Chamber and committees

The waiting time information available to the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) does not provide details on the reason an individual has been referred into a NHS service, including if the patient is experiencing age-related hearing loss. It is therefore not possible to make an assessment of what the waiting times for ear, nose and throat (ENT) and hospital audiology would be if a community audiology service had been treating the majority of age-related hearing loss patients since 2021.

The Scottish Government is awaiting the final business case from the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Once received, it will be reviewed through the relevant governance processes.

Data is available on the share of SME employers that report a profit. These estimates, sourced from the Small Business Survey, are shown in Table 1. In 2019, 78% of SME employers in Scotland reported generating a profit, this fell to 70% in 2020, with the latest data for 2023 putting the share back at 78%.

Table 1: Taking into account all sources of income in the last financial year, did you generate a profit or surplus? – SME Employers - Scotland

The Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That is why we value the important role colleges play in widening access for students into higher education and into health professions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce set out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to develop alternative entry routes and consider the barriers and enablers to attracting students to nursing and midwifery professions. This includes, work on improving the existing Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Healthcare Practice for Nursing and the development of a HNC for Maternity which will more consistently support entry into Year 1 of Nursing and Midwifery degree programmes, and direct articulation into Year 2 Nursing degree programmes. This will be progressed in collaboration with identified higher education institutions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35682 on 27 March 2025. 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.

Figures provided by the recipients of the Green Jobs Fund awards estimated that the projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Scottish Government’s A Fairer Scotland for Older People: framework for action contains a dedicated strand focused on activity we are undertaking to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age. The framework and actions within it are discussed at the Older People Strategic Action Forum, of which Independent Age are a valued member.

The Scottish Government provides funding of £2.2 million, through the Equality and Human Rights Fund, to older people’s organisations and age equality projects. This funding is delivering a range of initiatives that tackles poverty among older people. A copy of the fund’s progress report can be found here Oct 23-Mar 24_E&HR Progress Report and provides details on initiatives we are delivering with this funding.

We are also tackling social isolation and loneliness by providing £3.8m over three years to 53 community projects across Scotland through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund that is creating opportunities for people to connect. Disabled people and older people (75+) are two of the priority groups targeted by the Fund.. A copy of the fund’s progress can be found here SIAL-2023-26-year-2-progress-report-2.pdf

As you may know, on 9 June the UK Government announced an intention to expand eligibility to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) in England and Wales to pensioners with an individual income of £35,000 or less per year. Following careful consideration of the options available, the Scottish Government has decided to mirror the approach taken by the UK Government for our Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP). From this winter onwards, PAWHP will be a payment of £203.40 per pensioner household with no individual aged 80 or over, or £305.10 per pensioner households with an individual aged 80 or over. This means pensioners in Scotland will be better off compared to those in the rest of the UK.

There is other support in Scotland, through the Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) Passport, that aims to increase independence and participation of older and disabled people. This includes Free Personal Care, access to a disabled person’s bus pass and a companion pass and although receipt of PADP does not provide automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge, eligible disabled people can apply through their local authority.

The provisions of the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill will make permanent the legislative framework for virtual attendance at criminal courts first introduced over five years ago. This approach has been extensively consulted on including through the Scottish Government’s pre-legislative consultation. The responses of the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland to that consultation supported making these provisions permanent. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association’s written evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee also supported the use of virtual hearings in specific circumstances such as intermediate diets and preliminary hearings.

As with any aspect of service delivery, the greater use of technology may cause difficulties to arise from time to time and justice agencies and partners engage with each other on those as they would about any matter of operational practice.

By its very nature, that is an ongoing and continuous process. Through repeated use and refinement of the technology over the last five years since the emergency legislation was introduced, practice has improved and there are adequate checks in place to minimise disruption caused by technical difficulties.

The comments by Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association were both made in the context of feedback around virtual custodies rather than the functioning of virtual provisions generally. Delivery partners have recognised concerns and virtual custodies have been paused pending a review including on the technological challenges experienced to date in implementation. A revised model will be explored through a working group established by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service which includes justice partners such as the Law Society of Scotland.

The Green Jobs Fund supported businesses and their supply chains to help them better transition to a low carbon economy. The support provided by the fund, all of which was capital, aimed to create green employment through investment in equipment, premises, and research and development.

Since its creation, the Green Jobs Fund has provided £38.7 million in grant funding to support 122 projects. Figures provided by the recipients of these awards estimated that these projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Green Jobs Fund was discontinued in financial year 2023-24. It formed a relatively small part of the Scottish Government’s broader investment in the transition to net zero. This includes many institutions, funding packages and investment vehicles which provide advice, support, and financial assistance for businesses at the forefront to building Scotland’s green economy.

The Green Industrial Strategy provides further strategic direction on how such investment supports the development, growth and scale-up of existing and new businesses seeking to take advantage of the global opportunities of the transition.

The original policy intent of the powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 was to support local decision making around non-domestic rates reliefs. Local authorities are independent bodies, and it is for local authorities themselves to consider whether to use those powers. However, the Scottish Government includes information on these powers in its non-domestic rates relief guidance issued to local authorities annually, and routinely works with councils and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation to ensure those powers are clearly understood.