Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09434 on 15 July 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 £65 million of funding being provided by the Scottish Government to support the war effort in Ukraine is capital funding that will be provided via the carried forward balance in the Scotland Reserve.

The Provisional Outturn statement on 23rd June advised Parliament that £183 million worth of capital underspends would be carried forward within the Scotland Reserve to support the 2022-23 Scottish Budget. The 2022-23 Scottish Budget included an assumption that £118 million of capital funding from the Scotland Reserve would be available to be utilised. The provisional outturn position therefore provides an excess carry forward of £65 million which is available to be utilised.

The allocation of this amount will be transparently reported in the forthcoming 2022-23 Autumn Budget Revision

The Scottish Government introduced the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament on 20th June 2022. As part of the approach to the National Care Service, ethical commissioning and ethical procurement will be used to shape all commissioning and procurement decision making.

Local bodies will be required to have a strategic plan, setting out their arrangements and vision for how services will be provided, this will include an ethical commissioning strategy in relation to those services.

Company law and corporation tax are reserved to the UK Government. This means the Scottish Government has no powers to legislate in these areas or to discriminate against firms who take tax avoidance measures that UK rules allow.

The Scottish Government supports measures to ensure that businesses pay a fair amount of tax, such as the development of international, multilateral measures to combat tax avoidance and protect national tax bases. We believe that businesses have an ethical obligation to deal openly with their tax affairs and to avoid engaging in artificial arrangements simply to reduce their tax liabilities.

Scottish Government officials regularly engage with Aberdeen City Council on a wide range of issues which can include vacant, derelict and abandoned buildings and land.

We understand that vacant and derelict land has a detrimental impact on communities however we also recognise that reusing our land and property assets can have many benefits from supporting regeneration, creating jobs and contributing to our efforts against climate change.

The £50m low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) complements our existing investment in support of place based regeneration across Scotland, including the Place Based Investment Programme. We are keen for Aberdeen City Council to work with its communities and other partners to develop suitable project proposals and apply to the VDLIP. Officials would be happy to discuss any potential projects.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy that takes a whole system, public health approach to achieve the very highest standards of care right up to the end of life, and ensure that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high quality palliative care. We are currently taking stock of the leadership, resources and partnerships we need to deliver this.

We will continue to plan a series of engagement events with partners across the sector to think strategically about improvements and priorities across the wide range of services and support. This will contribute to a holistic, integrated and multi-disciplinary approach which will ensure access to palliative and end of life care wherever and whenever it is needed, and which has the person and their families and carers at the centre. Development of the strategy is likely to continue into 2023 to enable meaningful engagement and ensure alignment with the development of the National Care Service.

The Scottish Government greatly values the hard work and dedication of the local government workforce. We also recognise the challenges across the public sector, including local government, in ensuring that pay increases are affordable to employers but are fair to employees against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis.

Local government pay negotiations are entirely the responsibility of local authorities and COSLA. However, both the Scottish Government and COSLA are working to jointly explore all of the options available to find solutions.

As agreed by the Ministerial-led working group on Safe Access Zones, independent research has been commissioned by the Scottish Government; part of this research will involve more formal monitoring of the prevalence, nature and impact of any vigils or protests with NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government also continues to discuss with NHS Board staff whether they have experienced issues or concerns relating to protests of vigils outside abortion clinics. We will continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure that evidence is gathered .

The Scottish Government is aware that recent vigils or protests have been held at the following locations in Glasgow: the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the Sandyford clinic and Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Vigils or protests have also been held earlier this year outside the Chalmers clinic in Edinburgh and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. While there has been activity at other locations in the past, the Scottish Government is not aware of activity at any other locations having taken place during the past year.

The updated information requested is contained in the following table:

The Scottish Government has committed to the introduction of a Human Rights Bill within this Parliamentary session (2021-26) and we will consult on proposals this year.

The Human Rights Bill will incorporate the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes a right to adequate food as an essential part of the overall right to an adequate standard of living, into Scots law, as far as possible within devolved competence.

The updated information requested is contained in the following table: