Chamber and committees

Richard Lochhead, the former Minister for Just Transition, Fairwork & Employment engaged with a wide range of stakeholders in the offshore energy sector during this period. A comprehensive list of all Ministerial engagements for the year 2022 has been published and can be found online ( Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)).

For the period of January 2023 until March 2023 The Minister had the following meetings:

• 9 February – The Minister met with Opportunity North East, Energy Transition Zone and the Net Zero Technology Centre, discussing Just Transition and the next phase of the Just Transition fund.
• 21 February 2023 – The Minister attended SBCC (Scottish Business Climate Collaboration) SME (Small/Medium Enterprise) Net Zero Hub launch event, with EY (Ernest & Young) and Scottish Power representatives in attendance.
• 2 March 2023 – Mr Lochhead visited South of Scotland Enterprise in Dumfries and chaired a roundtable discussion that included representatives from Carbon Capture Scotland, and visited Cochran Ltd on site.
• 16 March 2023 – The Minister chaired a CBI round table event, which included representatives from Centrica Energy, Equinor UK LTD, Scottish Power and SEC (Scottish Events Campus).
• 21 March 2023 - Mr Lochhead attended the Scottish Renewables Net-Zero Dinner and spoke to representatives from EDF Renewables, Scottish Renewables and EY (Ernest & Young).
• 22 March 2023 –The Minister delivered a speech to the Scottish Renewables Conference, and participated in a panel discussion with representatives from Scottish Renewables, EDF Renewables and Ripple Energy.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15805 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 .

I have engaged with a number of stakeholders across the energy sector. On 13 April 2023, I visited the Hydrogen Refuelling site in Aberdeen, met Aberdeen City Council officials and technical experts, attended an Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub stakeholder meeting, and then a Scottish Cluster Roundtable Discussion.

I met with the CEO of NECCUS, on 26 April 2023 and attended the Energy Institute North East Highlands and Islands Dinner on 27 April 2023. On 2 May 2023, I visited Advice Direct Scotland, launching their Fuel Insecurity Fund. On 4 May 2023, I opened Scottish Renewables’ new office in Glasgow and on the 11 May 2023, I attended the All-Energy conference at SEC, Glasgow.

In response to the recommendations from ‘Impact of Scotland’s Developing Young Workforce Strategy on Employer Engagement’ we are working with partners, including the employer led DYW network, to develop a delivery plan. The plan will build on the progress that we are making in supporting a record number of school leavers into an initial positive destination. We will provide further information during summer 2023.

Housing Benefit has been replaced by Universal Credit in all but a small number of specific circumstances. Recipients of Universal Credit need to notify their Work Coach of any additional income in a given monthly assessment period. A person’s income could increase, for instance, if they did additional hours or overtime in that period. Most recently, NHS Scotland staff received a one-off additional payment in their April salaries as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement.

Additional income reduces or stops Universal Credit but it is important to stress that everyone should be better off overall as the taper rate is 55%, so for every pound in extra payments, the person keeps 45 pence. Universal Credit will then increase or begin again if someone’s income reduces in the next assessment period unless, for instance, the higher income represented by the substantive part of the NHS Scotland pay settlement places them above the qualifying criteria for Universal Credit.

Spreading the one-off payment over multiple months was considered at the time the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement was negotiated. However, it was not clear this would provide any advantage to the lower paid and indeed it may be more helpful to get the payment within one assessment period and return to a steady state following that.

Our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ consultation sought views on proposals to strengthen the rights of tenants including greater rights to have a pet and to personalise their home. We are currently considering responses to the consultation as we develop proposals for future reform and we plan to bring forward legislative proposals as soon as possible after the Summer recess.

The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally generated in WhatsApp or similar messaging apps. This responsibility is discharged through the relevant business units who have the responsibility for capturing this information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management Policy.

The Scottish Government has released such messaging exchanges in response to Freedom of Information requests. However, to ascertain the number of responses which have included such exchanges since 2019, would require officials to individually check every FOI response the Scottish Government has issued since the beginning of 2019. For that reason, this information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

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.

Firearm and shotgun licensing is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

The latest Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) Survey Report by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) was published on 04 April 2023. This survey includes information on the number of active spin-offs founded at Scottish Higher Education Institutions, the turnover generated at these spin-offs as well as employment numbers.

We are aware that there are ongoing challenges around staff recruitment and retention in the social work sector. These issues have been exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19, which has had a significant impact on capacity over the last few years.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for both children and families, and adult social work through the general local government financial settlement. Local authorities should determine how much resource is given to supporting the delivery of social work and social care services, plan their workforce and ensure appropriate levels of staff are in place to provide social services for their residents.

Funding for justice social work services, including community sentences, bail services, diversion from prosecution, and other community interventions, is provided by the Scottish Government through an annual ring-fenced grant to local authorities. Local authorities have considerable autonomy to direct this funding to meet local priorities. The Scottish Government has continued to protect the community justice budget, and in 2023-24 we will invest a total of £134m in community justice services. This includes £123m to local authority justice social work services.