Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to make changes to rights of appeal in the planning system.

A number of amendments that sought to introduce a third party right of appeal were considered, and rejected, by the Scottish Parliament during consideration of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

The latest report highlights the continuing significance of Scotland’s contribution to the UK space industry, making up 18% of the total workforce.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to supporting our burgeoning space sector identified as a priority in both our Inward Investment Plan and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

And it is that commitment that helped Mangata Networks choose to locate its state-of-the-art engineering and operations hub for satellite manufacturing and over 500 high skilled jobs in Scotland.

Ministers meet representatives of civil society organisations from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. Meetings with the Human Rights Consortium Scotland have been held on a number of occasions since May 2021.

Information about ministerial engagements is proactively released and is publicly available on the Scottish Government website .

Civil society organisations contribute in other ways to the development and delivery of public policy in Scotland, for example through participation in working groups and advisory boards.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland is a member of the Governance and Engagement Board for the Scottish Government’s proposed Human Rights Bill. Details are available on the Scottish Government website .

The R100 contracts, which are delivering full fibre, gigabit capable connections across the length and breadth of Scotland, are currently expected to conclude during 2027-28.

For those properties beyond the reach of the R100 contract build or commercial coverage plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – offering vouchers worth up to £5,000 – remains available to help secure a superfast broadband connection.

Ministers meet representatives of civil society organisations from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. Meetings with JustRight Scotland have been held on a number of occasions since May 2021.

Information about ministerial engagements is proactively released and is publicly available on the Scottish Government website .

Civil society organisations contribute in other ways to the development and delivery of public policy in Scotland, for example through participation in working groups and advisory boards.

JustRight Scotland are a member of the Scottish Government Human Rights Bill Advisory Board. Details of the Advisory Board are available on the Scottish Government website .

As of March 2022, through Primary Care Improvement Plans and corresponding funding, we have recruited more than 3,220 whole time equivalent (WTE) multi-disciplinary team (MDT) members, working in GP practices and the community.

Supporting documents - Primary care improvement plans: summary of implementation progress - March 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We are also committed to providing at least £170 million per year to deliver MDTs and will make additional funding available to support Agenda for Change pay increases for MDT staff.

We have amended regulations to include permanent vaccinations, pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care support for GP practices from 2022-23 onwards.

We continue to work with all partners to ensure we have a robust evidence base on the impact of the programme to support implementation of Primary Care Improvement Plans and future investment decisions in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government has committed to funding this audit and a letter setting out the details has been sent to the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

Portfolio responsibility for COVID-19 Inquiries rests with the Deputy First Minister. There have been no meetings between other Ministers, including the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and the Chair of the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry, the Hon Lord Brailsford, since his appointment.

Temporary accommodation offers an important safety net for anyone who finds themselves homeless, however, this should only ever be short term and we want to see people in settled homes that meet their needs as soon as possible. We want disabled people in Scotland to have choice, dignity and freedom to access suitable, settled homes so they can participate as full and equal citizens.

Our Housing to 2040 strategy sets out our vision for housing in Scotland to 2040. Key actions include reviewing Housing for Varying Needs, increasing the supply of accessible and adapted homes and improving choice for disabled people to allow them to live independently within their community.

The Scottish Government has committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent. Funding is available through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver more wheelchair accessible homes where local authorities have included these in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans.

The review of Housing for Varying Needs, our design guide for accessibility standards for new social rented homes, is underway and will directly inform the development of a Scottish Accessible Homes Standard, set to be implemented from 2025-26. This will enhance the accessibility and adaptability of new homes, ensuring that disabled people have an increased range of housing options and reducing the requirement to make changes to homes as needs change. We plan to launch the formal consultation on both the Housing for Varying Needs review and the introduction of the Scottish Accessible Homes Standard in the spring of 2023.

Both passenger ships, MS Ambition, Glasgow and MS Victoria, Edinburgh were contracted as a temporary measure to ensure Scotland could respond to the humanitarian crisis facing people in Ukraine and provide an immediate place of safely for displaced people.

All guests successfully disembarked MS Ambition before the contract ended on 31 March and were supported into alternative accommodation and we are now working closely with the City of Edinburgh Council to support guests on board MS Victoria to disembark before the contract ends on 11 July.

The Scottish Government continues to work intensively with local authorities to match people into longer-term accommodation and our priority is to ensure safe and sustainable accommodation can be provided. We are keen to continue to work together with the British Red Cross to utilise their experiences and expertise as we continue to settle displaced people from Ukraine into our community.