Chamber and committees

The information about the number of individuals requesting hospital-based palliative care is not collected centrally.

The following table shows the number of people recorded as receiving inpatient palliative care in 2019-20. However, this information may not reflect the totality of hospital-based palliative care as it only contains the patients recorded under the care of a palliative medicine consultant, in a Palliative care unit or diagnosed with a Palliative care condition.

Using the latest available forecasts published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in January 2021 1 , it is estimated that 163,000 children are eligible for Scottish Child Payment in 2021-22.

Social Security Scotland publish official statistics on the number of applications they have received, processed and the number of children who have benefited from Scottish Child Payment. The latest statistics published in May 2021 2 cover the period from 9 November 2020 to 31 March 2021. The next publication, covering up to 30 June 2021, will be released on 31 August 2021.

1 Scottish Fiscal Commission (January 2021) Scotland’sEconomic and Fiscal Forecasts. Available at https://www.fiscalcommission.scot/publications/scotlands-economic-and-fiscal-forecasts-january-2021/ .

2 Social Security Scotland (May 2021) Scottish Child Payment: high level statistics to 31 March 2021. Available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-child-payment-high-level-statistics-on-applications-to-31-march-2021/ .

The Scottish Government recognises the dangers of drug and alcohol misuse and the importance of supporting practitioners to develop and deliver appropriate lessons for children and young people on this subject.

The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) empowers individual schools and teachers to develop and deliver a curriculum informed by, and relevant to, the local needs of learners. To support schools in the delivery of effective learning on the topic of drug and alcohol misuse, Education Scotland have provided a number of resources accessible through the National Improvement Hub.

Such resources include learning activities on drugs and alcohol which are aimed at supporting practitioners to develop relevant lessons; such as: “Decision making about illegal substances” and “The effects of drinking alcohol” : Each learning activity is directly linked to the experiences and outcomes set out in the health and wellbeing area of the curriculum.

As well as support being available to support teachers to deliver lessons on drug and alcohol misuse, there are a number of initiatives aimed directly at children and young people to help them be better informed and make better choices. Such resources include Young Scot’s “Choices for Life” ; an online resource hosted by Young Scot which signposts children and young people to relevant and appropriate information online.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01856 on 6 August 2021. 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.

We have worked with local authorities when developing the exemption process for events to ensure it is proportionate and workable in practice and we will continue to engage closely with them on the process going forward.

Scotland’s councils have been allocated an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government finance settlement and councils have also been granted additional financial flexibilities to address the financial pressures caused by COVID-19.

The 2021-22 Local Government Settlement of almost £11.7 billion provides a cash increase in local government day to day spending for local revenue services of £375.6 million or 3.5 per cent.

It is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Social Security Scotland has been proactively promoting Scottish Child Payment by writing to those eligible on Universal Credit and HMRC tax credit databases to invite them to apply. Social Security Scotland also continue to work closely with public sector services and third sector organisations to reach out to families. This includes information in the baby box, NHS midwife and health visitor packs, nurseries and schools, food banks and other family support and welfare advice groups.

To drive take up of Scottish Child Payment further, as well as Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, we launched a Five Family Payments campaign in March 2021, which will continue throughout this financial year, and targets parents through TV, radio, online adverts and social media.

Scottish Government officials are currently working to identify the most appropriate and effective way to appoint a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care. This work is ongoing and further information regarding this appointment will be made available in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01456 on 11 August 2021. In addition, the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme has been costed using the best available data including feedback from dairy suppliers and an uplift was applied to the funding model to take account of uncertainties such as market variation and potential sensitivities around milk supply in rural Scotland.

Through the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme we aim to embed the habit of regular consumption of high-quality dairy produce and fruit and vegetables from an early age. The Scottish Government will use Year 1 to gather and review evidence, including via an implementation group consisting of key partners, to ensure the Scheme is meeting policy objectives. Should evidence suggest otherwise, we will consider whether action is required as we look ahead to Year 2 and beyond.

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 Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme will replace the UK Nursery Milk Scheme in Scotland from 1 August 2021 for pre-school aged children. Costings for the Scheme, including a budget for Year 1 of more than three times the amount invested in UK Nursery Milk Scheme, have been through an extensive development process which factored in feedback from dairies and other key stakeholders. Funds have been distributed to local authorities based on Local Serving Rates agreed with COSLA, taking account of the differences in the cost of providing milk and snacks in rural and urban areas.

While our key focus has rightly remained on ensuring that we are putting the health outcomes of children at the centre of this policy, we recognise the challenge of developing a funding model that is sufficiently sensitive to every local circumstance and have sought to ensure our approach will allow for milk or a specified alternative to be sourced sustainably at a fair rate, supporting our vital Scottish food and drink sector.

Last year due to restrictions on international travel we saw an increased number of visitors and campers to the countryside. With restrictions ongoing, for this year only, we are supporting local authorities, National Parks and communities with an additional £2.75M to put in place temporary solutions for 2021, such as additional ranger posts, temporary car parks and toilets.

Our primary method in supporting sustainable tourism in rural areas remains the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund which was doubled to £6.2M this year, bringing our total investment to £15M. This has supported the development of car parks, toilets and motorhome waste facilities at some of Scotland’s most popular rural areas.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing £500M in our natural economy over the course of this Parliament to help tackle the biodiversity crisis. We will work with NatureScot, the National Parks, and local authorities to determine where our funding can have the most positive effect and deliver the best value for money.