottish Government official attended the meeting.

We continue to work closely with NHS Boards to reduce long waits, which have been exacerbated by the impacts of the global pandemic. This includes targets to address long waits and delivery of the commitments in our £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan to support an increase in inpatient, day-case, and outpatient activity.

While we know there is more to do, we are making progress. The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that in the 12 months to September 2023, almost 1.24 million (1,237,657) New Outpatients were seen across NHS Scotland; 2.5% more than previous 12 months.

We are also working with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) as a third sector partner to promote and deliver community-based support for hearing-aid users. RNID Near You is currently operating in three Board areas, with plans to extend to a further two areas this financial year, and provides after-care support including maintenance, battery replacement and peer support and advice.

Scottish Government officials engaged with the Energy Systems Catapult in online stakeholder workshops during development of the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report. In addition, the Scottish Government’s Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division (PARD) and Energy Consents Unit (ECU) attended a meeting with the Energy Systems Catapult on 28 February 2023 to discuss procedures around the consenting of electricity transmission infrastructure. A minute of the meeting was taken by the Energy Systems Catapult.

The Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy met the UK Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Nuclear and Networks) on 21 November 2023 to discuss the UK Government’s response to the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report, which was published alongside the UK Government’s Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023.

Following the publication of UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report, Scottish Government officials have engaged with the UK Government, and other key stakeholders, through the UK Government’s Transmission Acceleration Forum and Stakeholder Working Group. The Scottish Government does not publish minutes taken by other organisations.

Financial planning to address the significant challenges our public finances face took place in advance of the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance's update on the 2023-24 in-year budget changes on 21 November.

The difficult decisions which have had to be taken, have allowed us to help balance the Scottish Government's budget, while still progressing implementation of our mental health and wellbeing strategy from a revised direct budget of £260.3 million.

As set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual grant payments should not be made in advance of need.

As set out in the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, we see a vital role for energy storage and flexibility to support efficient matching of energy supply and demand for power from heat, transport and industry.

We recognise that the recommendations in the Nick Winser Report represent a step-change in policy relating to electricity networks and, if implemented effectively, could be transformational for our energy system.

It will be critical that Scotland’s ambitions and devolved responsibilities are recognised as the recommendations are implemented.

We are reviewing available evidence to inform our position relating to electricity storage and flexibility as part of the publication of the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan by Summer 2024.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), published and adopted on 13 February 2023, places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and already gives strong support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Electricity networks are central to the delivery of the ambitions set out in our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. The Scottish Government’s response to the Electricity Networks Commissioner’s recommendations makes clear our commitment to delivering a just transition to net zero emissions by 2045. The UK Government must implement the recommendations swiftly, to ensure the grid is not a barrier to net zero. It is vital that the UK Government builds a high standard of co-design and collaboration with devolved governments to ensure that the recommendations are fit for purpose. It is also important that the Scottish Government is integral to the overall governance structures set up to oversee implementation and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

In its November 2023 independent assessment of progress on climate adaptation, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) outlined the need for private investment, alongside public funding, to support adaptation action. Barriers limiting private investment to date have been identified by the CCC in its report from February 2023, titled Investment for a well-adapted UK , and include:

The funding and commissioning of specialist and general palliative and end of life care services, including workforce planning and allocating resources for staffing, is a matter for Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). It is the responsibility of IJBs to plan and commission adult palliative and end of life care services for their areas using the integrated budgets under their control.

Scottish Government officials will continue to engage with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and Scottish hospices in relation to supporting local planning, commissioning and resourcing of independent hospice care.

Financial planning for the significant challenges our public finances continue to face took place in advance of the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance's update on the 2023-24 in-year budget changes on 21 November.

The difficult decisions which have had to be made have allowed us to help balance the Scottish Government's budget while still progressing implementation of our mental health and wellbeing strategy from a revised direct budget of £260.3 million.

The in-year budget changes impacted on a number of planned new programmes which could not proceed as anticipated. Planned increased funding to existing programmes were also not able to be progressed.

Despite the savings made, we have continued to focus on delivery of our mental health and wellbeing strategy and recently published delivery plan, which includes commitments around mental health services and specific programmes of work around learning disability and autism, and cross-cutting trauma work.