Chamber and committees

Scotland’s winter COVID-19 and flu programme commenced on 4 September, with the majority of the COVID-19 programme due to start from 18 September. We originally planned to vaccinate care home residents, people aged 75 and over and people with weakened immune system aged 12 and over from the middle of October in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice; that protection from COVID-19 vaccines is highest in the first three months following vaccination, so by vaccinating those who are at highest risk later, we planned to give them greater protection over the period of high winter NHS pressures, into the new year.

In light of the emergence of new variant BA.2.86 in late August 2023, the Scottish Government, alongside the other 4 nations, took the precautionary measure to endeavour to bring forward vaccination of care home residents, people aged 75 and over and people with weakened immune system aged 12 and over, as close to the start of the programme, where possible.

All those eligible were invited forward via letter, email or text, prior to Christmas and although the majority of vaccinations were completed before the festive break, appointments are available until the end of the programme on 31 March 2024.

As of 14 January we have delivered 1,384,426 COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine uptake data is publicly available through the PHS dashboard and is updated weekly. It contains data broken down by age and health status. The current COVID-19 uptake is as follows (as of 14 January 2024):

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-21967 on 18 October 2023.

An interim value for money assessment, which includes cross-modal impacts, using a multimodal evaluation of current travel patterns and impact to date in line with His Majesty’s Treasury Green Book principles to be undertaken of value for money is underway. At the end of the Pilot a final evaluation will be undertaken and the Scottish Government will carefully consider its impact and the long-term sustainability of such a proposition.

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 .

(A) Specific allocations for the Rail Enhancement programmes and projects in 2024/25 continue to be considered. The 2024-25 budget allocations for the portfolio of enhancements projects will be made in the coming months.

(B) The Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan commits to all passenger diesel trains being replaced with zero emission alternatives; the order and programme in which that is done continues to be subject to appropriate business cases and available budgets. Funding decisions for Rail Decarbonisation projects are, and continue to be considered against budgets and forecast funding availability.

Scotland’s Market Framework for natural capital markets aims to guide the development of responsible, high-integrity and values led natural capital markets in Scotland by setting out a clear long-term vision, a policy framework and guidance for market participants.

There has been no reduction to Scottish Water’s budget. The Scottish Government Budget for 2024-25 sets out that during the financial year, the Scottish Government intends to lend £170m per annum in capital funding and to receive some £105.5m income per annum which is the interest on loans issued to Scottish Water. Across the 2021-27 period Ministers have committed to lend Scottish Water up to £1.03bn. Lending in future years will be agreed in future Budget Acts.

The quoted reduction of £1.1m is for the Water Industry portfolio. This reflects additional income from interest payments made by Scottish Water as well as a reduction in spend on some Hydro Nation activity. The impact is outlined in the answer to S6W-24199.

Orders for Lifelong Restriction (OLRs) are a long-standing valuable sentencing option for courts to use for the most dangerous offenders. The OLR is an exceptional risk based sentence which is only used by the most senior judges in Scotland in the High Court following a risk assessment process carried out by accredited experts.

In order for the High Court to impose an OLR, they must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the nature of, or the circumstances of the commission of, the offence of which the convicted person has been found guilty - either in the circumstances themselves or as part of a pattern of behaviour - are such as to demonstrate that there is a likelihood that he or she, if at liberty, will seriously endanger the lives, or physical or psychological well-being, of members of the public at large.

Decisions on the release of OLR prisoners are taken by the Parole Board for Scotland. New rules were introduced last year which require that the latest Risk Management Plan (RMP) or the Risk Assessment Report is available to the Board when consideration is made for the release of a person subject to an OLR. The Board will only direct release when they are satisfied that imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public but in circumstances where their decision differs from the recommendations in the RMP, they must provide a reason for that decision.

The Risk Management Authority (RMA) have a legislative responsibility around the evaluation and approval of RMPs and can make recommendations around the role of social work and psychologists involved in those cases. The RMA have produced evidence-based Standards and Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Management to support criminal justice partners in consistent risk practice. Last year, they also published extensive research into the Order for Lifelong Restriction sentence, a report which is available on their website, and the Scottish Government continues to reflect on these findings.

Professional standards bodies such as the Scottish Social Services Council sets out national standards of conduct and practice that apply to all social service workers and their employers.

Over the last few years, there have been changes to pilot delivery of two new national offender programmes, an expanded Self-Change programme to address intimate partner violence and sexual offending and a redesigned Moving Forward to Change (MF2C) sex offender programme. It is expected that MF2C will support a greater throughput of prisoners through the programme, optimising access to it.

The Scottish Government provides annual funding towards the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF), administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), to enable libraries to undertake a wide range of pioneering initiatives within communities.

The following table provides a breakdown of the PLIF funding allocated to libraries since 2013-14.

We are in the initial stages of scoping the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Culture Partnership Agreement, which will require extensive collaboration with COSLA.

We will be able to share more information on this work in the months following the Cultural Value Summit, which will take place in 2024.

The Scottish Government has not provided funding to the Rhoda Nina Scott Trust since 2019.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board has been established in acknowledgement of both the significant economic role that the wider Grangemouth industrial cluster plays today, and its potential to support Scotland’s Just Transition to net zero. The overarching remit of the Grangemouth Future Industry Board is therefore to support the delivery of the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan. This will help to ensure a that future low-carbon opportunities are realised, whilst ensuring that any transition puts equity and fairness at its heart for people who live and work there.