Chamber and committees

This is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

I look forward to launching the public consultation of the draft Long-term Plan for Vessels and Ports on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles Networks (2023 – 2045) in April. An advance copy of the draft Plan was sent to key stakeholders, for initial comments, and published on the Transport Scotland website on 30 December 2022.

www.transport.gov.scot/publication/draft-for-consultation-long-term-plan-for-vessels-and-ports-on-the-clyde-hebrides-and-northern-isles-networks-2023-2045-islands-connectivity-plan

We intend to consult on the third phase of our review of permitted development rights in due course. The consultation will seek views on proposals to extend permitted development rights for domestic energy microgeneration, including solar panel installations.

The Scottish Government remains opposed to the forced installation of pre-payment meters, and we welcome Ofgem’s recent announcement that suppliers will not be restarting prepayment meter installations next month, as previously intended. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Ofgem on its current review of guidance for suppliers on the use of pre-payment meters to ensure that the rights and interests of Scottish consumers are fully considered.

As set out in the answers to questions S6W-15835 and S6W-15839 on 21 March 2023 the Scottish Government is already taking forward a broad programme of work to improve the practical support, care and advice that is available for people who have been bereaved.

We are also working to implement some of the UK Commission’s recommendations, for example, improving access to advice and information for people affected by bereavement, ensuring people are sensitively supported during a bereavement, and adopting public health approaches to create more open-ness in talking about dying and death. We have already introduced practical changes to ensure processes for registering a death are as straightforward as possible.

We will continue to engage and listen to bereavement sector partners as we take forward our bereavement work, and will draw on the UK Commission’s findings.

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

Provisions contained in a Bill at introduction will be informed by analysis of the current public consultation exercise which will run until 25 April. As the views of all stakeholders need to be considered in detail, it is not possible to confirm any potential Bill content at the current time.

The consultation outlines that anchor organisations are typically large public sector employers with a strong local presence in an area, such as local authorities, health and social care bodies, further education institutions and enterprise agencies. The Consultation includes a proposal for a duty to advance CWB and the Scottish Government would welcome views on who this duty should or could apply to.

The Scottish Government welcomes The UK Commission on Bereavement’s report and the focus it brings to improving the experience of people affected by grief. We value the holistic approach taken by the UK Commission on Bereavement which recognises that bereavement touches many aspects of our lives, including emotional wellbeing and health, school and work life, finances, and housing.

Our programme of bereavement work sits across Ministerial portfolios, reflecting the wide range of impacts bereavement has on people’s lives. We have already taken steps to progress and align our cross-Government programme of work to ensure we adopt the holistic approach advocated by the UK Commission.

Representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and North Ayrshire Council participate in the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill Steering Group, chaired by myself. This Group has met three times. The last meeting was held on 17 January 2023.

Separately, Scottish Government officials leading CWB development work met with the General Secretary for the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) on August 16, 2022. Scottish Government officials also presented at the Fair Work Convention on 23 February, 2023, which brings together employers and trade unions to advocate for and promote Fair Work.

Scottish Government officials last met with North Ayrshire Council colleagues to discuss the CWB Bill consultation on 16 February, 2023. Finally, The Minister is due to attend the Ayrshire CWB Commission on 24 March 2023.

The Scottish Government is open to exploring how it can support land reform objectives using its limited powers over taxation and included a question on how these powers could be used in the consultation for the upcoming Land Reform Bill.

All responses to the consultation are currently being considered and a full consultation analysis will be published later in the spring. Any proposals on taxation will be considered in the context of the current devolved settlement and against the Scottish Government’s Framework for Tax.

The original Access Bikes scheme closed in February 2022. A new Access Bikes scheme has been running since April 2022.