Chamber and committees

It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate, and Scottish Government funding is intended to augment, not replace, local authorities’ own investment in their schools.

East Lothian Council have been awarded financial support through the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) for their Wallyford High School and Whitecraig Primary School projects.

In addition, through the previous Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme, the Scottish Government awarded East Lothian Council with funding of £9.5m towards 2 school projects.

As a result of investment by this government, the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition in Scotland has increased from 61% in April 2007 to almost 91% in April 2023. LEIP investment will build on this progress.

We will continue working with COSLA, local authorities and Scottish Futures Trust to explore how we can deliver further improvements in the school estate.

In a meeting between myself and Lord Brodie on 15 November 2023, Lord Brodie provided an update on the Inquiry’s progress and the forthcoming hearings on both Edinburgh and Glasgow hospitals. Whilst no date for presenting recommendations has been published, the Chair provided assurances of his dedication to concluding the Inquiry promptly whilst ensuring the focus remains on fulfilling the Inquiry Terms of Reference.

The general policy of the Scottish Government is to advise MSPs to directly approach public bodies and organisations for information held by them which is not held by the Scottish Government, and although acting to collate non-Scottish Government held information may have happened in the past, it is not currently viewed as practicable.

Boats that are moored in one location for weeks or months, primarily as a safe haven, will not be liable for a visitor levy, if a local authority introduces one. We continue to discuss and explore with all relevant stakeholders the full implications of a visitor levy applying to boat moorings and berthings.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that Scotland’s babies have the best possible start in life. Before birth, midwives, maternity and other professionals can apply the values and principles of ‘Getting it right for every child’ to support parents in considering their wellbeing, and that of their baby.

As part of their booking process, all women are asked a variety of wellbeing questions, including on alcohol consumption, to assess for additional care needs which may assist them, and their families, to prepare for parenthood and facilitate positive maternal health.

All of Scotland’s young families are entitled to the support of a Health Visitor until a child starts school through the Universal Health Visiting Pathway. Where additional input is required, the pathway provides a gateway to other levels of Health Visiting provision and referrals to more specialised healthcare services.

Additionally we have established The Family Nurse Partnership programme which provides intensive, tailored support to eligible first-time mothers aged 19 and under across Scotland. An expansion of this programme will see an additional 500 families supported per year by the end of 2025.

The Scottish Government has continued to use its convening power to meet both trade unions and employers to urge continued dialogue and collaboration over a range of workforce issues, including the ongoing pay negotiations. However, the Scottish Government has been absolutely clear that it has no locus to be involved directly in the national bargaining process. This position is in line with the findings of the Lessons Learned report and respects the national collective bargaining framework.

Scottish Government officials have made contact with Northern Ireland and have met with counterparts in England and Wales regarding fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) policy. We will continue to share learning and consider how these discussions will inform FASD policy in Scotland.

In addition to the links through policy officials relating to FASD, our funded FASD delivery partners are also linked in nationally with other third sector organisations as well as universities and researchers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22148 on 7 November 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

Due to the nature of the eligibility criteria, the number of households eligible to apply for the scheme varies according to the number of households in receipt of the relevant social security benefits at any given time. However analysis of the eligibility criteria in December 2022 estimated that a total of 208,000 households were eligible to receive support at that time. Analysis of the current eligibility criteria for phase 2 of WHS estimates that around 433,000 households will be eligible.

The following table shows the number of households who have received support each financial year in phase 1 of Warmer Homes Scotland.

The Action Plan reflects on the strong evidence of what we know works and builds on the firm foundations of best practice to reduce delayed discharges and overall hospital occupancy and reasserts the Scottish Government’s commitment to responding to the many challenges that still exist over the coming winter.

On 24-hour delays, while we absolutely need to work to reduce these instances, it is important to emphasize that these figures represent a fraction (0.6%) of all attendances to Emergency Departments in this period. The patients experiencing these waits will, in the main, be those who require admission and are waiting for a bed in a ward. They will have been triaged and seen by a doctor.