Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06593 on
 4 March 2022. 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

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

The Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) for Scotland has safeguarding duties in relation to people who are subject to the protection of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. This duty includes monitoring the use of welfare guardianship orders to determine how and for whom the AWI Act is being used. Hearings take place within 28 days of the application being submitted to the court. The Commission is notified of the date of an Adults with Incapacity hearing in court and also the date the order is granted. The most recent AWI monitoring report (covering 2021-22) was published by the MWC in October 2022. A link to the report can be found on the MWC website.

The public consultation on the Bill, “Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation”, was open from the 4 July until the 30 October, and received over 540 responses. The responses were published on 22 December 2022, and we aim to publish the analysis of them in early spring 2023. This analysis will inform the development of the proposals and we remain committed to the introduction of the Bill by the end of 2023.

The inflation rate for construction work will vary from project to project.

The Office for National Statistics Construction Price Indices dataset provides an estimate of inflation within the UK construction industry. In the 12 months to April 2022 there was annual growth in the all construction Output Prices Index of 8.8%.

Source: Construction output price indices - Office for National Statistics

Forestry and Land Scotland provides the following guidance on its website:

Purchase or scavenge firewood for domestic use

Members of the public can obtain a permit to buy timber for the purpose of domestic heating.

A firewood permit is available where a set quantity of small unprocessed logs is available for collection. A scavenging permit allows the recovery of timber from a recent harvesting site using hand tools.

Please contact your local office for help with any enquiries about the availability of these licences, and how to buy them.

In the Financial year 2022-23, in the Dumfries and Galloway Area, 5 firewood permits and 12 Scavenging permits have been issued by Forestry and Land Scotland. The issue of permits is limited due to the inconsistency of the availability of suitable material, particularly on sites in convenient locations for public access. This type of collecting of firewood has had ongoing health, safety and welfare concerns as Forestry and Land Scotland have had a number of incidences of permit holders, getting lost in the forest and/or using chainsaws to cut up wood in the forest rather than collecting suitable lengths by hand or using hand tools as per the respective permit conditions.

While there are not any plans to reopen the Local Bridge Maintenance Fund at this time, the Scottish Government will continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to discuss the issues affecting local government.

The Scottish Government has increased funding to local government by over £570 million in 2023-24, including an additional £147 million of capital funding.

Our consultation document on the next Land Reform Bill proposes a series of important changes to the framework of law and policy that govern the system of ownership, management and use of land in Scotland. The proposals are in line with the recommendations of the Scottish Land Commission. They include the introduction of a Public Interest Test (PIT) "to assess whether, at the point of transfer of a large-scale landholding, a risk would arise from the creation of continuation of a situation in which excessive power acts against the public interest." The consultation also set out proposals on the criteria for triggering the PIT, and the possible outcomes of it. The Commission has not recommended the introduction of a cap on the total amount of land that can be owned.

We have received 540 responses to the consultation, and these include a wide range of views on the threshold for land acquisitions that could be subject to the PIT. The responses are being analysed and will be taken into account as we develop measures for inclusion in the Bill.

As with previous land reform legislation, it is imperative that any proposals are fully compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Mental Health Workforce Plan is scheduled to be published in spring 2023. A separate National Workforce Strategy for Health & Social Care was published on 11 March 2022, with a new Staff Wellbeing Strategy to be published in early 2023.

From the establishment of the Fund in April 2020, until the latest reporting in June 2022, there were 88 successful claims to the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) Family Fund. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian who administer the Fund on behalf of Scottish Government, do not hold comprehensive information about a claimant’s home Board. Since April 2020:

• 32 families made a claim to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde MBU, with an average amount claimed of £303.
• 56 families made a claim to NHS Lothian MBU, with an average amount claimed of £250.