Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government welcomes The UK Commission on Bereavement’s report and the focus it brings to improving the experience of people affected by grief. Bereavement affects many aspects of our lives and we recognise that getting the right care and support following a bereavement is crucial for our health and wellbeing.

As set out in the answers to questions S6W-15835 and S6W-15839 on 21 March 2023, we are already taking forward a broad programme of work to improve the practical support, care and advice that is available for people who have been bereaved. We are also taking forward specific work which implements a number of UK Commission’s recommendations. This includes: improving access to advice and information for people affected by bereavement; ensuring people are sensitively supported during a bereavement; and, adopting public health approaches to create more open-ness in our communities to talking about dying and death. We have also introduced practical changes to ensure processes for registering a death are as straightforward as possible.

We are also exploring ways to further improve bereavement support through our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the new Palliative and End of Life Strategy, and through the creation of the National Care Service. This includes focussing on the needs of minority groups.

Finally, we will continue our engagement with the bereavement sector as we take forward our work to improve support for people affected by bereavement, drawing on the UK Commission’s findings.

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

As set out in the answers to questions S6W-15835 and S6W-15839 on 21 March 2023 the Scottish Government is already taking forward a broad programme of work to improve the practical support, care and advice that is available for people who have been bereaved.

We are also working to implement some of the UK Commission’s recommendations, for example, improving access to advice and information for people affected by bereavement, ensuring people are sensitively supported during a bereavement, and adopting public health approaches to create more open-ness in talking about dying and death. We have already introduced practical changes to ensure processes for registering a death are as straightforward as possible.

We will continue to engage and listen to bereavement sector partners as we take forward our bereavement work, and will draw on the UK Commission’s findings.

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

Scottish Ministers have repeatedly called for reform of oil and gas licensing processes currently reserved to Westminster and the UK Government to ensure compatibility with net zero and will look for further opportunities to make the case for reform.

Representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and North Ayrshire Council participate in the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill Steering Group, chaired by myself. This Group has met three times. The last meeting was held on 17 January 2023.

Separately, Scottish Government officials leading CWB development work met with the General Secretary for the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) on August 16, 2022. Scottish Government officials also presented at the Fair Work Convention on 23 February, 2023, which brings together employers and trade unions to advocate for and promote Fair Work.

Scottish Government officials last met with North Ayrshire Council colleagues to discuss the CWB Bill consultation on 16 February, 2023. Finally, The Minister is due to attend the Ayrshire CWB Commission on 24 March 2023.

Provisions contained in a Bill at introduction will be informed by analysis of the current public consultation exercise which will run until 25 April. As the views of all stakeholders need to be considered in detail, it is not possible to confirm any potential Bill content at the current time.

The consultation outlines that anchor organisations are typically large public sector employers with a strong local presence in an area, such as local authorities, health and social care bodies, further education institutions and enterprise agencies. The Consultation includes a proposal for a duty to advance CWB and the Scottish Government would welcome views on who this duty should or could apply to.

The Scottish Government welcomes The UK Commission on Bereavement’s report and the focus it brings to improving the experience of people affected by grief. We value the holistic approach taken by the UK Commission on Bereavement which recognises that bereavement touches many aspects of our lives, including emotional wellbeing and health, school and work life, finances, and housing.

Our programme of bereavement work sits across Ministerial portfolios, reflecting the wide range of impacts bereavement has on people’s lives. We have already taken steps to progress and align our cross-Government programme of work to ensure we adopt the holistic approach advocated by the UK Commission.

The Scottish Government is open to exploring how it can support land reform objectives using its limited powers over taxation and included a question on how these powers could be used in the consultation for the upcoming Land Reform Bill.

All responses to the consultation are currently being considered and a full consultation analysis will be published later in the spring. Any proposals on taxation will be considered in the context of the current devolved settlement and against the Scottish Government’s Framework for Tax.

The Scottish Government remains opposed to the forced installation of pre-payment meters, and we welcome Ofgem’s recent announcement that suppliers will not be restarting prepayment meter installations next month, as previously intended. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Ofgem on its current review of guidance for suppliers on the use of pre-payment meters to ensure that the rights and interests of Scottish consumers are fully considered.

The Scottish Government, through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE), has provided continuous support to assist the workforce of Stoneywood paper mill, in Aberdeen.

On 22 September 2022, PACE information was supplied to the administrator, Interpath Advisory, for distribution to the workforce immediately following the announcement of redundancies, to facilitate their self-referral to PACE services. As previously advised, a PACE support and employment event took place on 29 September, which was attended by approximately 136 individuals, followed by a Jobs Fair on 10 October, which was attended by approximately 500 individuals. Additional PACE support has also been routinely provided to the retained Arjowiggins staff, which included onsite delivery on 11, 24 and 31 January 2023. Further on site delivery may take place with retained staff, should demand be confirmed.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).