Chamber and committees

The first report of the independent review of incineration conducted a capacity analysis. It recommended that the Scottish Government ensure no further planning permission (i.e. beyond that already in place) is granted to incineration infrastructure within the scope of the Review, unless balanced by an equal or greater closure of capacity, subject to certain limited exceptions. Our response to the Review set out our intentions to set out in National Planning Policy that the Scottish Government does not support the development of further municipal waste incineration capacity in Scotland, with very limited exceptions. Following the adoption and publication of National Planning Framework 4 on 13 February 2023 that action is now complete.

To support future planning decisions, we accepted the review’s separate recommendation to develop an indicative capacity cap. However, it is important that any indicative cap is as robust as possible and developing such a cap will be a significant piece of work.

Where relevant consents and permissions have already been granted, the review noted that it is ‘unlikely that all facilities in the pipeline will be built, especially those that have not yet secured full financial backing’. The Review did suggest some principles, based on stakeholder feedback, that might be applied to determine which of the pipeline facilities would be best to build and which might be deprioritised, in light of the potential overcapacity predicted. These included:

• Proper appreciation of resource and waste management as a complex and interdependent system.
• Application of the proximity principle (that waste should generally be managed as near as possible to its place of production) at a sub-national level.
• Consideration of access to low-carbon transport, especially where longer distances are involved.
• Opportunities for synergy with other activities. For incineration, this should prioritise access to heat offtake and, in due course, carbon dioxide offtake options.
• Local environmental and social impacts.
• Wider environmental impacts, such as the carbon and other benefits from recycling to avoid virgin raw material production.

We would encourage those involved in the development of these facilities to take into account capacity and the principles set out by the independent review of incineration.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15873 on 24 March 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

There are more than 1,200 social care providers across Scotland, with local authorities responsible for providing or commissioning services. Local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships will wish to ensure that, in providing a range of services, their workforce planning arrangements take full account of the need to have safe and sustainable numbers of staff.

To increase awareness of the careers available in the sector, the latest iteration of our Adult Social Care Recruitment Campaign launched on 25 January. It has an increased media presence to reach a broader audience than previous campaigns.

We have also been working with DWP to hold social care job fairs throughout Scotland, with the next phase of events expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

We have provided funding to NHS Education for Scotland to lead the delivery of a programme of work to support social care providers to increase workforce capacity through international recruitment. The aim of the programme is to support social care providers to navigate the UK immigration system more easily, and to alleviate some of the administrative burden of the international recruitment process. Expressions of interest will be welcomed from all providers in Scotland, regardless of size or location of their organisation, who feel they could support an international worker to integrate into their community through working in the social care sector. This programme is due to launch in the coming weeks.

In addition we have re-established the Campaign Advisory Group to work on a longer term recruitment strategy to increase capacity across the social care sector.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government has been clear in its communication with partners and stakeholders that the Emergency Alerts System is fully funded and owned by the UK Government; and that the Scottish Government has agreed to participate in a trial coordinated by UK Government, recognising that the content of any alerts issued in Scotland is likely to be in relation to devolved matters.

Police Scotland’s tweet of 19 March 2023 included a link to a post on the main Scottish Government account which directed viewers to the dedicated UK Government Emergency Alerts web pages.

The introductory paragraph on those pages states: “Emergency Alerts is a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a danger to life nearby.”

The Scottish Government continues to engage with UK Government and other UK nations, Scottish partners and stakeholders to ensure that the information about the trial is accurate and shared widely.

On 8 December 2022, the BMA Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) officially announced their intention to ballot for industrial action. Since this date, the Scottish Government has exchanged correspondence with the BMA on the following dates:

• 12 and 15 December 2022

• 26 January 2023

• 9, 21 and 24 February 2023

• 16 and 17 March 2023

• 5 April 2023

Prior to the BMA SJDC officially confirming their intention to ballot for industrial action, the Scottish Government corresponded with the BMA SJDC on the subject of Junior Doctors pay on:

• 7 October 2022

• 11 and 30 November 2022

• 1 and 7 December 2022

I met with BMA on 11 April 2023 to discuss their concerns around pay and then again on 20 April when we entered into negotiations with Junior Doctors to secure a pay award for 2023-24.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15869 on 24 March 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) producer registration service will only grant registrations that meet the requirements of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations. All producer registrations granted to date have been registered in accordance with the Regulations. A registration is complete once it has been accepted by SEPA and the producer has been formally notified.

Observational studies covering Great Britain are carried out on behalf of the Department for Transport every four or five years. The latest of these was undertaken in 2021 and published in July 2022. Mobile phone use by drivers: Great Britain, 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There is a significant amount of data in the tables but the headline figures are:

Observed mobile phone use (held to ear or held in hand)

The Ambassador and I met on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum in August last year during which she gave an outline of the Embassy’s work in Slovenia and provided me with an update on the political situation in the country.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions. However, Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.