Chamber and committees

We don’t hold the data that provides the total number of all events of near-fatal overdoses across Scotland.

The need for improved data sharing has been identified as key for the improvement of near-fatal overdose follow-up pathways. Through the Directors of Public Health National Drug Deaths Incident Management Team (NDDIMT), the need for improved data sharing is being taken forward as matter of priority in relation to MAT standard 3 - that all people at high risk of drug related harm are proactively identified and offered support to access treatment or care and support.

I am actively pursuing options for clarifying the position on information-sharing and discussions are ongoing with the Data Protection Officer around potential action they can take to assist with the sharing of essential information.

The annual Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey is arranged by Scottish Local Authorities and not by the Scottish Government. The 2022 survey was completed in September and the next survey will commence during March 2023 subject to favourable weather conditions at that time.

The Scottish Government has published a set of Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital, which set out our expectations of stakeholders in a high integrity, values-led market for responsible investment in natural capital. These principles highlight the importance of wider environmental, social and economic outcomes including maintaining the resilience of food supply and generating opportunities for agricultural tenants and crofters to benefit from new investments.

Any investment in woodlands for carbon credits should be both measurable and verifiable through the government-backed Woodland Carbon Code , the mechanism through which land owners and companies can purchase offsets in Scotland and the UK. The Code is backed by all the governments across the UK, and is a domestic standard for use by companies with UK operations to offset emissions in the UK.

I refer to the member to the answer to question S6W-12709 15 December 2022. 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 plan to publish the data behind the report in due course.

The Ukraine Longer Term Housing Resettlement Fund guidance and application form for Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords was published on the Scottish Government website on 30 September 2022, following the launch of the fund on 22 September 2022. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/ukraine-longer-term-resettlement-fund/

A letter was issued to Council Leaders and the Scottish Federation of Housing (copied to Council Chief Executives) on 4 October 2022 to notify them of the Fund and encourage applications.

We are prioritising applications which deliver completed homes by 31 March 2023. Projects with homes completed in 2023/24 will be considered by exception.

The Scottish Government understands that 13,000 new recruits are needed every year to fill digital technology roles, including roles in e-commerce. That is why we have invested over £4 million since 2020, via Skills Development Scotland, to broaden the digital talent pool. This has included the delivery of reskilling programmes such as the Digital Start Fund, a programme which supports people on benefits or low incomes, and the Digital Skills Pipeline, a modular set of courses running from beginner level all the way through to advanced coding. By giving grant funding to Code Your Future, another training organisation, we have also helped vulnerable people, including refugees, with the skills and networks necessary to progress in education and employment. Going forward, a new Digital Economy Skills Action Plan for Scotland, which is being developed in partnership with industry and stakeholders, will identify the activity that will best support the needs of the digital economy going forward, aligning with the recommendations from Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER) and National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET).

The main source of insight into e-commerce in Scotland is the Digital Economy Business Survey (DEBS), which has been conducted approximately every three years since 2014. We are currently considering the scope and frequency of future surveys, which will provide important data for our understanding of progress of key elements of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET).

The Scottish Government are aware of the severe pressures that exist in our health and social care system and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has established the Ministerial Advisory Group to ensure that we collaborate effectively to meet the challenges. Scottish Care are represented on this group.

Many of the policy and economic levers that would alleviate pressures on care homes and other businesses are reserved to Westminster and the Cabinet Secretary recently wrote to the UK Government (and the other UK nations) to again raise these matters. Within our remit, we are increasing our support for SMEs by investing £300,000 to expand the capacity of the Business Energy Scotland advice service, and doubling the energy efficiency cashback element of the SME Loan Cashback scheme to £20,000. The Scottish Government has also set out £600 million of total investment to support winter resilience across our health and care system. This includes £144 million to support the December 2021 uplift to £10.02 per hour, as well as a further £200 million to increase the minimum rate of pay to £10.50 per hour for adult social care workers in commissioned services.

Delivering Scotland’s Blue Economy Approach is the first phase in how we will deliver our Vision and takes stock of how current, and forthcoming, actions across Marine Scotland and the wider Scottish Government will support the delivery of the six Blue Economy outcomes.

Ports and harbours are key Blue Economy infrastructure and Delivering Scotland’s Blue Economy Approach sets out action already underway that will support that infrastructure in progressing towards our outcomes. Action includes investment of £580 million over 5 years in vessels and ports supporting the lifeline ferry network through the Infrastructure Investment Plan; funding through Marine Fund Scotland to support projects focused on achieving an innovative and economically sustainable marine economy; and the Scottish National Investment Bank recently provided a £30 million loan to the Port of Aberdeen.

As part of our next steps, we will continue to engage with key stakeholders and our international neighbours to deliver a collaborative, inclusive approach to achieving our Vision and our joint ambitions for our shared marine space.