Chamber and committees

Recent reports of bus service withdrawal have tended to concern commercial routes. The majority of services in Scotland operate in an open de-regulated market and the provision of local bus services is a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement on service routes, frequencies and vehicle types.

Under the Transport Act 1985, where there is a social need for particular bus services which are not being provided commercially, local authorities can subsidise these at their discretion. This procedure allows local transport authorities to influence the frequency, routing of services or vehicle types used however this is entirely a matter for the local authority to consider and action.

Figures regarding the demographic of the social care workforce are published annually in the Scottish Social Services Council Workforce Report.

The Scottish Government has a long-standing commitment to the principles of Fair-Work as we recognise and value the work that the social care sector do.

We are committed to lifting standards for adult social care workers and for those people who are in receipt of care, which is why we have increased spending within the sector.

The £12 minimum pay-rate from April 2024 for Adult Social Care workers represents a 14.3% increase for these workers in the last two years; with pay rising from at least £10.50 per hour in April 2022.

We have continued to progress a number of key projects to take forward and improve Fair Work principles, which will not only improve the current experience of the workforce, but also help to attract and retain new staff into the workforce.

Details of the RAAC survey programme are available on NHS Scotland Assure’s website which contains a link to each NHS Boards’ RAAC webpage for current information about progress of the survey programme.

The Scottish Government is considering using the proposals for a Heat In Buildings Bill (as set out in consultation document “Delivering Net Zero for Scotland’s Buildings: Changing the way we heat our homes and buildings”, published November 2023) to make two potential changes to the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021. Both potential changes arise from the need to harmonise our heat networks legislation with the recently-passed UK Energy Act 2023. These potential amendments are:

• To align our 2021 Act’s definitions of ‘supplier’ and ‘operator’ with those of the UK Energy Act 2023. Given that Ofgem will be acting as both the UK authorisation authority and Scottish licensing authority, it will be beneficial to the regulator and industry alike to have aligned definitions. This will foster a more streamlined application and determination process.
• To modify Part 7 of the 2021 Act, in order to take into account the ‘step-in’ and ‘supplier of last resort’ provisions of the UK Energy Act 2023. It may be necessary to remove similar Scottish provisions in this area (‘register of key network assets’ and a ‘transfer scheme’) in order to avoid duplication and potential confusion for market participants.

During the consultation process, additional potential amendments may be identified.

Alongside the dedicated Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services 3 team and internal specialist support, the Scottish Government have engaged with external advisors, taking note of previous community and key stakeholder engagement feedback to develop the public consultation on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services 3 contract.

I met with trade union representatives on 30 November 2023, following on from her Parliamentary statement on 16 November. CHFS3 officials will be liaising with trade union representatives shortly to further discuss progress.

The last discussion between Transport Scotland and the Department for Transport took place on 18 January 2024. Transport Scotland was represented by Chief Executive Officer Alison Irvine.

The Heat in Buildings Bill consultation proposes that local authorities and the Scottish Ministers may be provided with powers to require buildings within a Heat Network Zone to end their use of polluting heating systems (by a certain date and with a minimum notice period).

We do not specify any sub-sets of buildings which may be affected by these proposals, in order to gain thorough feedback in response to our consultation. Thereafter we will analyse responses to help determine whether to take these proposals forward, including whether they may be restricted to particular types of buildings.

In March 2022 we published The Heat Networks Delivery Plan, which sets out a building hierarchy table for connection to a heat network and can also support our policy development in this area. It sets out that within a heat network zone it will be important to encourage and prioritise the connection of key anchor buildings, which can enable the efficient operation of a heat network, helping to reduce customer costs and enabling the extension of the network over time to other nearby buildings.

District heat network development: Building Connection Hierarchy*

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24582 on 1 February 2024. 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 .