Chamber and committees

The management of piping in hospitals is managed by the local NHS Board and any risk assessment would not routinely be submitted to the Scottish Government.

Affordable housing investment benchmarks will not apply to the purchase of ‘second hand’ residential dwellings through the national acquisition programme and no grant limits will be attached to any purchase.

The Citizens’ Assembly for Scotland published its final report in January 2021. The Scottish Government published a detailed response on 23 November 2021. Since then, Scottish Government’s commitments on participatory and deliberative democracy have been developed through the Institutionalising Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (IPDD) working group, which published its recommendations on 25 March 2022. Scottish Government published a response to on 27 March 2023 and work is ongoing to deliver the commitments set out.

This work is included in the Citizens’ Participation and Public Petitions (CPPP) Committee’s scrutiny remit. Since Spring 2022, the CPPP Committee has been undertaking a Public Participation Inquiry – it will publish its final report in September 2023, and plans to follow this with a debate in Parliament.

A range of policy documents were shared with the Scottish Government by Circularity Scotland (CSL) during the application process for the scheme administrator role for the Deposit Return Scheme. Documents which supported the scheme administrator application by CSL were the subject of an Environmental Information Request and subsequent review, details of which are published on our website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200298347/.

The Legal Aid Fund is an open-ended, demand led budget. Last year total expenditure on legal aid was £138.3m. Civil legal aid is available in a wide scope of actions with generous eligibility thresholds and the application is subject to statutory tests which cover the merits of the case and the means available to the applicant. This can include contested divorces and applications for non-harassment orders if the tests are met. Means testing is an important lever for retaining this wide scope.

We are implementing ‘Equally Safe’, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls. This is backed by £19m of annual funding to support 121 projects from 112 organisations that focus on early intervention, prevention as well as support services.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse, and ensuring that victims receive the support they need. We have invested significant levels of funding into front line services, as well as working closely with statutory agencies to improve their response to victims and survivors. It is vital that those who suffer domestic abuse have the practical and emotional assistance they need, which is why we are providing £18.5m, through our Victim Centred Approach Fund, for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

We support the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) which is at the forefront of improving access to justice offering free legal information and advice to women in Scotland who have or are experiencing gender-based violence. Funding has been provided to the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre through the Scottish Legal Aid Board since 2015 and the Scottish Government continues to provide funding in 2023-24 up to a limit of £230,000. The SWRC provide a range of services, including a national helpline, legal surgeries, advocacy services and online legal guides.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20381 on 17 August 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

We are continuing to work through technical and practical points around purchases from landlords in the private rented sector with tenants in situ, and further information will be communicated as soon as possible. Any council or Registered Social Landlord that is currently exploring any such purchase – where this meets a clear strategic purpose and where the tenant is at risk of homelessness – should contact their local More Homes Division area team office.

The Scottish Government is committed to the creation of a Scottish Veterinary Service (SVS) to ensure there are highly trained staff to provide Scotland with good animal health and food safety to meet all our needs across the public and private sector for animal health issues.

A Programme has been established to manage the work required to create an SVS, which includes determining which functions the Service should deliver, and conducting a financial appraisal of the operational and investment costs of the Service.

All potential functions considered for future delivery by the SVS are already funded by the Scottish Government under a variety of arrangements. The financial appraisal will assess how consolidation under a single body provides opportunities to enhance quality, efficiency, resilience and value for money.

In July 2023, in accordance with Regulation 17(1)(c) of the Deposit and Return Scheme Regulations 2020, Scottish Ministers decided to withdraw scheme administrator approval for Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) following notification that they had entered administration. If CSL's representatives do not ask for a review of this decision, the company ceases to be scheme administrator with effect from 17 August 2023.

The Scottish Government is committed to the creation of a Scottish Veterinary Service (SVS) to ensure there are highly trained staff to provide Scotland with good animal health and food safety to meet all our needs across the public and private sector for animal health issues.

A Programme has been established to manage the work required to create an SVS, which includes conducting a financial appraisal of the operational and investment costs of the Service.

The financial appraisal will assess how consolidation under a single body provides opportunities to enhance quality, efficiency, resilience and value for money