Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the sustainability of local news as a key part of the public interest news sector in Scotland. In 2021, we established the Public Interest Journalism Working Group to consider the long-term sustainability of public interest journalism, including local news, and to recommend ways to ensure its ongoing resilience. We responded to the Group’s recommendations on 24 June 2022. This included a commitment to facilitate a Roundtable event to support the creation of a new Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute, which was held on 23 November. While it is not for Scottish Government to influence the remit of the Institute, it is likely, in line with the Working Group’s recommendations, that part of its role will be to support local news.

The Scottish Government and public bodies also use local media, including newspaper, to promote initiatives such as public health campaigns.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on Gaelic and Scots closed on 8 December 2022 and the responses from this consultation will help inform part of the work to develop Scots language policy and the proposed Scottish Languages Bill.

As part of the consultation process, the Gaelic and Scots Division undertook a variety of public engagement events to ensure the views of Scots speakers and stakeholders were heard. This included attendance at the Scots Cross Party Group. The responses to the consultation are now being analysed and will help shape any future legislation.

Surveys have shown us the extent of asbestos in the NHS estate. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance states that it is safe for asbestos to remain in place if it is in good condition, well-protected and unlikely to be disturbed. Health boards carry out annual asbestos monitoring surveys and asbestos management plans are in place across the NHS estate. Ideally, all asbestos would be removed from NHS buildings immediately. However, the removal of asbestos is disruptive and can increase the risk of exposure to disturbed fibres. It is therefore not sensible or proportionate to remove asbestos in an active clinical setting if it does not pose a risk to staff and patients. The Scottish Government is doubling its health infrastructure maintenance budget. That money can be used by health boards to remove asbestos where necessary or when the opportunity to do so arises.

The Scottish Government has identified space as a priority in our Inward Investment Plan and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

We are committed to delivering the joint Scottish Space Strategy, developed in partnership with industry and academia, which sets out our ambition to grow the space sector in Scotland by capturing £4 billion of the global space market and 20,000 jobs by 2030.

We actively engage with the industry, both directly with individual companies and through our economic development agencies and collectively through Space Scotland as the industry body.

The SDI Inward Investment team is engaging with Lockheed Martin to learn more about the company’s plans to develop a satellite manufacturing facility in the UK and illustrate the advantages of locating a manufacturing site into Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets during this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues. This investment will be delivered in phases over the course of this parliamentary term.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Statistics on registration and participation can be found on the Public Health Scotland website ( Publications - Public Health Scotland ).

The Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government as part of the forthcoming Fiscal Framework Review. The scope and timings of the review are subject to agreement with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

The review must ensure the Scottish Government and Parliament has the necessary powers to manage the risks we face within our devolved responsibilities, and to support economic recovery.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide high quality, person-centred care for all people, including those with postural tachycardia syndrome.

There are a range of treatment options available on the NHS in Scotland, including self-management and a range of medications based on individual circumstances. The recommendation of any particular treatment is a matter for discussion between a patient and their clinician.

Although guided by the missions set for it by Scottish Ministers, the Scottish National Investment Bank is operationally independent and makes investment decisions based on its own investment process and strategy.

On the specific matter of North Star, it is for North Star as a private commercial company to make its own decisions in respect to where it sources it vessels. The Scottish Government recognises the opportunity that requirements for offshore wind service vessels presents for Scottish industry going forward and will seek to work together to support this.

Although guided by its missions, which are set by Scottish Ministers, and the legislation within the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, the Bank operates independently. So, any potential future investment roles or opportunities would be a matter for the Bank to decide.

Work is ongoing to develop our infrastructure improvement programme. As part of that improvement work we have been engaging across government and, at this stage, with the Scottish Futures Trust to understand some of the issues that have affected previous capital investment projects and how we can best take action to improve delivery, as part of our work to develop options for a national infrastructure company.