Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has already given a point by point response [on 24 March 2021] to all recommendations from the four Committees that scrutinised our update to the 2018 Climate Change Plan.

As stated in that response, the Committees’ advice will be considered and incorporated as part of the wider approach to keeping our package of policies on climate change under review, with a view to outlining further policy action where appropriate in sector strategies or plans, as well as in the next statutory Climate Change Plan.

The Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) provides a framework to identify and appraise transport interventions. The process is designed to provide investment decision-makers with the information they need in a clear, structured format. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review is following STAG as the basis for undertaking its appraisal, therefore all 58 station options are being appraised in line with STAG.

International travel restrictions are important in limiting the importation of further cases of the virus, in particular new variants, which could undermine the rollout of our vaccine programme. Exemptions to self-isolation requirements have been granted for seafarers returning directly to Scotland from red or amber list countries outside of the UK. Seafarers who are repatriating in Scotland are also exempt from isolation and the financial pressure that isolation incurs. This exemption does not apply to seafarers returning to Scotland for a period of leave or any other non-work-related circumstance. Offshore workers arriving from amber list countries to work on the UK continental shelf are also exempt from isolation requirements. Where workers are required to travel internationally for business reasons, employers are encouraged to consider how they support their employees to comply with restrictions on their return to Scotland.

We want everyone in Scotland to eat well and have a healthy weight, yet we know people living on low incomes have poorer health outcomes.

We promote a cash-first approach through the Scottish Welfare Fund and other discretionary supports, and through the Independent Food Aid Network’s Cash-First Pathways.

We have increased the level of the Best Start Food Grant which supports low income families to buy healthy food for children under the age of three and intend to increase eligibility in this parliamentary term.

Our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan also outlines a range of actions to make access to affordable healthier food options easier for those on low incomes.

The Scottish Government is committed to fair income for our councillors, which is why we introduced a new mechanism in 2017 that ensures Councillors' pay is increased annually in line with the percentage increase in the median annual earnings of public sector workers in Scotland. However, I appreciate that the annual salary of an ordinary Councillor is seen as one of the main contributing factors to the lack of diversity among Councillors in Scotland, and I am open to discussing with COSLA and wider stakeholders how we might support them to address this issue.

The consultation on New Year's Day trading closed on 24 August and attracted over 1,860 responses. The responses are being analysed and I will inform the Parliament of a decision once the analysis is complete.

Yes, this remains Scottish Government position. We strongly discourage trade with all illegal settlements, including those in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In their most recent CAMHS Waiting Times Data Quality Report, Public Health Scotland published that NHS Grampian are experiencing challenges reporting on “did not attend appointment” (DNA) due to the functionality of their current patient management system and database. Work is ongoing to rectify this and NHS Grampian anticipate that they will be able to provide this to Public Health Scotland by the end of 2021 when they expect to have transitioned to their new patient management system.

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/8867/data-quality.pdf

In the Programme for Government announced on 7 September 2021 the Scottish Government committed to developing options to remove charging for non-residential social care. We are working to deliver these as soon as possible.

Every public information campaign has a unique set of objectives and associated target audience.

The Scottish Government carries out research to ascertain the most effective strategy and messaging for all public information campaigns.

In some cases, a well-known public figure can deliver a message in a more compelling way thus increasing the potential impact of the campaign. Where that is the case, the Scottish Government consider various options recommended by their rostered agencies based on the personality and profile of the celebrity required and appointments are made based on suitability, availability and level of budget (if any) required.

A new protocol is being created and put in place by the Scottish Government to improve the approach to vetting public figures used in campaigns. This protocol will improve the sharing of knowledge between public sector bodies and the Scottish Government central communications function regarding the use of public figures.