Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government funds five direct delivery partners to carry out peatland restoration projects through the Peatland ACTION partnership - NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority and Scottish Water.

Operational and delivery aspects of the programme, such as vetting of individual applications seeking funding for their projects, are a matter for each respective delivery partner and I would refer the MSP to those organisations for further information.

100%. NatureScot deliver all their peatland restoration works via Peatland Action projects.

As part of the £30 million investment in the Fuel Insecurity Fund for 2023/24, the Scottish Government has allocated £9 million for the Home Heating Support Fund (HHSF), administered by Advice Direct Scotland (ADS), to support households with increased energy costs.

The most common reasons for HHSF applications being rejected are that evidence requirements are not met; or the customer has not already received debt advice, which is a requirement for support. As part of the appropriate verification and compliance process, relevant supporting evidence is required.

ADS adopt an holistic support approach, meaning that households presenting with debts exceeding £1,700 are internally passed to their FCA-accredited debt advice team for more comprehensive support and debt solutions. In all cases, ADS works with the applicant to ensure they have what they need to reapply to the HHSF.

11 December 2023

Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour Party): To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, whether it will provide an update on the development of a resource toolkit for Mental Health Unscheduled Care Practitioners.

S6W-23404

Maree Todd: The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan, makes a commitment to develop the Mental Health Unscheduled Care resource, in partnership with key stakeholders. This will look similar to the Resources for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Primary Care Services published on the Scottish Government website ( www.gov.scot ) on 27 July 2022.

The work to develop this resource will be taken forward with partners over the coming year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23358 on 11 December 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23371 on 11 December 2023. 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

One Scottish Government official attended the meeting.

Scotland’s water environment is one of our most important national assets. The Scottish Government sets out it’s objectives and action programmes for protecting and improving Scotland's water environment in the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), which the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) produces on our behalf every six years (currently covering 2021-2027). Each year the Scottish Government provides SEPA with a grant from the Water Environment Fund (WEF) to support their work to deliver the RBMP. WEF is targeted on projects which will derive the greatest benefit to Scotland’s rivers and neighbouring communities and is currently focussed on projects which restore rivers and improve fish migration.

Some projects to remove Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) were previously funded under WEF. However, in recent years funding for INNS projects has been provided through other funding streams such as The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) (total £3.24 million); The Tweed Invasives Project (£100,000); NatureScot’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund; The Scottish Rural Development Programme’s (SRDP) Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) (2020-2022 £20,392) and the Forestry Grant Scheme (£730,000 to date). Prioritising funding in this way enables more effective use of resources and greater benefits for biodiversity.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), published and adopted on 13 February 2023, places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and already gives strong support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Electricity networks are central to the delivery of the ambitions set out in our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. The Scottish Government’s response to the Electricity Networks Commissioner’s recommendations makes clear our commitment to delivering a just transition to net zero emissions by 2045. The UK Government must implement the recommendations swiftly, to ensure the grid is not a barrier to net zero. It is vital that the UK Government builds a high standard of co-design and collaboration with devolved governments to ensure that the recommendations are fit for purpose. It is also important that the Scottish Government is integral to the overall governance structures set up to oversee implementation and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Following the most recent request from the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group and Hospice UK on 20 November for remedial funding to address their estimated deficits, as well as a new national funding framework and arrangements to future proof partnership and funding arrangements, I convened a round table with independent hospices and Health and Social Care Partnerships on 5 December. I indicated that unfortunately, their ask for funding remains unaffordable.

The financial position across Scottish Government is extremely challenging and work is ongoing to identify measures to address the continued challenges in 2023-24 and beyond.

Integration Joint Boards are responsible for the governance, planning, and resourcing of adult palliative care services, including hospices, using the integrated budget under their control. We will therefore also continue to work with Integration Joint Boards and independent hospices to explore solutions and options for longer term sustainable planning and funding for the hospice sector.