Chamber and committees

Patient referrals and self-referrals to cCBT services from 2017 to 2022, by Board.

Costs for computerised cognitive behavioural therapies are paid at the national level rather than split between NHS Boards. National costs are provided in the following table.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.

The Scottish Government has supported additional staffing costs, including the Social Care Staff Support Fund, through sustainability payment funding to Integration Authorities.

£561 million in 2020-21 and over £700 million in 2021-22 was allocated to Integration Authorities for social care Covid-19 support, including sustainability payments. While no further Barnett consequentials have been provided, the Scottish Government has continued funding a number of additional Covid-19 costs in 2022-23, providing funding for all costs associated with vaccinations and testing in care homes, and the Social Care Staff Support Fund, to 31 March 2023.

We do not have data broken down to the level requested by the member.

The Scottish Government commissioned independent research into the state of the steel sector in Scotland from the University of Warwick. This report is available to read online and can be found here .

Decommissioning at Scottish ports should be undertaken in line with the principles of a circular economy and promote the reuse of materials over recycling and disposal. A circular approach has the potential to reduce the energy intensity and emissions from decommissioning structures, create new jobs and business opportunities, and provide cost savings for manufacturing processes that use decommissioned material.

We would encourage any company interested in developing a major project in Scotland, such as a steel mill, to engage early with the Scottish Government and our Enterprise Agencies.

Officials hosted webinars which took place week commencing‎ 9 January to offer additional support to providers in applying PR and Marketing approaches at a local level, based on their specific need, and to share more insight into the alternative recruitment routes available, such as Apprenticeship and Employability programmes.

These events were optional and open to all providers across social care sector. Invitations were issued to providers through CCPS and Scottish Care.

We plan to review the feedback provided on these webinars to assess the interest for further webinars to be hosted, consider how these may be improved in the future and what additional topics participates would be keen for these to cover.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that stakeholders and communities are engaged with on policy developments, including long-term oversight and governance. The Interim Governance Group to Develop Anti-Racist Infrastructure (IGG) has commissioned a programme of community engagement to both disseminate information about the establishment of an independent Race Observatory, and to gather community members' and stakeholders’ perspectives about the Observatory and how it can work best to contribute to genuine change-making policy and practice in Scotland.

Through its community engagement work, the IGG is actively disseminating information, and seeking the views of stakeholders and communities so that they can be incorporated into the development of the forthcoming anti-racism infrastructure.

The IGG is committed to being open and transparent about its work. Documents and minutes of meetings are published on the IGG webpage: Interim Governance Group to Develop National Anti-Racist Infrastructure

As the implementation of the City Centre Recovery Task Force report continues, the Scottish Government is supporting our cities to decide how best to prioritise their own recovery plans. This includes investing £2m in a Recovery Fund, with a focus on inclusive and sustainable growth.

Important progress to deliver the ambitions of the Town Centre Action Plan Review and the City Centre Recovery Task Force has been made by the recent approval of the National Planning Framework 4. This strengthens support for development in centres to be considered first, while limiting out-of-town retail development. In addition, we continue to roll out our Place Based Investment Programme which last year meant local authorities received £33m to invest in their town centres, 20-minute neighbourhoods, community wealth building and community-led regeneration programmes. £140m is allocated to Scotland’s local authorities over 5 years.

The Scottish Government is investing £250 million in the National Drugs Mission over the life of the Parliament to save and improve lives of people who use drugs, including veterans. For the first time this year we will have data on the number of veterans accessing drug and alcohol treatment services, using the new Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy). We will use this data to inform our work to better meet the needs of veterans who use drugs to support them to achieve their recovery goals.

The Scottish Government works with key veteran stakeholders, NHS Armed Forces and Veterans Champions and through the Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans Health Joint Group to ensure we create the conditions for and drive forward progress towards the ‘Distinctive Scottish Approach to Veterans Health’ as set out by the Scottish Veterans Commissioner.

The action taken by Scottish Government against this set of recommendations can be found here SVC Annual Progress Report: Findings | (scottishveteranscommissioner.org)