Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for NatureScot. I have asked their Chief Executive to write with the relevant information.

Scottish Government contractors use a range of methods to recruit participants for social and market research projects, which may include Facebook in specific instances. We do not hold this information as standard on a project basis.

Research on Chronic Pain, commissioned by The Scottish Government from The Lines Between in 2022, included participants recruited via Facebook. Checks were made on participant eligibility via a detailed recruitment screener, including question on impact of pain and treatment pathways.

This is an operational matter for NatureScot. I have asked their Chief Executive to write with the relevant information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17686 on 19 May 2023 which sets out the delivery timetable for Pension Age Disability Payment.

The Scottish Government continues to make progress in the development of Pension Age Disability Payment. Officials are currently drafting regulations to enable the delivery of Pension Age Disability Payment, whilst also engaging with stakeholders and those with lived experience of the current social security system to develop a benefit that delivers with dignity, fairness and respect.

The Scottish Government is also working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure a safe and secure transfer to Pension Age Disability Payment for individuals in Scotland who are currently in receipt of Attendance Allowance.

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

Grants and loans accessed through Home Energy Scotland offer a range of funding options to support households install energy efficiency and heating measures such as insulation or heat pumps. The removal of asbestos is not a measure eligible for grant or loan funding.

We recommend that householders seek quotes for energy efficiency improvements from an accredited installer registered with TrustMark. Accredited installers are expected to establish whether asbestos is or may be present before installing energy efficiency improvements (PAS2030:2019).

Installers must be accredited and deliver work to the PAS2030:2019 standard as part of the fuel poverty programmes funded by the Scottish Government. Fuel poor households may therefore receive help with part or all of the costs of asbestos removal where required through our Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) Scheme and Area Based Schemes (ABS).

The Scottish Government recognises the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health that it poses. However, asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed and advice from the Health and Safety Executive is that asbestos should remain in-situ providing it is in “Good” condition and even where damage is minor it should still be encapsulated rather than removed. The Scottish Government does not provide support to public authorities to remove asbestos from their buildings as it is their statutory duty under UK Government legislation to manage issues relating to asbestos affecting their estate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17621 on 17 May 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

This information is not held centrally. NHS Health Boards hold that information for NHS facilities as they are the responsible body for managing their estate. Local authorities are required to keep an up-to-date record of the location of asbestos in their school buildings.

The management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the legislation and regulations. The HSE is carrying out a statutory, five yearly, review of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Part of the work includes estimates about the number of premises containing asbestos. HSE has also given a commitment that future research will include obtaining better information on the number of business premises containing asbestos.

Scotland already has the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK. We offer 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all 3 and 4-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, regardless of the working status of their parents.

New Leadership: A Fresh Start ( Supporting documents - Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) sets out our ambition to go further by building a system of school age childcare and developing a funded early learning and childcare offer for 1 and 2 year olds, focusing on those who need it most.

I will soon set out further detail of my plans for further expansion of our childcare offer. We are already developing our plans for younger children, starting in this Parliament, by building the evidence base for funded early learning and childcare for 1- and 2-year-olds. Ministers are considering carefully the financial implications of the UK Budget for Scotland, but we need to be clear that the total additional funding made available falls far short of the costs of delivering a significant expansion to our funded childcare offers.

Pension Credit is reserved to the UK Government, therefore any take-up campaigns should be UK Government led.

However, in 2023-24 we will allocate at least £11 million to support the provision of free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice. This includes funding for the Money Talk Team Income Maximisation Service delivered by the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland, and the expansion of Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships to place Welfare Rights Advisors in up to 180 GP surgeries in Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Such Scottish Government funded services provide personalised advice on a wide range of support available to people in Scotland – including UK benefits such as Pension Credit, Scottish benefits, local authority payments, and wider support.