Chamber and committees

Analysis undertaken as part of the analysis underpinning the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan does not show any significant negative impacts from the closure of Hunterston B and Torness nuclear power stations on Scotland’s CO2 emissions.

Under this modelling, the reduction in electricity generation from nuclear power plants in Scotland will be compensated for by the vast expansion of low-cost renewables and flexible technologies such as storage, not by fossil fuel plants which would increase greenhouse gas emissions.

SEPA will ensure that the Official Statistics for household waste which report against the national household waste recycling targets, will include DRS materials once it is implemented.

The DRS scheme has been delayed to October 2025 at the earliest. We are in the process of reviewing the existing guidance with a view to updating it in due course.

As part of the development of the National Care Service (NCS), the Scottish Government is considering options to improve the ways people access social care support. This includes the processes by which their needs are assessed, their care is planned and their supports are provided. We are committed to embedding a human rights-based approach across the NCS. This means ensuring that services for accessing support planning can meet people’s wide-ranging individual access needs and that support plans are co-produced with the person seeking support, and where appropriate unpaid carers and others important to them. This will help ensure people have choice and control over their care.

The Scottish Government is also committed to improving independent advocacy services so people are supported to participate in decisions about their care. Improvements to the provision and consistency of independent advocacy services will support people who have complex needs or find the system difficult to navigate to access the social care supports they need.

The Scottish Government wants the NCS to make it easier for people to get care and support in their homes, in their communities and among their family and friends. In line with the Independent Review of Adult Social Care recommendations, we recognise that there are some very complex and specialist care and support services where it would be better to commission them once, to ensure a high quality and consistent quality of service for people, regardless of where in Scotland they live. Therefore, part of the NCS approach will see such services commissioned at a national level.

As we build the NCS, we will listen to the voices of the real experts: People who use community health and social care, including unpaid carers, and the staff who provide it, listening to their needs and acting on what they tell us. We will co-design the detail through our continued engagement with people with experience of using these services, and with partners and stakeholders who deliver community health and social care services to develop the final scope of a National Care Service for everyone.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting people with profound and complex care needs right now. In 2021, £20m of funding under the Scottish Government’s ‘Community Living Change Fund’ was distributed to Integration Authorities across Scotland to help in the design of community-based solutions that negate or limit inappropriate out-of-area placements for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce regulations under the Act.

However, involvement in local football clubs can be important to communities and that is why the First Minister recently launched the Fan Bank on 31 May 2023. This initiative is aimed to help support fans organisations who want to become involved in the decision making affecting their club where this is appropriate and where viable proposals have been developed.

While labour market enforcement is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government is committed to promoting positive outcomes for workers and their rights. Last year, we published our Refreshed Fair Work action plan that set out our vision for Scotland to become leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where Fair Work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, organisations and society.

To that end, public sector grant recipients must agree to a specific criteria, as part of the Fair Work First program, to be eligible for funding. We believe that public sector funding should generate broader gains, enhancing a sustainable and prosperous wellbeing economy. Fair Work First criteria have been attached to some £4 billion of public funding since 2019.

Furthermore, Scottish Government has provided £250,000 each year for the last 7 years through the Trade Union Fair Work and Modernisation Fund, which has supported unions in implementing Fair Work in Scotland's workplaces.

However, we are aware we are limited to what we can achieve and that only with independence can we realise our full potential. In a 'Building a New Scotland: A Stronger Economy with Independence', we outlined plans to offer comprehensive employment rights including flexible working, parental leave, and unfair dismissal claims on day one of workers taking up employment. It also set out how we would prevent exploitation in the gig economy by providing written statements of status and conditions from the first day of work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5O-04795 on 26 November 2020, the official report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 26/11/2020 | Scottish Parliament Website

As previously confirmed in the Chamber, a review of the arrangements in place for provision of financial support for patient travel will be undertaken. The review will consider the scope and arrangements for provision of financial support for patient travel across Scotland, where such travel is necessary.

Regrettably, the review has been delayed due to ongoing prioritisation of the recovery of services. It will be taken forward as soon as possible, taking full account of the matters raised by Members.

The Scottish Government has seen a substantive reduction in new outpatient, as well as inpatient and day case waits over two years since the targets were announced last year.

As of 31 March 2023, for outpatient appointments, 33 out of 41 specialties (80%) have fewer than 10 waits over 2 years, while 20 specialties have none. We also continue to see a reduction in waits over 18 months for new outpatients, which have reduced by 48.5% at 31 March 2023 compared to June 2022 (from 8,804 to 4,534). 41% of specialties also now have fewer than 10 patients waiting over 52 weeks. The number of patients waiting longer than 2 years for inpatient or day case treatment was reduced by 27% since targets were announced (from 9,572 to 6,985). 18 of 30 specialties have fewer than 10 patients waiting more than two years, and 13 specialties having no-one waiting more than 2 years.

The M365 Cross-Organisation Collaboration Programme has been established to maximise collaboration and communication opportunities available to organisations across Health and Social Care. The ability of organisations to safely and easily share information through the M365 platform will provide multiple benefits to citizens and ease pressures on our service delivery systems.

Working in partnership with the Local Government Digital Office, work is underway with staff in participating Local Authorities & Health Boards and further planning is in progress to enable wider data sharing.

We have implemented the ability to share the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) electronic patient record (ePR) with General Practice. All Health Boards (with the exception of NHS Shetland) now have this in place.

Ongoing monitoring of implementation and engagement with NHS Shetland is underway to identify actions required to progress. This work is now being incorporated into the Urgent and Unscheduled Care collaborative programme.

The Scottish Government has not made any assessment of the technologies in question in relation to renewable energy trading. As the regulation of energy markets remains reserved, this would be a matter for the UK Government to consider.