Chamber and committees

In line with our commitment to develop a fairer funding approach for the third sector, we will increase the number of multi-year grants in the forthcoming budget and ensure timely notification of funding.

In the current fiscal climate and within the constraints of the significant financial challenges facing us in this budget, we will consider each proposal for funding carefully and do what we can to support third sector organisations.

The NHS Scotland National Access Policy states that Health Boards should review reasons why patients may DNA or cancel appointments in order to take necessary steps to address issues and barriers as necessary including what support can be provided by Health Boards to reduce non-attendance. The policy can be found at The NHSScotland National Access Policy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Public Health Scotland data up to 30 September 2023 showed the Did Not Attend (DNA) rates for New Outpatients has reduced by 1% over the last year - from 7.7% on 30 September 2023 to 6.7% in the most recent quarter. While DNA rates for inpatient and day-cases has been consistently at 0.7% in each quarter over the same period.

We recognise the importance of transparent and regular communication with patients, which is why we have included a standard package of communications that all Health Boards should be providing in the revised Waiting Times Guidance . This includes what patients should expect and their responsibilities while they are waiting for their appointment, test or treatment.

The impact assessments to inform proposals to introduce a charge on single-use disposable beverage cups are currently being developed, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, and will be published alongside the public consultation in due course.

There have been zero fatalities as a result of road accidents on the A90 between Stonehaven, where Slug Road crosses the A90, and by Aberdeen, where Skene road (A944) intersects with the A90 since 1 April 2021.

The Scottish Government regularly holds cross-portfolio meetings to discuss matters related to public health. The overall governance for cross-portfolio engagement on population health and its drivers is the Care and Wellbeing Portfolio. The most recent cross portfolio meeting under this governance was the Place and Wellbeing Programme Board (which sits within the Care and Wellbeing Portfolio) which last met on 7 December. Matters discussed included progress on how health and social care bodies can operate as effective anchor institutions and contribute to improved public health, as part of the wider community wealth building agenda.

The Care and Wellbeing Portfolio Board, which provides oversight of a portfolio of work to improve population health; address inequalities and improve system sustainability, last met on 26 July 2023.

At that meeting the Board considered joint work across Economy/Health and Social Care Portfolios and Public Health Scotland on economic inactivity and the impact it has on Scotland’s economy and population health. The Board also discussed the Verity House Agreement and the shared priorities of tackling poverty, transforming our economy through a just transition to deliver net zero and, delivering sustainable, person-centred public services. 

The Board next meets on the 24 January 2024 and is scheduled to consider long term planning around population health.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has regular cross-portfolio meetings about wider determinants that contribute to improving public health - including the Tackling Child Poverty Programme Board, the Fair Work Oversight Group and the Ministerial Population Taskforce.

The Scottish Government will publish a Review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan early in 2024 which will outline progress towards the 2025 target. We will also publish the second consultation for the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, detailing the Scottish Government proposals to deliver our system-wide, comprehensive vision for Scotland’s circular economy to 2030.

The Scottish Government has discussed food waste with a range of representative and third sector organisations. For example, an eNGO roundtable event took place with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Scottish Environment Link members, with representatives from: WWF; Friends of the Earth Scotland; Circular Communities Scotland; and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. Another example is ongoing support and engagement with WRAP UK - a climate action NGO – which has expertise in food waste reduction. We have also engaged with FareShare on food redistribution. This engagement is complemented by programme partners at Zero Waste Scotland who work with community food groups and wider third sector organisations on food waste reduction.

As outlined in the draft route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car km by 2030, published in January 2022, the Scottish Government intends to publish a demand management framework by 2025, which will set out our approach to transport demand management options.

A key interdependency of the Scottish Government’s approach to demand management is the position of the UK Government on the future of motoring taxes. The most direct levers on the cost of buying or running a petrol or diesel car – fuel duty and vehicle excise duty – are reserved to the UK Government, who acknowledged in their Net Zero Review that revenues from existing motoring taxes will decline sharply this decade as we transition away from fossil fuels and the taxes based on them. However the UK Government has so far failed to set out how they will address this. We will continue to press the UK Government for clarity on timescales for motoring tax reform. The Scottish Government wants a fair and progressive future transport tax system that better incentivises the transition to zero-emission vehicles, reduces unnecessary journeys and raises revenues to fund policies to support a shift to more sustainable travel.

Transport Scotland, through its four Trunk Road Operating Companies and five Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. The repair of potholes on all other roads is the responsibility of the local authorities.

Category 1 potholes are defined within the term maintenance contract as those that present, or could present, an immediate hazard to trunk road users. They are typically detected during driven safety related inspections. The following table shows the number of Category 1 potholes recorded since 2013 broken down by operational area. A map showing these operational areas can be found here . Data between 2007 and 2013 is not available.

The Scottish Government continues to make good progress towards our target of securing 2GW of community and locally owned energy by 2030.

Our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has supported communities across Scotland looking to develop local community energy projects.

To date, CARES has advised over 1,000 organisations, offered funding of over £61 million to over 800 projects, and helped support the direct installation of 58.6 MW of renewable energy. This has included supporting a wide range of projects such as community owned wind and hydro, decarbonising community buildings, installing solar PV on faith buildings, developing community action plans, innovation studies, and helping local communities invest in commercial renewable energy projects.

Notably, the CARES Off-Electricity Grid Communities Fund, which will run until March 2024, has supported remote communities to decarbonise and future-proof their existing local independent electrical grids that are not connected to the national electricity grid. Through this fund, we have awarded significant funding to support the Isle of Eigg to increase its renewable energy generation and capacity through the installation of additional solar panels and storage batteries; and Knoydart to support its Network Enhancement project.