Chamber and committees

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.

The management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive. Scottish Government has no plans to establish a central register of buildings containing asbestos in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17711 on 19 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

Social Security Scotland does not keep statistics on the total number of BASRiS [Benefits Assessment under Special Rules in Scotland] forms issued or the number received but does publish statistics regularly on the caseload of clients who were eligible for disability benefits via Special Rules for Terminal Illness: Social Security Scotland - Social Security Scotland statistics: publications

The DS1500 is a form produced and issued by the UK Department for Work and Pensions and serves the same purpose as BASRIS. Though it is never issued by Social Security Scotland it is accepted without the need to additionally complete a BASRIS form.

The Carer’s Allowance Supplement is a temporary measure to increase support for unpaid carers in Scotland in receipt of Carer’s Allowance until the Scottish replacement for Carer’s Allowance is in place. We have reviewed the eligibility criteria for the Carer’s Allowance Supplement as part of the process to develop proposals for the Carer Support Payment. We intend to continue to pay Carer’s Allowance as it is currently paid until we complete the transfer of all Carer’s Allowance awards from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland and onto Carer Support Payment. This will require changes to the eligibility criteria to ensure that carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment can receive the Carer’s Allowance Supplement automatically in the same way as it is paid to those in Scotland in receipt of Carer’s Allowance during the case transfer period.

This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government as the management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17711 on 19 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

Accreditation of contractors is a reserved matter, therefore the industry regulations rest with UK Government.

The UK government has a number of regulations in place to ensure that building contractors are accredited and meet the required standards. These regulations are designed to protect the public and ensure that buildings are safe and of a good quality.

The main regulations governing the accreditation of building contractors are:

• The Building Regulations 2010

• The Construction Products Regulation 2011

• The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Asbestos removal was introduced as a measure available through the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme from 1 April 2019. The following table give the total number of asbestos removal measures that have been completed and the proportion in relation to the total number of Warmer Homes Scotland applications.