Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14838 on 9 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 .

The producer registration remains open for producers to register ( https://circularityscotland.com/producers/registration/ ).

Any producers who have not yet registered are encouraged to do so and can upload product details as part of the registration process.

Producers who have already completed the registration process will be able to add or amend product details using a self-service portal which will be available late Spring, well in advance of the scheme start date. This portal will remain open to allow producers to amend product details going forward.

The Scottish Government does not expect to receive Barnett consequential funding in connection with this UK Government scheme.

Scottish Government is a key partner in the Save a Life for Scotland partnership which delivers the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021 – 2026. A key aim of this strategy is to increase the percentage of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest incidents which have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrives from 8% to 20%.

This is not only about increasing the number of defibrillators in public places but also about building the evidence base to support defibrillator guardians to make strategic decisions about the placement of their defibrillators, to encourage their registration with Scottish Ambulance Service and to increase public confidence and knowledge around defibrillation. We are working as part of the Save a Life Scotland partnership to deliver on these aims.

The Best Start North review was commissioned jointly by NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles. NHS Tayside now also participates in this work. The Best Start North review was commissioned jointly by the original five participating NHS Boards and is led by those NHS Boards. The Scottish Government understands that the primary focus of this work is collaboration towards continuous improvement of services in the North, support for the effective implementation of the recommendations in The Best Start and to work together on midwifery workforce and education. This work sits within the existing regional planning partnership, under the sponsorship of NHS Board Chief Executives, and was both established and operates at the regional level. You may therefore wish to direct specific queries regarding the work of the Best Start North group to the Nurse Director at NHS Shetland and Chair of the Best Start North group and the Director of Midwifery at NHS Highland.

The findings presented in this report do not fully address the question of independence in Scotland. The modelling undertaken makes a range of simplifying assumptions and does not account for the many economic opportunities that would be available to an independent Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s comprehensive paper “A stronger economy with independence”, outlines the case for independence as essential to building a more stable, sustainable economy with fairness and human wellbeing at its heart. Independence will allow Scotland to re-join the EU, give Scotland the full range of economic and other policy levers to take decisions based on our own needs, allowing us to replicate the success of independent European countries comparable to Scotland that are wealthier and fairer than the UK.

Our NPF4 Delivery Programme, the first iteration of which was published by the Scottish Government in November 2022, is an important tool that sets out the approach for implementing NPF4, including delivery mechanisms, governance and funding. The Delivery Programme identifies a range of priority actions, delivery partners and anticipated timescales.  

The Delivery Programme is available at https://www.transformingplanning.scot/mdeia/3136/national-planing-framework-4-delivery-programme-for-publication-2-November-2022.pdf.

As at 14 February 2023 there were 370 Ukrainian displaced people in Welcome accommodation in Edinburgh, with a further 1,140 on board MS Victoria. There were 650 Ukrainian displaced people in Welcome accommodation in Glasgow, with a further 995 on board MS Ambition.

Matching teams working on-board both vessels are making offers of accommodation based on the circumstances of guests, including employment, health and personal preferences.

While priority will be given to match those disembarking the ships with local offers of accommodation, some guests will be asked to consider accommodation further afield, in other parts of Scotland. Due to the range of uncertainty, thus far it has not been possible to produce an estimate of how many will remain within Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The SFC’s teaching funding allocation to the Highlands and Islands (H&I) incorporates enhanced funding in recognition of the additional costs associated with delivery in such areas. This amounts to approximately 50% more funding than that provided for city colleges.  

The SFC also currently allocates £8 million annually to colleges across Scotland to specifically reflect the additional costs associated with rurality. The H&I Region receives over two-thirds of this funding (£5.4 million).

The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 allows for new methods of body disposal and we intend to regulate alkaline hydrolysis (also known as water cremation) for use in Scotland. However, all types of body disposal must be equally safe and dignified. We must move forward in a way that ensures the protection of the environment and the public, maintaining their confidence in the process.

It’s therefore important that regulation of water cremation is subject to a similar regulatory framework as other methods before being introduced. This must also interact with the requirements of environmental regulation and national and local planning policy.

We will soon be publishing a full public consultation as part of this process and we will also continue to work closely with the funeral sector to support its delivery of high-quality services to bereaved families.

The Incidents branch sits within the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit in Food Standards Scotland under the direction of the divisional head. The head of Incidents has a team of six incidents officers, each with varying levels of experience. There are no formal requirements for additional skills above those essential for SG employees and most of the training is provided once within the unit. All officers are trained in ‘decision making’ along with other role specific training.

These officers gather the information provided by experts within Food Standards Scotland with regards to scientific risk assessment and risk management options to advise, guide and assist the local authorities who are the competent authority on the ground.