Chamber and committees

The tables required to present the information requested are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 63980).

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the recommendations set out in the Coming Home Implementation Report to reduce delayed discharges and out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

Significant work has been undertaken to develop and test a Dynamic Support Register, which has been led by a working group and co-designed with people with lived experience, HSCPs and NHS professionals across Scotland. We will be launching the Register soon following successful testing.

The Scottish Government has accepted all 5 key recommendations in the Coming Home Implementation Report and is working with people with lived experience, COSLA, professionals from Local Authorities; Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs); the NHS; and other key stakeholders to implement these recommendations. This includes progressing the Dynamic Support Register, Peer Support Network and National Support Panel recommendations, focussing in the first instance on getting it right for people with learning disabilities using a collaborative and partnership approach.

We will work to address wider issues around the delayed discharge that people with enduring mental health conditions experience. Our work on the National Care Service, the Barron Forensic Services Review, and the Scottish Mental Health Law Review will further improve the care and support of people with enduring mental health conditions.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the recommendations set out in the Coming Home Implementation Report to reduce delayed discharges and out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

The Digital Inclusion Fund was initiated in 2020 to enable students who, owing to low incomes, struggled to access online learning during the pandemic.

To date the fund has supported almost 11,000 learners across colleges, universities and within community learning settings. We expect this number to increase on receipt of final reporting on the £5 million investment for 2022-23; which is expected by the end of this academic year.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the recommendations set out in the Coming Home Implementation Report to reduce delayed discharges and out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

Following the publication of the Coming Home Implementation report, the Scottish Government has worked with key stakeholders to understand the role and remit of a Peer Support Network in order to design a model that provides value and allows for genuine collaboration across Scotland. Further details on the establishment of the Peer Support Network will be available soon.

Information relating to Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) contracts and their associated unitary charge payments, is available from the Scottish Government website by way of the following link www.gov.scot

There are 3 operational Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts which comprise facilities within the East Kilbride area. These are NHS Lanarkshire’s Hairmyres Hospital, the Police Scotland College (formerly Police Force Training Centre) and South Lanarkshire’s Secondary Schools Modernisation PFI Programme. The Schools PFI Programme included a total of 19 new or refurbished secondary school facilities, 4 of which were within the East Kilbride area. These were Calderglen High School, Duncanrig Secondary School, Sanderson High School and St Andrew's and St Bride's High School.

There is also one operational NPD/hub contract which formed part of the Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) programme that comprises facilities within the East Kilbride area. This is the NHS Lanarkshire Bundle which includes 3 new health centres, 1 of which is in East Kilbride area.

The Scottish Government annually update and publish the cost information in relation to the referred PFI and NPD/hub contracts but not for each of the individual facilities within the contracts as this is not held. Information relating to PFI and NPD/hub contracts as described, is available from the Scottish Government website by way of the following link www.gov.scot

The purpose of the occasional licence is to cater for the multitude of events which take place on premises which are not 'fully' licensed but feature the sale of alcohol. These can often include events arranged for the benefit of local communities such as local community fetes, gala day celebrations, wedding receptions and arts events. Occasional licences offer a flexible regime for the hospitality and entertainment sector to provide alcohol at events outside licensed premises.

The Scottish Government previously consulted on whether the current £10 occasional licence fee should be reviewed, and also whether the Scottish Ministers should make regulations setting limits on the number and duration of occasional licences granted. This follows concerns that occasional licences can be used in a manner designed to avoid the consequences of a permanent alcohol licence. Work in relation to this consultation was paused as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Having reflected carefully on this matter, the Scottish Government is minded to bring forward regulations which will put in place “occasional licence limits” in terms of the number of occasional licences, or the number of days on which occasional licences have effect, in relation to the same applicant or premises in any 12 month period.

The Scottish Government is also planning fresh engagement with licensing stakeholders to consider the level of fee currently charged for an occasional licence.

The approach of the Scottish Government will seek to balance the need for the cost and burden of occasional licences to be met by those seeking them while avoiding any undue impact on important local community events such as gala days and fetes. Any draft regulations would be subject to a targeted consultation and ultimately it will be for the Scottish Parliament to consider and approve.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan set out a series of actions, including the development of a refreshed Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan by the end of 2023.

Alongside this, as part of the ScotWind leasing round, developers were required to complete a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS). The SCDS outlines the supply chain activity that each project is committing to undertake within Scotland, the UK and overseas. These commitments amount to billions of pounds of investment in the Scottish supply chain and economy, with initial projections showing an average spend of £1.4bn across each of the 20 ScotWind projects.

Our Enterprise Agencies, including Scottish Development International, are engaged with a number of leading businesses that have the products, technology, skills and know-how to support robust supply chain development. We are encouraging developers to work with our Agencies and partners to identify how best to support and anticipate business needs as well as operational challenges to delivery of these projects.

We are already starting to see examples of companies establishing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) bases for their offshore wind farms in Scotland. In addition to the vast potential opened up by ScotWind, the Neart na Gaoithe O&M base was officially opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport on 25 January. This base will bring up to 50 high quality jobs to the Eyemouth area for the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm. The base is also large enough to handle potential staff expansion in summer months when the weather is calmer and maintenance can be increased.