Chamber and committees

While the powers to take meaningful action sit with the UK Government, the Scottish Government is doing all it can to support non-domestic energy consumers with high energy bills.

Our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has added a Community Buildings Fund which supports communities and other eligible organisations to improve the heating systems in their buildings and reduce energy bills. This includes funding up to a maximum of £80,000 and includes energy efficiency measures, zero emissions heat and also small-scale generation where there is a clear benefit to the community organisation.

Additionally, the First Minister chaired two energy summits last year attended by energy suppliers, advice agencies and third sector representatives, and which discussed collaborative actions to support non-domestic consumers with energy costs.

We will continue to work with partners to identify what more we can do within the powers available to us to mitigate the impact of high energy costs upon non-domestic consumers including community organisations.

I have commissioned an urgent review of the environmental impacts and management of single-use vapes. Zero Waste Scotland will lead on the review, which will examine available evidence and consider potential options to tackle the issue.

The review will consider of a range of approaches, including options to enhance the safe recycling of disposed products and device components, such as lithium batteries.

We will consider the evidence and expert advice and bring forward policy options in due course.

The Scottish Government recognises and shares the music sector’s concern with the decision to reduce the breadth of cultural music programming on Radio Scotland. Certain musical forms, such as piping or jazz, are not traditionally thought of as mainstream musical offerings and it is essential that the BBC listens to the concerns of the music sector so that audiences are able to continue to enjoy pipe and jazz music on BBC Radio Scotland.

The Scottish Government maintains its strong commitment to young and establishing musicians, including through its long-standing investment of over £140m since 2007 in the Youth Music Initiative. This helps young people across Scotland to access music-making opportunities, and supports them to go on to careers in the music industry.

The Scottish Government will continue to press the BBC to deliver on its commitments to commission high-quality, distinctive Scottish output, including in relation to music.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. While the Scottish Government does collect statistics on homelessness, these do not include specific information relating to student homelessness.

A full review of the homelessness data collections aimed at bringing these up to date, improve consistency and better meet user needs is ongoing. As part of this, the appropriateness and feasibility of gathering information on student status will be fully and carefully considered.

A Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment (FSIA) looked at the additional initial outlay on ONS Household groups. This was both as a percentage of a grocery shop as well as a percentage of mean net income. The results can be found in the Annex A of the FSIA at:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/consultation-paper/2019/09/deposit-return-schemme-scotland-regulations-accompanying-statement-proposed-regulations/documents/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment/govscot%3Adocument/fairer-scotland-impact-assessment.pdf

I have commissioned an urgent review of the environmental impacts and management of single-use vapes. Zero Waste Scotland will lead on the review, which will examine available evidence and consider potential options to tackle the issue, including the potential for single use vapes to be subject to a deposit return mechanism.

We will consider the evidence and expert advice and bring forward policy options in due course.

This information is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Diabetes Education Advisory Group (SDEAG) has been working with undergraduate medical education partners in order to ensure that appropriate education on diabetes is included in the curriculum. The Inpatient Sub-Group of the Scottish Diabetes Group has also been working to improve the ‘Think, Check, Act’ training module hosted by Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

The Type 2 Prevention Framework has also provided opportunities for several professional groups to participate in continued professional development, including training on trauma informed care and the psychological impact of overweight and obesity on diabetes management.

Some of the information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Diabetes Survey records the information requested from 2015 onwards and can be found at: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey 2021 is due to be published this month, February 2023.

The Scottish Government has published guidance on supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools, and this guidance is available on our website. It was developed in partnership with a range of key stakeholders to guide those working in and with NHS boards, education authorities and schools to support children and young people affected by health issues which require specialised support in school.

The Scottish Diabetes Group and its sub-groups continue to consider these issues as we progress through the implementation of our Diabetes Improvement Plan.

This information can be found as part of the Scottish Diabetes Survey. The Scottish Diabetes Survey provides an annual summary of key issues and trends in diabetes care and treatment in Scotland and can be found by following link: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey 2021 is due to be published this month, February 2023.