Chamber and committees

Our thoughts remain with all those who lost loved ones on board Pan Am Flight 103 and those in the town of Lockerbie.

Decisions around the allocation of police resources are operational matters for Police Scotland in dialogue with the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government will continue to work to ensure that Police Scotland have the necessary resources to fulfil their functions, including for complex, international investigations.

In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly-licensed medicines. Following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer, the SMC carries out an appraisal of the medicine and then determines whether it should be accepted for routine use within the NHS in Scotland. The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level. Following the appraisal process, the SMC publishes advice for NHS Scotland Health Boards to consider. The decision to prescribe a medicine for a patient, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a patient’s care, having taken into account the patient’s clinical condition and any relevant clinical guidance.

The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment as to whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate for an independence referendum without a Section 30 order.

There is however a democratic mandate for an independence referendum, and we stand ready to engage with the UK Government to give the Scottish people the right to choose their constitutional future in line with the result of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election which resulted in a clear majority in the Parliament in favour for a referendum.

Given the legislative and other arrangements that would be necessary, the Scottish Government is not planning for a referendum in October of this year.

The Scottish Government has sought advice from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding their views on making changes to muirburn legislation.

The financial assumptions contained with the Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) published in December 2021 show the projected cost to businesses in terms of compliance with the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The UK Government is responsible for providing details to industry regarding the potential financial impact of its DRS. We will continue to work closely with the UK and devolved governments to maximise interoperability of the schemes when they go live.

To date, we have been laying the foundations to deliver on Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy to support disabled young people as they make the transition to young adult life, through research and engagement.

The scope, vision, aims and national priorities for the strategy will now be developed through external stakeholder engagement and wider consultation. Staffing costs for this work will be met from our operating costs budget for 2023-24.

The costs associated with the implementation of the Strategy will be determined by the actions that are developed and ultimately included, once agreed.

The global pandemic was the biggest shock our NHS has faced in its 74 year existence. Our NHS Recovery Plan published on 25 August 2021 invests £1 billion of targeted funding over five years to increase NHS capacity, deliver reform, and ensure everyone has the treatment they need at the right time, in the right place, and as quickly as possible.

The Scottish Government does not hold the full level of information requested for reasons outlined in the answer to S6W-15113 on 8 March 2023. Each Fuel lnsecurity Fund partner is distinct in terms of their delivery with the use of funding and targeted support measures and approach, which will determine their level and volume of applications, proportionate on a case-by-case basis.

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

To support organisations currently funded through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund, the Scottish Government is maintaining funding to the total value of £3.6m, bridging the period of the three month extension and consideration of CYPFAL applications.

Additionally, the CYPFEI & ALEC fund administrator, The Corra Foundation, are available to organisations who applied to the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning third sector fund to offer non-financial support by providing links to third sector interfaces to help identify any alternative funding streams.

The Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners (CYPFAL) third sector fund received a significant number of applications from a wide range of organisations totalling £121.8 million of requested funding over the two years, far exceeding the amount of funding available. While we had planned to inform applicants of funding decisions by 31 December 2022, unfortunately this was not possible as more time was required to fully consider all information related to the CYPFAL assessment process.