Chamber and committees

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed quickly and effectively. Our national approach to anti-bullying, Respect for All , provides guidance on, including an explicit commitment in relation to prejudice based bullying. All schools are expected to develop and implement an anti-bullying policy, which should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Each local authority is responsible for the care, safety and welfare of pupils in school in the authority area. All adults who work in schools have a responsibility to ensure the mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing of the children and young people in their care, including those with disabilities and hearing impairments.

The Scottish Government does not collate the number of bullying incidents at a national level. In 2019, in support of the Respect for All approach, the Scottish Government introduced a consistent approach to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying across all schools in Scotland and guidance was published. All schools and local authorities are expected to use this approach. Recording and monitoring locally helps organisations identify recurring patterns, which enables early intervention and appropriate support at a local level.

In February 2023 Education Scotland published the results of a thematic inspection of recording and monitoring bullying incidents in schools. We take the findings of that report very seriously and have put in place a range of actions immediately to respond. This includes beginning a review of the national anti-bullying guidance, Respect for All , which will include further consideration of the current guidance on prejudice-based bullying.

The renewable heating element of the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme provides funding for well-established technologies to support households to decarbonise heating their homes in line with the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Air to air systems are not currently included in the list of eligible measures because, unlike other heat pump solutions, they do not provide both heating and hot water.

There are, however, a range of grant funded heating measures available through the scheme, including air to water heat pumps and other electric heating measures which can be complemented by installation of solar panels and battery storage.

The measures delivered through the scheme are kept under review and the Scottish Government will consider future changes in line with developments in new and improved technologies.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government has engagement with Audit Scotland in relation to the Lochaber Guarantee and the year end accounts. The outcome of the most recent Consolidated accounts for the 2021-2022 financial year has been published in full on the Scottish Government’s website and the Auditor General has publicly commented on the findings in relation to Lochaber in December 2022 which can be accessed at this link https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/the-202122-audit-of-the-scottish-government-consolidated-accounts .

The Auditor General has stated at page 12 of the 2021-2022 Audit that:

“I have concluded for 2021-22, the Scottish Government’s approach to setting the level of provision against the potential exposure through the guarantee is reasonable”.

Local authorities are important partners in delivering social care and will remain so as we develop new ways to deliver improved care across the country. At this stage, as the policy is still undergoing co-design with a range of stakeholders, it would not be appropriate to issue guidance to local authorities for the implementation of the National Care Service, therefore guidance will be issued in due course. I would further encourage local authorities to engage with us to ensure the development of the effective and responsive care system the people of Scotland have called for.

To support the transition towards the National Care Service and in acknowledgement of the high portion of social care service supports currently procured, we published Preparing to transition towards a National Care Service for Scotland: SPPN 7/2021 on 6 December 2021.

Information on the number of dental practices is not held centrally. NHS Boards will hold information on the number of dental practices in their areas.

Information on the number of dentists can be found at the National Education Scotland Data Intelligence website : Data tables | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot) .

Scottish Government has provided additional funding for social care and integration as set out in the following table.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15116 on 17 March 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

Crown Estate Scotland are responsible for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process.

INTOG developers will be required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) before they enter an Option Agreement, as set out in the Crown Estate Scotland Offer document (August 2022). As with ScotWind, the SCDS will outline the nature and location of any intended supply chain activity, including details on people and skills linked to their proposed project.Option Agreements will be signed following adoption of the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan for INTOG in 2024. Projects which then meet all the requirements of the Option Agreement, including consents, will be offered a full seabed lease.

The Scottish Government is not required to hold this information. As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, to respond. His response is as follows:

The average wait time for customers calling Scottish Water’s customer helpline between 1st April 2022 and 1st April 2023 was 19 seconds. The chart below provides information about how many calls were handled by Scottish Water in each year since 2016.