Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on the content of our consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion.

Officials in the Alcohol Harm Prevention Team have met with the ASA at regular intervals to discuss alcohol marketing and ASA research.

I will meet with key stakeholders, including the ASA and other advertising bodies, during the consultation period to directly hear their views on the proposals and any potential impacts they may have.

Scottish Government officials, in conjunction with the Chair of the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group, have carried out extensive engagement with key partners from across children’s services, health, justice, and the third sector. This includes Chief Officers’ Public Protection Groups (COGs), who will play a key role in the delivery of Bairns’ Hoose.

We are currently working with our partners to develop a phased approach to implementation of Bairns’ Hoose across Scotland, with a Pathfinder phase beginning in 2023. We will publish further information on our plans for delivery in the coming months.

The design and delivery of Bairns’ Hoose will be between partners at a local level and though local structures. It is anticipated that COGs will collaborate regionally, according to their needs and proximity to local resources, to identify the number of Bairns’ Hooses required in their area.

Bairns’ Hooses will build on the Scottish Child Interview Model for Joint Investigative Interviews, which is being introduced nationally from 2021 to 2024 and will be seen as the ‘justice room’ of the Bairns’ Hoose.

The latest available figure, as at 27 October 2022, there are 31,793 Power of Attorney (PoA) deeds awaiting registration.

For week commencing 6 September 2021 the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland (OPG) were processing the following Power of Attorney applications:

• Electronic (EPOAR) submissions received on 12 March 2021
• Postal submissions received around 22 February 2021

For week commencing 19 December 2022, the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland (OPG) were processing the following Power of Attorney applications:

• Electronic (EPOAR) submissions received on 19 May 2022
• Postal submissions received around 10 May 2022

There is an expedited system for more urgent applications.

Within the 2023-24 Budget, the Scottish Government has provided COVID recovery funding to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) totalling £26.8m which includes £0.3m for OPG recovery.

The Scottish Government has also provided additional capital funding to SCTS for 2023-24 including for the Office of the Public Guardian IT system

Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme (SCRS) is delivering 30,000 cycle repairs or services to people in Scotland, focusing on those that need the support the most. Repairs and servicing are provided through a network of over 300 shops, retailers, community organisations and sole traders. The scheme has run since August 2020 and delivered a total of 64,945 repairs to date. The specific figures you have requested since May 2021 are as follows:

Inverclyde – 560 repairs at a financial value of £28,000

North Ayrshire – 2,060 repairs at a financial value of £103,000

Scotland – 70,070 at a financial value of £3,503,500

It is worth noting there is a time delay in reporting and not all participants provide their postcode, so all of these figures will be higher.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13013 on 9 January 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 Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line (HML) Rail Improvement project would be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025.

Phase one was delivered as planned in December 2012, increasing services from 9 to 11 trains per day in each direction, and reducing journey times by an average of 6 minutes at a cost of £1.2 million.

HML Phase Two was completed in March 2019 at a cost of £57m. This phase delivered signalling upgrades at Aviemore and Pitlochry stations, along with an extension of the passing loop at Aviemore and the reconfiguration and extension of the platforms at Pitlochry, enabling simultaneous arrival of trains at both these stations.

In line with a recommendation from the draft Strategic Transport Project Review 2, Network Rail is developing proposals for the lengthening of several passing loops along the line to enable longer and more frequent freight and passenger services. These proposals will then be considered by Transport Scotland, taking into account the usual affordability and value for money considerations.

Achieving freight modal shift from road to rail has been recognised as a key component in achieving carbon reductions within Scotland’s transport system. A single freight train can typically remove 76 HGVs from adjacent roads, reducing congestion and improving safety. The infrastructure work delivered already and an integrated approach to passenger and freight timetable patterns have created capacity for additional rail freight on the Highland Main Line and discussions with key rail freight customers are underway to use this capacity.

The Scottish Government published our second progress report and updated Additional Support for Learning action plan on November 30 2022. The action plan and governance arrangements for this work are available from: https://www.gov.scot/publications/additional-support-learning-review-action-plan-update-november-2022/

Part of this work includes further development of the National Measurement Framework. This aims to meaningfully support improvement of outcomes and celebrate the wide ranging achievements of children with additional support needs, and support a culture of improvement in the delivery of additional support for learning. A draft framework was considered by the Additional Support for Learning Network at their first formal meeting on 30 November.

An updated draft will be considered by the Additional Support for Learning Project Board in early 2023. The project board will also agree the next steps in the development and publication of the National Measurement Framework in due course.

As noted in the 2022-23 Programme for Government, we are continuing our preparatory work to ensure every school-aged child has access to a digital device by the end of this parliament in 2026.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school aged children have access to a device to support their learning by the end of this parliament.

In 2020-21, we provided £25 million of funding to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning. The following table shows the number of devices distributed via that funding, as reported by individual local authorities, as well as the number of pupils currently on the school roll in those council areas.

The Independent Review is seeking views from across the education landscape on how a system of qualifications and assessment can uphold the rights of all learners, including those with additional support needs, to have their achievements recognised. I understand that Professor Hayward has met Angela Morgan, Chair of the Review of Additional Support for Learning Implementation, and is in the process of visiting a range of schools where this issue will also be discussed. Ensuring our system of qualifications and assessment meets the needs of all learners has also been discussed within the Independent Review Group and the various community groups the Review is supporting.

I know Professor Hayward remains open to new ideas in this and in other areas. The Review’s public consultation closes on 13 January 2023 and I look forward to receiving a final report before the end of May 2023.