Chamber and committees

Since becoming the first developed country to pledge funding for Loss and Damage at COP26, the Scottish Government and Ministers have actively sought to push the issue further up the global climate agenda. For example, in October 2022 the Scottish Government hosted a conference which brought together international representatives and practitioners to articulate best practice on addressing loss and damage. During COP27, the First Minister met with other governmental and organisational representatives, including Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Germany’s Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Morgan and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. The Minister for Environment and Land Reform also met with Ministers from Bangladesh, Ghana, Vanuatu and Malawi. Our COP27 outcome report has further details on the Scottish Government’s engagements and achievements at the UN conference. We are delighted that there is now over $300m of finance committed to address loss and damage and an international agreement for a Loss and Damage Fund.

However, we recognise we cannot lose momentum following this breakthrough. Since COP27, Scottish Government Ministers and officials have met with various other governments to better understand their plans for funding loss and damage, share lessons and urge both commitment of funding and rapid disbursement. For example, the Minister for Environment and Land Reform has discussed the issue with a Minister from North Rhine-Westphalia and will shortly meet and discuss it with a Minister from Ghana. At official level, the Scottish Government has met with representatives from UK, US and New Zealand. In addition officials have presented through subnational knowledge-sharing networks on loss and damage and climate justice. The Scottish Government will continue its convening role on loss and damage to platform best practice and to activate potential funders.

As part of this, the Scottish Government launched an extensive report on practical action to address loss and damage on 16 March at the online international Gobeshona conference hosted by International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh. This report gathers, analyses and platforms case studies on existing action to fund and address Loss and Damage, building on the outcomes from the Scottish Government’s Loss and Damage conference. The report is be available online but the Scottish Government will make it specifically available to key governments (for example, those who are members of the UNFCCC Transitional Committee on loss and damage). With this report and our programming we are making the case internationally on the impact funding can have to support communities facing climate-induced loss and damage.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15129 on‎ 7 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

The Scottish Government’s budget of £126m is available to grant recipients to draw down until the end of March 2023. This means that there is still time for spend to be incurred, including grant funding to our delivery partners which we may need to accrue for if payment hasn’t been made before the 31 March 2023. The final actual spend for the 2022-23 financial year will be known when the Annual Accounts are finalised.

Transport Scotland is working with the grant recipients to ensure as much of the maximum amount of grant funding available is drawn down before the end of the financial year.

The loss of a baby, no matter at what stage of pregnancy, is a significant and traumatic event for women and their families. The Scottish Government is committed to delivering high-quality, sensitive bereavement care and support, and has provided funding to Sands UK to develop the National Bereavement Care Pathways in Scotland. The pathways are currently being piloted in 9 Health Boards in Scotland, and the remaining Boards will join later this year. A link to the National Bereavement Care Pathway can be found here: Home | SANDS (nbcpscotland.org.uk)

Scottish Government grant funding is also provided to a range of other third sector pregnancy and baby loss organisations who provide care, advice and support to women and families. Baby Loss Retreat, who offer 2 days respite for families who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss, has successfully applied for funding over the last 3 years.

The First Minister has announced that a Memorial Book of Pregnancy and Baby Loss Prior to 24 weeks will launch this Summer. Along with an entry in the book, there will also be a commemorative certificate, which is intended to give recognition and comfort to those who want to record their loss. The service is free of charge and will be entirely voluntary.

Over half (55.8%) of the people in Scotland who have never worked aged 16 to 64 were in full-time education. Just because someone does not have a job does not mean they are not making a valuable contribution to our economy and society.

In October 2021-September 2022, the latest data, it was estimated that 257,500 people aged 16 to 64 years in Scotland had never worked, 7.5 per cent of the population. The lowest level and rate since October 2010-September 2011.

The proportion of the population aged 16 to 64 who had never worked had been increasing over time, reaching a peak of 8.8 per cent in October 2015-September 2016. Since then, the proportion has typically been decreasing.

The estimated number and proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland who have never worked is provided in Table 1. Estimates of the number of people who have never worked are available from 2004 onwards.

Table 1: Estimated number and proportion of the people aged 16-64 who have never worked, Oct 2004-Sep 2005 to Oct 2021-Sep 2022, Scotland

The number of households in each local authority that are experiencing fuel poverty is published annually (based on a three-year average) from the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS).

The latest published set of tables for 2017-2019 are available at:

Scottish House Condition Survey: Local Authority Analysis 2017-2019 .

As the 2020 SHCS was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and results from the 2021 External+ SHCS are not yet published and unlikely to be consistent with previous years, the 2017-2019 results are the latest available at Local Authority level.

More recent estimates of fuel poverty at a national level based on scenario modelling have been produced. These reflect the Energy Price Guarantee of £2,500 from April to June 2023 and the end of the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme with differing levels of additional support for various households. These estimates show fuel poverty increasing from 613,000 households (24.6%) in 2019 to 920,000 households (37%) by April 2023. This 50% increase in the number of fuel poor households will also be reflected across all local authorities in Scotland, albeit with some variation based on the characteristics of dwellings and households in each local authority.

The SHCS recorded households who reported receiving CWP in 2018 and 2019. As three years of data are needed to provide analysis at local authority level, this is not currently available.

At a national level, the SHCS estimates that about 10% of fuel poor households received CWP in 2018 and 2019, as shown in the following table. 2019 is the most recent year for which SHCS data is available.

Fuel poor households self-reporting receipt of CWP

The UK Government Apprenticeship Levy is a reserved tax on employers which was implemented by the UK Government. The Scottish Government has no direct control or responsibility for its operation

The Scottish Government has been clear that significant funding will continue to be invested in skills, training and employability to meet the needs of employers, the workforce, young people and Scotland’s economy. The overwhelming majority of funding, which includes investment in employment support and our apprenticeship programme, is available to employers regardless of their size or whether they pay the Levy.

Statistics published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) confirms the following number of Modern (MA), Graduate (GA) and Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) starts/ enrolments in each of the last five years.

The range of powers include:

• Compulsory Purchase Orders - that enable local authorities and public bodies to compulsory purchase land or buildings.
• Provision within Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 for local authorities to issue a work notice requiring a home owner to bring a sub-standard home into a reasonable state of repair.
• Statutory nuisance provision within Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008 which can be used by local authorities and public bodies.
• The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings)(Scotland) Regulations 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/45) – enables local authorities to vary the level of discount on certain homes that have been empty for more than 6 months and to remove the discount and charge a premium on certain homes that have been empty for 12 months or more.

In 2022-23 Larkhall and District Volunteer Group have received:

• £108,467 from our Plugged-in Communities fund to support the purchase of a zero emission community transport vehicle, we also provided a grant of £1,999 from our EV infrastructure fund which supported the purchase and installation of electric vehicles infrastructure to support the new vehicle.
• They have successfully applied for £5,704 in continued support from the Open Fund for their Shopping Buses project, delivery of which will extend in to 2023/24.
• They have also claimed £3,259.30 through the Network Support Grant.

The Scottish Government is committed to raising awareness of all forms of cancer, including brain, through our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, which we continue to invest in.

A new Detect Cancer Earlier campaign was launched on 06 March 2023 to reduce fear of cancer and encourage those with possible symptoms to contact their GP practice. The NHS Inform website highlights the common symptoms of brain tumours .

The Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer support primary care clinicians in identifying patients who are most likely to have cancer and therefore require urgent assessment by a specialist. DCE funded a clinical refresh of eight pathways in 2018, including brain, with revised guidance published January 2019. Work continues with primary care clinicians to raise awareness of the Guidelines and share best practice.

A new cancer strategy is under development, which will include a new earlier diagnosis vision for Scotland. It is expected to publish in Spring 2023.