Chamber and committees

Whilst Scottish Government do not hold the information requested centrally, we are progressing work to allow Boards to automatically gather this.

The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 allows for new methods of body disposal and we intend to regulate alkaline hydrolysis (also known as water cremation) for use in Scotland. However, all types of body disposal must be equally safe and dignified. We must move forward in a way that ensures the protection of the environment and the public, maintaining their confidence in the process.

It’s therefore important that regulation of water cremation is subject to a similar regulatory framework as other methods before being introduced. This must also interact with the requirements of environmental regulation and national and local planning policy.

We will soon be publishing a full public consultation as part of this process and we will also continue to work closely with the funeral sector to support its delivery of high-quality services to bereaved families.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect data on the ethnicity of people participating in clinical trials in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has continuous contact with Health Boards and has recently engaged with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the provision of their Out of Hours services.

Despite the system wide pressures, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde continue to deliver a primary care out of hours service for the provision of urgent care when GP Practices are closed. Although the figures published on 14 February 2023 report a decline in the number of GPs working in the service it is important to note that this service is now provided using a multi-disciplinary model which includes nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.

Additionally, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde has advised that in the past 6 months they have successfully recruited 15 salaried doctors to the Out Of Hours service. The Board has provided assurance that this will increase the level of stability going forward.

The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan is open for consultation until 9 May 2023. The final version of the Energy Strategy and Just Transitional Plan will be published once we have conducted a thorough review of the consultation responses and engaged with the full range of stakeholders.   The Scottish Government’s position on oil and gas is part of the consultation process and we will provide an update in the final Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. We are not pre-empting responses.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14876 on 28 February 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

As at 14 February 2023 there were 370 Ukrainian displaced people in Welcome accommodation in Edinburgh, with a further 1,140 on board MS Victoria. There were 650 Ukrainian displaced people in Welcome accommodation in Glasgow, with a further 995 on board MS Ambition.

Matching teams working on-board both vessels are making offers of accommodation based on the circumstances of guests, including employment, health and personal preferences.

While priority will be given to match those disembarking the ships with local offers of accommodation, some guests will be asked to consider accommodation further afield, in other parts of Scotland. Due to the range of uncertainty, thus far it has not been possible to produce an estimate of how many will remain within Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We are still considering the feasibility of a grant scheme or other assistance to help displaced Ukrainians into private rented sector accommodation (PRS), and working through options for this in partnership with COSLA, local authorities and the third sector.    

A number of Scottish local authorities already have rental guarantee schemes in place. Officials are working to understand their effectiveness and opportunities to support or expand them as may be most beneficial. We are also exploring a number of opportunities to broaden housing supply and, where possible, to relieve market pressures.  

As research, analysis and assessment is ongoing and necessitates close cooperation with local government stakeholders and other partners, no timeline has yet been placed on this activity.

The Scottish Government is aware of the severe pressures which rising energy and other inflation-related costs are putting on the sector. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has established a Ministerial Advisory Group to ensure we collaborate effectively to meet these challenges.

Many of the policy and economic levers that would help reduce the pressures on care homes are reserved to Westminster and the Scottish Government has written on a number of occasions to the UK Government to raise these matters.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with NHS Boards and providers of social care across the Highlands and Islands region to understand the challenges they are facing which include the rise in energy costs.

The Scottish Government, as Sponsor, works closely with ILF Scotland on financial monitoring to ensure that funds are available to meet operational requirements whilst not being provided in advance of need or building up large reserves balances. This is consistent with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. In the current financial year, the Scottish Government has provided £47.72 million to ILF Scotland which covers the funding requirement for 2022-23. Financial reserves, held by ILF Scotland that are in excess of minimum requirements, have been used in addition to funds made available by the Scottish Government to meet operational demands.