Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is aware, as explained in the Report, the mental wellbeing and quality of working life of social workers have been adversely affected by the COVID pandemic. In order to ensure that Scotland has a skilled and confident social services workforce, we are heavily investing in its development, working in association with key sector partners.

The wellbeing and resilience of Scotland's social workers have been at the centre of our actions, as we support the recovery of the workforce from the negative effects of the pandemic.

We have developed a national package of wellbeing support to address the wide range of needs of the workforce to complement and enhance the support offered by Boards and HSCPs at a local level.

We have taken the following specific actions to encourage a supportive culture within the social work profession:

• £80,000 has been provided to Scottish Association of Social Workers to develop the Professional Support Service.
• The service will provide peer support, allowing social workers to talk through issues and develop their career by getting advice and support from their own coach.
• The development of a coaching culture within social work will help to support the development of a stronger professional identity.
• Wellbeing and workforce resilience issues will be given a particular focus as we support the workforce’s recovery from the pandemic.
• A signposting service will allow social workers and social work students to identify appropriate learning, development and career pathway resources developed by the SSSC, NHS Education for Scotland and Iriss. This service will provide and promote career development opportunities through the provision of training opportunities.

Recyclate contracts are typically much shorter than residual waste management arrangements, normally 1 to 3 years. Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland projects that for 29 out of the 32 Scottish local authorities, cost savings from residual waste reductions as a result of the Deposit Return Scheme will be greater than any lost recyclate-related income. Zero Waste Scotland is working with the three remaining local authorities to see how their collection and processing systems can be reshaped following introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme to realise efficiencies and to help mitigate any potential losses. Local authorities are also expected to benefit from a reduction in the impact of litter, for instance through reduced demand for street cleansing.

We are taking key steps to support local authorities in the introduction of our Deposit Return Scheme, to help meet our ambitious waste reduction, recycling and climate change targets. This includes making our first investments from the £70m Recycling Improvement Fund to support local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure, and working with local government partners to review the Household Recycling Charter’s Code of Practice, to help make it easier for householders to recycle the right things. The review will ensure that the Code of Practice continues to enshrine best practice and prepares local authorities for the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The costs and benefits of delivering Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are set out in the Full Business Case (FBC) Addendum, published on 16 March 2020, which sets out the clear economic case for DRS. It is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-case-addendum/documents/ .

We are aware that some in industry have been exploring alternative values for some of the assumptions set out in the FBC Addendum. We have not had the opportunity to assess the evidence for these alternative assumptions in detail. However, where the figures appear credible we are analysing them and will respond in due course.

In line with the principle of producer responsibility, the operating costs of DRS will be borne by the drinks producers who supply the Scottish market.

The reopening of the Dumfries-Stranraer railway line is being considered within the second Strategic Transport Projects Review.

This option is one of a number investments in the rail network across Scotland, that are being appraised as part of the Review.

The interventions which are recommended in STPR2, when it is published this Winter, will seek to contribute to our vision of a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors.

Therefore, we need to consider the social and economic benefits and to determine the overall Value for Money. This also takes into account risks, uncertainties and other factors such as affordability, deliverability and the wider acceptability of options. This will be an important consideration given pressures on current and future public finances.

Also underpinning STPR2 is the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy published in the National Transport Strategy, where we will aim first to reduce the need to travel unsustainably, then to make better use of and enhance existing infrastructure, before investing in new capacity. This hierarchy is also central to the Infrastructure Investment Plan.

Until the appraisal process is completed, it is not possible to make individual decisions on the reopening of lines such as the Dumfries-Stranraer line. The publication of the recommendations for investment will be followed by an appropriate statutory consultation period.

The Scottish Government has announced £580 million investment in vessels and harbours over the next five years, in addition to the completion of vessels 801 and 802. These plans are set out in the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan published 4 February 2021 (link for convenience- Scottish Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-2025-26 ) which includes replacement vessel projects for:

• Islay, 2 vessel procurement announced 14 June 2021
• Gourock-Dunoon-Kilcreggan passenger services
• Up to 7 small vessels for the Clyde & Hebrides network
• Craignure-Oban
• Mallaig-Lochboisdale
• Northern Isles freight services

In addition to these projects the Scottish Government has recently funded the purchase by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd of the MV Utne to bring additional resilience and capacity to the fleet and provide a year round island-based service to the Isle of Mull from Oban.

This government has seen a 87.7% increase in the consultant oncologist workforce (from 69.5 WTE in September 2006 to 130.6 WTE in June 2021).

While information on numbers of oncologists according to specialist cancer fields is not centrally held, the numbers of Clinical and Medical Oncology Consultants currently employed in each NHS Board, by Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) and headcount can be found in the medical and Dental dashboard on the NES website available here: Medical and Dental | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

Details of the vessels in fleet operated by CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL), including age, can be found on both the CFL website The Fleet | CalMac Ferries and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) website CMAL Caledonian Maritime Assets LtdFerries - CMAL Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (cmassets.co.uk)

The payment of sustainable rates to providers in the private, third and childminding sector to deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) is a key aspect of Funding Follows the Child. To support this the landmark multi-year funding agreement reached by Scottish Government and COSLA in April 2018 to fully fund the expansion to 1140 hours includes funding to enable local authorities to pay sustainable rates to providers delivering funded ELC.

In August 2021 alongside the Financial Sustainability Health Check the Scottish Government published updated information ( Overview of local authority funding and support for early learning and childcare providers ) on the sustainable rates that services currently receive from their local authorities. In light of this report and the findings from the Health Check we are working with COSLA and local authorities to progress the actions set out in the Health Check to strengthen the processes by which local authorities set local sustainable rates.

During the Scottish Government Debate on ‘Justice and the 16 Days of Action’, I confirmed that after careful consideration we will now move forward with the immediate establishment of a Scottish Government led Governance Group, comprising key stakeholder interests, to enable progress and detailed consideration of the individual and collective recommendations within Lord Justice Clerk’s Review Group report on improving the management of sexual offence cases. That will include the specific issue of a time-limited pilot of single judge trials.

As noted in the answer to S6W-04370 on 1 December 2021, the Scottish Government does not conduct means-testing for any of the devolved benefits that it delivers.

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