Chamber and committees

A contribution is made by the Scottish Government towards the cost of free personal and nursing care for self funding care home residents.

Each year this usually rises in line with inflation.

However, emerging evidence suggested that the cost of providing care has increased significantly. To help redress this for 2021-22 an above inflation 7.5% increase was applied to the weekly payment rates.

As such, the weekly payment rates for personal care for self-funders, including those with dementia, rose from £180 in 2020-21 to £193.50 in 2021-22 and the nursing care component rose from £81 to £87.10.

In line with our Programme for Government commitment, the Fuel Poverty Strategy will be published by the end of this year. We will consult with a wide range of relevant stakeholders. The timescale for this consultation will be confirmed in due course.

The Scottish Government is guided by the best available scientific evidence in our response to the global climate emergency. That evidence is absolutely clear, climate change is one of the greatest threats facing the world’s population.

The latest independent expert assessment of the impacts of climate change, published by the UK Climate Change Committee on 16 June 2021, identifies key areas of both risk and opportunity for Scotland. The inclusion of potential opportunities in this assessment reflects the fact that the impacts of climate change are inherently complex and vary across both space and time. Also, if we consider the mitigation - as well as adaptation - aspects of the response to the climate emergency then there will be significant economic opportunities for those, like Scotland, who are leading the transition to a global net-zero economy.

Nonetheless, the balance of the impacts set out in the Committee’s independent assessment is clear – with 53 of the 61 identified areas being classified as risks (entirely or partly). The Committee’s overall advice is that the overall landscape is one of a “worsening reality of climate risk” and all of its recommended areas for priority action relate to managing specific risks, rather than exploring potential opportunities.

‎The Scottish Government is committed to building resilience to the impacts of climate change as part of Scotland's just transition to a net-zero economy and society. We will be responding to the Committee’s updated risk assessment through the development of a new statutory adaptation programme, which is due for publication in 2024.

The recruitment of members for the new Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel will be underway imminently. The Panel will comprise a Chair and five Members, at least one of whom must have lived experience of fuel poverty. Assuming there are sufficient applicants who meet the criteria and can be recommended for appointment, we expect the Panel to be in place by early November.

The data requested is published by HESA in their Open Data Student release available here: HE Student Data | HESA

The Scottish Government is planning to provide an update on the leasing and planning process and associated timescales for the sectoral marine plan for innovation and decarbonisation in summer 2021. This planning exercise will be in addition to the sectoral marine plan for offshore wind energy published last October but will be based upon the findings therein.

The Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP), published in 2020, set the upper limit for pre-commercial scale projects at 100 MW. The ScotWind leasing process has allowed for all scales of projects, from 100 MW upwards, to progress in Scottish waters. Scottish Ministers are committed to building a strong Scottish supply chain which deliver economic benefit to Scotland. As a result, all of these projects must commit to Supply Chain Development Statements which set out the anticipated level and location of supply chain impact that their project will have. This provides visibility of a pipeline of contracts for the Scottish supply chain and encourages developers to engage locally, earlier in the development process of their projects.

The SMP 2020 also identified that there may be further opportunities for projects looking to specifically decarbonise oil and gas infrastructure or deliver innovative test and demonstration projects, in locations not identified in the 2020 plan. The Scottish Government is now developing a planning process to allow these types of project to proceed, including opportunities for small scale (100 MW) specifically targeting oil and gas decarbonisation through electrification of offshore oil and gas platforms.

We envisage beginning public engagement on this planning process shortly.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing new and innovative treatment practices to address problem substance use, based on strong and sufficient evidence.

We have had discussions with a number of external stakeholders as well as internal policy and analytical teams to help inform our position on NET. As a result of these discussions we were advised that before Neuro-Electric Therapy (NET) could be made available as a treatment option through the NHS, it must be researched according to current guidelines and NHS ethics and be registered, as a licensed medical device, with Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA). Until this happens the device can only be used in experiments or medical trials.

These discussions also concluded that as Scottish Government does not directly fund clinical trials or literature reviews into the efficacy of specific treatment interventions, we should recommend that NET RECOVERY Corporation- the company that manufactures NET device - should explore funding streams available through a number of open and competitive funding channels including Medical Research Council and the CMOs Chief Scientist Office.

The safety of fans attending the fan zone is paramount, that is why we have worked closely with Glasgow City Council and a range of partners to deploy a range of interventions to reduce the risk of transmission at the fan zone.

Whilst we have seen an increase in test positivity of younger males, Public Health Scotland’s analysis of the Test & Protect Case Management System data reveal that between 11 to 28 June 2021, only 55 of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Scotland reported attending the Glasgow Green Fan Zone, This amounts to 2.8% of the overall 1,991 confirmed cases associated with EURO 2020-related events. This low number is testament to the approach and effort of partners to deliver such a large scale event during these challenging times.

This report can be found at: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/8300/21-06-30-covid19-publication_report.pdf .

The provision of speech and language therapy services is the responsibility of NHS Boards for children and adults with communication and swallowing difficulties and also Education Departments in Local Authorities for Children and Young people.

The Allied Health Professional (AHP) National Lead for Children and Young People at Scottish Government is working with NHS Boards across Scotland and speech and language therapy leads to support a joined up approach to service design and delivery.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) have continued to offer digital support, advice and interventions for adults, young people and children, their families and carers where possible through the use of NHS Near Me. SLTs have also prioritised promotion of resources and tools to support wellness and self-management where appropriate.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and SLT services have adapted their service delivery methods to ensure compliance with local and national restrictions while continuing to establish and maintain contact with those who need support, including children and adults. Digital services have been key to enabling person centred care and continuity of care in current circumstances. Where it has been safe to do so, face to face contact has remained in place guided by stringent risk assessment.