Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for ScotRail, though we can advise that the Scottish Government does not support Driver Only Operation and continues to specify a requirement for a second member of staff to assist passengers on every ScotRail train.

Children’s Social Work Statistics data provides an annual breakdown of the number of children and young people being looked after in community and residential placement types. However, data is not currently collected on reasons for homelessness or the linkage with parental outcomes including parental imprisonment.

Table 1 shows the number of children looked after on 31 July in kinship care and foster care placement types between 2013 and 2022. Publication tables in the Children’s Social Work Statistics publication show that on 31 July 2022 a total of 12,596 children were looked after compared to 16,032 on 31 July 2013. 4,249 (34%) young people were looked after by kinship carers with a further 4,155 (33%) young people in foster care.

Of all children looked after, the proportion of children placed with kinship carers has increased from 26% in 2013 to 34% in 2022. Of all the children looked after, the proportion of children placed with foster carers has stayed the same between 2013 and 2022 (33%).

The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people who take good care of their animals and enjoy the widespread benefits of dog ownership and companionship.

Where a dog owner is issued with a dog control notice (DCN) under the terms of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 ("the 2010 Act"), conditions are included with the DCN. While a matter for local authorities, the 2010 Act recognises that training for dogs and owners is important and as such includes a requirement to attend and complete a course of training in the control of dogs as a suggested condition that can be included in a DCN. This proportionate approach focuses on those owners who have allowed their dogs to be out of control.

More generally, the Scottish Government previously carried out a digital marketing campaign on dog control with the Scottish SPCA. This campaign has been re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on a number of occasions, and directs the public to information about ‘The law on controlling your dog’ on the mygov.scot website at: https://www.mygov.scot/controlling-your-dog

This website makes clear that dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dog, and also provides links to websites for organisations such as the Scottish SPCA that contain advice and assistance on issues such as dog training.

The Scottish Government would encourage all dog owners to seek advice and assistance from reputable organisations such as the Scottish SPCA and the Dogs Trust if they require assistance with their dog/dog training.

The Scottish Government is also embarking of a number of regional engagements to help consider what more can be done by enforcers and other key stakeholders to collectively consider what else can be achieved to strengthen enforcement and help prevent and reduce the risk of dog incidents.

The budgets allocated are as follows:

The additional £8.55 billion of UK Government funding for CRSTS2 relates to financial years 2027-28 to 2031-32.

This funding will form part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) future budget allocation. The Scottish Government will receive additional Barnett funding as part of its block grant based on any increase in the DfT’s total budget for the relevant financial years in accordance with the Statement of Funding Policy.

This funding announcement falls into the next UK Government Spending Review period and confirmation of funding levels for the Scottish Government will only be confirmed once the Spending Review has concluded.

The following table gives the number of homelessness applications live as at 25 December 2022, by local authority and the associated number of (a) adults and (b) children.

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

From April 2021 to the end of September 2023, the Heat in Buildings Programme has spent £340m, with an additional estimated spend of £163m over the remainder of this financial year.

• The programme forecasts are showing an increased demand that supports a continuing increase in capital support across the range of schemes offered by the HiBs programme. Final outturn will be based on actual demand for schemes and final budget allocations for 24-25 and beyond.
• We are continuing to make long term commitments to funding – for example, we have recently re-procured the Warmer Homes Scotland successor scheme at a contract value of £700 million over the next 5 years.

Scotland’s AI Strategy was published in March 2021. Taking account of recent and fast-paced technological developments and a growing international focus on the opportunities and threats which AI can offer, it is essential that Scotland has in place a strategy which keeps us on the forefront of those developments.

In a Scottish Parliament debate on 1 June 2023, I announced that I would ask the Scottish AI Alliance Leadership Group to undertake an independent review setting out what Scotland needs to do to optimise the benefits of AI. The review will set out recommendations on how we can maximise the potential of AI whilst minimising its risk and ensuring benefit for all.

The final review report and recommendations are expected to be available in early 2024, and will be shared publicly when available. The review is not a formal update of the strategy, more a refocus and refresh given the speed of development.

Assessments are made at local level of the potential impacts of non-native species on adjacent or nearby habitats, through implementation of the Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (EIA), and the implementation of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and associated guidance.

The EIA Regulations process ensures assessment of the potential environmental and social impact of non-native tree species seeding into other habitats. Where the new woodland proposed is adjacent to European designated site, a Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) is also required to assess potential impacts. The UKFS and associated guidance also requires appraisals to be made of the potential impact of productive woodland on neighbouring habitats, as part of both woodland creation applications and Long-Term Forest Plans.