Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government are fully committed to transparency and probity in the management of, and accountability for, the public finances.

For central government and non-departmental bodies, our capital borrowing powers are restricted and the UK capital grant allocation is limited, so where it is deemed value for money, private finance is considered alongside a range of financing approaches including capital grant, capital borrowing, financial transactions and other forms of finance. Should additional capital borrowing powers become available, we will examine all options to ensure the lowest cost financing route is utilised.

Local authorities determine their own programmes for capital investment and make their own decisions as to the financing of capital investment programmes. In determining their capital investment programme, local authorities are required by legislation to comply with The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities, to ensure that all capital investment decisions are prudent, affordable, and sustainable.

The use of private finance to fund capital expenditure, as with all financing arrangements, should be transparently reported in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The Scottish Public Finance Manual is issued by the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance on the proper handling and reporting of private and public-private finance.

In March 2022 the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy wrote an open letter encouraging all businesses to sever links with Russia. The Scottish Government policy of not supporting trade and investment activity with Russia is in addition to the UK’s legally binding sanctions regime; ultimately we cannot force businesses to act if what they plan is otherwise lawful, including not breaching the UK sanctions regime.

Our economic agencies undertake a number of checks on businesses to identify any ongoing investment, trading, or other links with Russia, and steps they have taken to withdraw from them, while recognising where it may not be feasible, for example due to contractual obligations or if staff safety might be jeopardised.

The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable management of fish stocks in our waters. The majority of commercial stocks are managed by the use of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits which are agreed with other Coastal States in a variety of negotiations forums. TAC levels are informed by the best available independent scientific advice, and are used with an aim to ensure sustainable fishing levels in the long term. This is a long standing commitment of the Scottish Government and the Fisheries Management Strategy sets out our ambition to fish within limits based on the best available scientific advice, using the precautionary principle, and aligned with the delivery of fishing at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).

This aligns with our commitments from the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement which outline that sustainable fishing means environmental, economic, and social considerations are appropriately balanced when managing our fisheries to benefit present and future generations.

There are a range of domestic fisheries management measures including technical measures which have now been retained into UK law through the Fisheries Act 2020. These technical measures range from basic Minimum Conservation References Sizes (MCRS) of specific species of fish, to mesh sizes and structure of fishing nets. It is worth noting that while the majority of commercial stocks have TACs set, scallop, crab and lobster are Non-Quota Stocks without a TAC and are managed by domestic management through a range of input controls and technical measures, such as through a national licence, days at sea limits, minimum and maximum landing sizes, and gear restrictions.

The Scottish Government has promised a laser like focus on delivery, and we will ensure this happens, by directing energy and resources towards achieving the three missions and supporting the outcomes set out in Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start . Our ambition for an improving, consistent and transparent focus on performance and delivery is shared by Ministers and the Executive Team.

As part of the Green Freeports bidding process, bidders were required to outline how their choice of tax site locations would minimise displacement of economic activity from wider areas, especially other economically disadvantaged areas. This was given close consideration within the assessment process. The successful bidders – Firth of Forth, and Inverness and Cromarty Firth – will now develop their initial proposals into detailed outline and full business cases.

Scottish Government officials provided feedback to the unsuccessful bidders and confirmed that the Scottish Government stood ready to work with the bidding coalitions to consider whether and how it might be possible to build on aspects of their plans, outside the Green Freeports programme, to deliver jobs and growth in their respective regions.

The two selected Green Freeports will build on specific areas of strength and opportunities in their particular locations, so we are optimistic that the immediate risk of displacement will in practice be limited. They will be required to monitor, mitigate and report on any potential displacement as they move forward to delivery.

Creative Scotland, as the national arts development body and funded by the Scottish Government, provide a range of support for cultural activities across Scotland including the islands.

To provide the specific information requested, Creative Scotland will write to the member directly.

The Scottish Government requests annual data on overall Young Patient Family Fund claims from territorial Health Boards and this allows uptake and cost within each Board area to be tracked year-on-year. This includes detail on the type of claim being made.

We do not ask Health Boards to routinely collect data on patient condition as this is not part of the eligibility criteria for making a claim. Similarly, Health Boards are not asked to report on the age of the patient. As part of our routine monitoring we do however ask Health Boards to report on the number of young inpatients associated with claims who were admitted to neo-natal units.

The Scottish Government does not plan to amend the current legislation on matters around public libraries.

Under section 163(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, public library services in Scotland are devolved to local authorities who have a statutory duty to ensure that there is adequate provision of library facilities for all persons resident in their area, taking into account local needs.

Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities, as independent corporate bodies to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on libraries, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Any decision around public libraries must be considered extremely carefully and we would encourage local authorities to work in partnership with communities to explore ways of delivering services, based on need.

The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with local government to ensure that the people of Scotland continue to receive the high quality public services that they expect and deserve.

The Scottish Government has promised a laser like focus on delivery, and we will ensure this happens, by directing energy and resources towards achieving the three missions and supporting the outcomes set out in Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start . Our ambition for an improving, consistent and transparent focus on performance and delivery is shared by Ministers and the Executive Team and work is in hand to strengthen the existing, evidence-based approach to delivery, performance and assurance that currently exists across the organisation.

The Scottish Government are aware that there have been continuing shortages across the UK due to a number of factors. The supply of medicines, including HRT products and the associated legislation, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to seek a lasting solution.

A series of UK-wide Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) have been issued by DHSC, after consultation with the Scottish Government and other UK administrations, allowing community pharmacists to supply specific alternatives without needing to seek agreement from the prescribing doctor. An SSP is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages. This gives individuals the option to receive substitute products in a safe and effective way to ensure medication continues to be available to all.

There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK and supply issues are affecting only a small number of them.