Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has provided a grant of £0.5 million to Care and Repair Scotland to support assistance for home owners with the installation of alarms to meet the new Scottish standard. Up to £400,000 of this grant may be used to purchase alarms, and up to £100,000 may be allocated to local offices for costs associated with fitting alarms.

We are aware that bus operators are reporting increasing shortages of bus drivers which is affecting bus services in some areas. These shortages are linked to wider workforce pressures such as high demand for drivers in the HGV and other sectors as well as ongoing staff sickness due to COVID-19. We are working with the industry to monitor the impact on service levels and officials are also in regular contact with the Department for Transport to identify and address issues delaying licence applications and driver testing which is a reserved matter. We continue to support operators to run services despite continuing reduced demand due to the pandemic with up to £210 million in additional funding being made available since June 2020.

The National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland (NGICNS) publishes a general overview of gender identity clinic waiting times in Scotland in its annual reports. The latest published annual report from NGICNS is available at: https://www.ngicns.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/midannual-reports/

The next annual report from NGICNS is due for release from May 2022.

From March 2020 unfortunately, as with other parts of the NHS, services delivered by gender identity clinics were and continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the need to reduce waiting times to access NHS gender identity services. That is why we have committed to improving access to these services in our 2021/22 Programme for Government .

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has a Policy in place regarding the treatment of Trans Prisoners in custody. This Policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010. The SPS carry out comprehensive risk assessments to assess risks to both prisoners and staff in determining how individual transgender prisoners are managed. The 2010 Act is generally reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Government’s intention is this Policy would continue to have effect under the provisions in the draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The Scottish Government is considering a number of options as solutions to replacing gas boilers and recognise that that, for a small number of buildings, bioenergy and in particular bio heating oil, bioLPG and biomass may prove to be the only practicable option for heat decarbonisation. However, it is likely that these properties will be in off gas grid areas.

Heat pumps and Heat Networks are widely used in other European countries and have been identified as near term priorities for replacing gas boilers in Scotland as set out in our recently published Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Regarding support for heat pumps, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02397 on 9 September 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

Heat networks are also a key strategic zero emissions heat technology. The Competition and Markets Authority found that up to 90% of heat network customers enjoy similar, or lower, bills than those with standard gas boilers and heat networks can cut both emissions and bills.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel, like other bio fuels, is dependent on there being a sustainable supply of feedstock, and there remain concerns about lifecycle emissions. Further research is therefore required before Scottish Government could commit to any particular bio fuel. Scottish Government’s aim is to see bioenergy used where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions. However this decision is also dependent on lifecycle emissions and which sectors will make the best use of the bioenergy feedstocks. Emerging technologies and the push to decarbonise across the economy may also create new demands on these finite resources.

We intend to publish a Bioenergy Action Plan in 2023 which will set out a strategic framework for how the available biomass resources and technologies can be used to best effect.

The pandemic has had a detrimental impact on people's finances, particularly those in low income households. Families who were already struggling before the pandemic have been pushed further into financial insecurity. For this reason, the Scottish Government has prioritised the financial security of low income families in its Covid Recovery Strategy.

Manageable debt is a normal part of many households’ financial management. The Scottish Government’s approach is to tackle problem debt in a supportive and empowering way. In 2021-22, the Scottish Government has allocated over £7 million from the debt advice levy to support frontline provision of free debt advice services for the people of Scotland. This advice is delivered face to face, over the phone or online.

In addition, the Scottish Legal Aid Board oversees over £2 million of funding on behalf of the Scottish Government, through projects that support people dealing with personal debt problems, including debt created by rent or mortgage arrears.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy administers Bankruptcy, Protected Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme, which provide statutory debt solutions to people struggling with their personal debt. In response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government made changes to personal insolvency to provide better support to people facing financial difficulties. A stakeholder led policy review of statutory debt solutions is underway with recommendations expected by the end of the year.

There are many other Scottish Government policies and funding streams that have an indirect but positive impact on problem debt, such as support for tenants struggling with rent arrears, the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and our wider support for low income households.

The Scottish Government wants to maximise the employment potential associated with the business and this requirement was included in the Eligibility Questionnaire for that reason. With the process to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector continuing, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment further at this time.

The Eligibility Questionnaire required bidders to demonstrate their capability and commitment to maintaining Prestwick Airport as an operational airport. With the process to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector continuing, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment further at this time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03712 on
‎ 4 November 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

I can confirm that Aberdeenshire Council’s reported objection to the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement Scheme remains extant and would refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02821 on 23 September 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 .