Chamber and committees

A total of 494 people have benefited from an interim care placement procured using our additional funding offer. The total number of people in interim placements as of 3 April is 545.

This information is published at Interim care placement uptake - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information regarding the number of the interim care beds acquired through the announced additional funding that are still being used as of 1 April.

As stated in response to S6W-15209, the Interim Report of the Green Heat Finance Taskforce is due to be published in spring this year and will complement other publications which are also due, as per commitments in the Heat in Buildings Strategy (2021). This Interim Report will be published shortly.

The Interim Report will focus in on potential finance and funding solutions for individual property owners which address barriers and gaps identified by the Taskforce which constrain the uptake of existing products. This will be followed by a final report towards the end of the year which will focus on communal, or place based mechanisms, and will incorporate recommendations for the social housing sector.

According to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme’s publicly-accessible MCS Data Dashboard, there were 5,326 MCS certified small-scale low-carbon heating system installations in 2022.

The MCS figures come with the following caveats:

• For the purposes of answering this question, “low-carbon heating systems” comprise (i) Air Source Heat Pumps, (ii) Biomass, (iii) Ground/Water Source Heat Pumps, (iv) Micro CHP, (v) Other Heat Pump Types, and (vi) Solar Thermal.
• MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement, so MCS data does not capture all small-scale renewable energy installations in Scotland. However, as MCS is often a route to government incentives, it is likely to represent a significant proportion of deployment.
• Most installations registered with MCS are in the retrofit market. However, MCS may capture some new-build installations if contractors have chosen to register their installations with MCS.

Separate to establishing the legislative framework for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 also sets statutory requirements to produce a Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP) every five years. These programmes are required to address current and projected risks from climate change, as identified in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. The current SCCAP covers the period 2019 – 2024 and sets out over 170 policies and proposals to build climate resilience in Scotland. We intend to lay the next annual progress report on SCCAP implementation in the Scottish Parliament in May 2023. The next five-year adaptation programme is already in development, with public consultation anticipated for the start of 2024.

The Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) programme aims to revolutionise Scotland’s prescribing and dispensing process by ultimately replacing the paper prescription, initially by developing an end-to-end digital solution for in-hours prescribing from General Practice right through to community pharmacy dispensing and improve patient experience for the general public. The DPDP programme will be rolled out to all NHS Boards.

I am delighted that the Tall Ship Races will be coming to Lerwick at the end of July this year. They represent a fantastic opportunity for Scotland, in particular Shetland and our island communities. This event, supported by £130,000 of EventScotland funding, is expected to attract up to 30,000 spectators and around 1,300 participants from 8 countries to Shetland. Ministers with a portfolio interest will be delighted to consider any invitation in line with current commitments.

We recognise the health and wellbeing benefits having a pet can bring and our New Deal for Tenants sought views on proposals to give tenants greater rights to keep a pet.

Scottish Government officials engaged with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to discuss their Pet Friendly Properties report and how these recommendations could work with tenants, landlords and pets. Officials also engaged with Cats Protection regarding their Purrfect Landlords campaign and to consider ways to encourage more landlords to allow pets in their properties.

We are currently considering responses to the consultation as we develop proposals for future reform and will continue to liaise with all stakeholders during this process.

Our thoughts continue to be with Esther Brown's family, friends and local community.

The Significant Case Review (SCR) process examines the actions and processes of the agencies involved in an individual’s management to ensure all reasonable steps were taken to minimise risk and to capture any learning. The process is independent of government and is designed to ensure the role of all partners in the process is carefully examined. We note this conclusion in this SCR and accept the two recommendations for the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government is represented on the National Qualifications Group, and Scottish Ministers and officials were kept informed of the decision, and the rationale behind it, through regular meetings with SQA. I last discussed this with SQA when I met with the Chief Executive on 19 April.

SQA took this decision following engagement with the National Qualifications Group and wider education community, informed by extensive feedback gathered as part of their evaluation of the 2022 arrangements. All other parts of the UK have already returned to full course requirements.

Public protection is paramount and the Scottish Government is committed to learning from this Significant Case Review (SCR). We have accepted the two recommendations for the Scottish Government and will take these forward with MAPPA partners as appropriate. We also attended the first of what will be regular meetings convened by the Glasgow MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group Chair with partners to consider the findings of the SCR and oversee the implementation of improvements.