Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government funded a national Childhood Bereavement Coordinator project, that concluded in September 2022 with the publication of the final report ‘Growing Up Grieving’. The Co-ordinator’s report included 7 recommendations which span a number of portfolios across Scottish Government. The publication of the report coincided with that of the UK Commission on Bereavement published in October 2022 and the Scottish Bereavement Summit which took place on 13 October 2022, which included delegates from a wide range of bereavement sectors. The summit looked at and summarised the UK Commission report and other recent bereavement reports - including Growing up Grieving , and asked delegates to vote on their priority areas. The final report was published on 28 June 2023, summarising the summit’s findings and compiling recommendations from the 5 recent bereavement reports with the views of summit delegates into one set of recommendations.

As the Scottish Government programme of bereavement work spans a range of Ministerial portfolios, the bereavement cross-policy network is continuing to engage with, and listen to, bereavement sector partners. Future bereavement work will draw on the UK Commission’s findings.

Police Scotland consider they would be able to effectively police the proposed site in Glasgow. Police Scotland have operational independence and how any facility might be policed is a matter for them, however it has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure that Police Scotland retain the operational ability to effectively police the facility and ensure that the wider community, those operating the site and those using the facility can be kept safe.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact the British Transport Police.

Data on crime and anti-social behaviour incidents on the rail network is available on the British Transport Police website: British Transport Police - Crime information for the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales (btp.police.uk) .

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising Scotland’s buildings in line with our climate targets for net zero by 2045. We recognise it may be more challenging for some traditionally built homes and buildings to meet any energy efficiency and heating standard we propose, especially those granted listed status.

This is why officials have met with a variety of organisations with an interest in the retrofit of traditional and protected buildings. These include Historic Environment Scotland, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Under One Roof, Federation of Master Builders, and Historic Houses. The workshop on Traditional and Protected buildings, undertaken by the Tenements Short Life Working Group in October 2022 was attended by a range of stakeholders, including Changeworks, Church of Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, MAST Architects, National Trust for Scotland, Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland (RIAS), and South Seeds.

Officials plan to continue engagement with key stakeholders alongside the planned consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill. This engagement will be vital in helping us develop cost-effective and technically feasible solutions to improve the energy efficiency and transition Scotland’s traditional and listed buildings to climate-friendly heating. We are committed to ensuring that we do this while respecting and preserving the special characteristics of our buildings and places and considering the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s people.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) collects information about the physical characteristics of Scotland’s homes. The SHCS gathers data on the age of the dwelling broken down into six categories, pre-1919, 1919-1945, 1945-1964, 1965-1982, 1982-2002, post-2002. The age bands used reflect different architectural styles, construction techniques and building regulation standards. In the SHCS, traditional buildings are defined as pre-1919 built as evidence shows that construction methods moved away from solid stone walls to more modern practices at this time. The proportion of the housing stock in each local authority area comprised of traditional buildings is included below. Averaged over 2017-2019 we estimate that around 19% of occupied dwellings were constructed pre-1919.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) gathers data on the age of the dwelling broken down into six categories, pre-1919, 1919-1945, 1945-1964, 1965-1982, 1982-2002, post-2002. The age bands used reflect different architectural styles, construction techniques and building regulation standards. Therefore, we are unable to provide data specifically on dwellings built prior to 1914 but can provide data on dwellings built prior to 1919. The proportion of the housing stock in each local authority area comprised of pre-1919 buildings is included below. We estimate that around 19% of occupied dwellings were constructed pre-1919.

The SPCB’s answer to question S6W-16094 explained that, in line with established procurement practice, the SPCB does not publish specific tenderer information which it considers might prejudice fair competition, which could prejudice the commercial interest of any person or organisation or where it would otherwise be contrary to the public interest to do so. The SPCB does not consider it appropriate to publish the information requested.

The SPCB’s procurement function operates in accordance with its published Procurement Strategy and established industry practice including guidance published by the Scottish Government. There are robust processes in place to deliver sustainable contracts that provide best value for money and resilient supply chain governance.

The latest SPCB Procurement Report can be obtained at Annual Report.

The SPCB’s answer to question S6W-16094 explained that, in line with established procurement practice, the SPCB does not publish specific tenderer information which it considers might prejudice fair competition, which could prejudice the commercial interest of any person or organisation or where it would otherwise be contrary to the public interest to do so. The SPCB does not consider it appropriate to publish the information requested.

The SPCB’s procurement function operates in accordance with its published Procurement Strategy and established industry practice including guidance published by the Scottish Government. There are robust processes in place to deliver sustainable contracts that provide best value for money and resilient supply chain governance.

The latest SPCB Procurement Report can be obtained at Annual Report.

The Scottish Government will not directly save money as a result of the reduction to employer contribution rates to the Strathclyde Pension Fund. Instead, it is the individual employers, including local authorities, who will save.

The amount each scheme employer will save will depend on their pensionable pay-bill and the employer pension contribution rate they are required to pay. These rates have not yet been set for employers outside of the Main Employer Group (MEG) (the 12 local authorities participating in the Fund and arm’s length external organisations).

In very broad terms, the Strathclyde Pension Fund has estimated the overall financial impact on employer contributions in the MEG, to be a £366m saving in years 1 and 2, and £51m p.a. thereafter.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is the lead public body on the investigation of, care for and promotion of Scotland's historic environment. HES published retrofit guidance for traditional buildings in November 2021 at Guide to Energy Retrofit of Traditional Buildings | Hist Env Scotland (historicenvironment.scot) . The Scottish Government values their technical expertise and regularly relies on their work and input to help define the approach to retrofitting traditional and listed buildings.

For example, following a series of stakeholder workshops held in 2021, an expert Tenements Short Life Working Group was formed. A specific workshop looking at traditional and protected buildings was undertaken as part of this process and Historic Environment Scotland were a key participant in this group A. The Final Report and Recommendations of the Tenements Short Life Working Group will be published shortly.

We are committed to continuing to work closely with HES to shape our future proposals on a Heat in Buildings Standard to ensure the best outcome for traditional and protected homes and buildings and the people who live and use them.