Chamber and committees

The New Build Heat Standard ( Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 ) prohibits the installation of direct emissions heating systems that produce more than a negligible amount of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is to ensure that new buildings no longer contribute emissions to climate change, and do not require future retrofit to support net zero.

Hydrocarbon gas produces more than a negligible amount of direct emissions, as demonstrated in research completed by ClimateXChange: Direct greenhouse gas emissions from low and zero carbon heating systems (climatexchange.org.uk) .

Any hydrogen-ready technology is likely to operate on hydrocarbon gas for the foreseeable future. This means that these systems would not be permitted under the Standard, as they continue to emit significant direct emissions.

The Scottish Government has provided Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland with £60,020 in 2019-20, £60,000 in 2020-21, £50,000 in 2021-22 and £59,085 in 2022-23 in relation to stroke, to support thrombectomy education training.

The Scottish Government has provided no funding to the Stroke Association in relation to stroke since 2018-19.

The Scottish Government continues to deliver on its commitment to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, and I’m pleased to confirm that today we are publishing Citizenship in an independent Scotland.

This is the fifth paper in the Building a New Scotland series which sets out the Scottish Government’s proposals for an inclusive and welcoming approach to citizenship in an independent Scotland. It sets out our vision of citizenship after independence for people, whether or not they were born in Scotland or define themselves as primarily or exclusively Scottish, and describes who would become a Scottish citizen at the point of independence, and who could become a Scottish citizen from then on.

The publication also gives detailed proposals on passports, the Common Travel Area and the European Union, and citizenship and the constitution, with analysis of the evidence that informs these proposals.

The Scottish Government is continuing to prepare further papers in the Building a New Scotland series and these will be published in the coming months.

Building a New Scotland: Citizenship in an independent Scotland is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today at www.gov.scot/newscotland .

Inequalities within the screening programmes are complex issues; tackling them will require sustained focus over the longer term, and an acceptance that improvements are likely to be incremental. This in turn will require leadership, collaboration and ambition, and this work must be a priority for Scotland’s national screening programmes, and everyone who supports them.

The National Screening Oversight (NSO) with the support of Scottish Government have developed the Equity in Screening Strategy which, combined with an action plan, will be published on 27 th July 2023. The vision of the strategy is for equitable access for all eligible individuals, across the full screening pathway.

The Strategy will launch alongside the Equity in Screening Network, which will support the strategy by capturing local and third sector research activity, and allow individuals that work across screening to share evidence, best practice and learning around screening inequalities.

While vouchers issued through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) can be used to connect individual properties, the scheme was specifically designed to allow vouchers in a community to be combined to extend available funding. Indeed, there are a number of examples of communities across Scotland – including Ardnamurchan within your own region – pooling together vouchers to deliver superfast broadband connectivity to a number of properties.

We also remain actively engaged with all 32 Local Authorities to ensure they are fully aware of any developments around the R100 SBVS, as well as other elements of the wider R100 programme. We hold quarterly meetings with a network of Single Points of Contact, and we also maintain a data portal that all Local Authorities can access to identify and support voucher-eligible properties.

The Scottish Government has recently published an interim evaluation report of the first year of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding: Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF): year 1 - process evaluation - interim report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . It explores the work of Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) and early evidence of implementation in respect of the funding administration, design and set-up of funded activities (from September 2022 to February 2023). Overall, CSPPs have told us that WFWF is beneficial and supportive for increasing holistic whole family support and scaling current models.

A full evaluation report of Year 1 will be available in early 2024. This will be based on evidence from annual Children’s Services Plan reports, and will explore children, young people and families’ experiences of family support services that have received WFWF, and the extent to which the short-term outcomes of the funding have been achieved.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted ministerial interference.

In 2022-23, £33.5 million of Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) was provided by the Scottish Government to deliver transformational change to improve holistic family support so that families get the right support, in the right way and at the right time.

This includes £32m for Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) to build local service capacity for transformation and the scaling up of holistic family support in local areas.

The remaining funding in 2022-23 was provided to set up a package of transformational activity. This included establishing collaborative partnerships with three CSPPs to accelerate learning, setting up a Learning into Action network, funding the evaluation and research work for WFWF and funding 12 projects that are helping to transform how families are supported by taking a cross Scottish Government approach to system change.

£50m has been allocated for the WFWF in 2023-24.

Currently in Scotland a new constable will start on a salary of £28,074. In England and Wales the lowest starting salary for a Constable is currently £23,556.

You will wish to note that police pay negotiations are ongoing for 2023-24, therefore salaries for police officers in Scotland will be revised on the conclusion of those negotiations. You should also be aware that the UKG’s decision to accept PRRB’s recommendations in E&W, indicates that salary levels there are also likely to change.

More information on Police Officer salaries in Scotland can be found on the Police Scotland website using the following link: Pay and Grading Structure - Police Scotland .

We are progressing recommendations from the New Deal for Business Group on labour market participation, with a focus on supporting parents into employment through school age childcare and nurturing the skills which businesses need for a transition to net zero.

We are rapidly fulfilling commitments made in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, including developing a lifetime skills offer for adults, which will ensure future support is targeted at those who need it most. Our apprenticeship programme is enabling employers to invest in their work force and provide greater opportunities to those at the start of their careers.

UK government has temporarily eased visa rules for some construction workers in order to help fill job shortages. However, UK Government immigration policy fails to address Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic needs and highlights the need for a tailored approach to migration to best support Scotland’s communities, economy, and public services to flourish. With full powers over migration, Scotland could boost its workforce and tackle recruitment challenges, many of which have been caused by the end of free movement and the Brexit imposed on Scotland by the UK Government.

The Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) is the main forum for Scottish Government and industry interaction. The Skills and Workforce Working Group of the CLF, comprising public and private sector members, is currently co-developing a Transformation Action Plan to take action on the issues faced by the industry.