Chamber and committees

In the Programme for Government 2021 - 2022 we have updated the target from a minimum of 3,000 hectares per year of new native woodland creation, to a minimum of 4,000 hectares. That is an increase.

The Scottish Government is now determining how this work will proceed and the resourcing it requires, as we do for delivering our commitments across the whole range of our responsibilities in the interests of the people of Scotland.

The Programme for Government , published and debated in the Scottish Parliament on 7 September, set out that “The Scottish Government will work to ensure that a legitimate and constitutional referendum can be held within this Parliament, and if the Covid crisis is over, within the first half of this Parliament.”

The Scottish Government is committed to completing the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement as soon as possible.

Transport Scotland continues to negotiate with objectors to resolve their concerns as soon as possible and also continues to work with Aberdeenshire Council to find a solution to their decision to close the existing Oatyhill Bridge to traffic. Should Transport Scotland be unsuccessful in removing all objections a public local inquiry may be required. As with all trunk road projects this is the appropriate forum for considering objections received and not withdrawn.

Delivery of the scheme itself can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory procedures, at which point a timetable for its progress can be set.

The First Minister announced as part of the Programme for Government on 7 September that the Scottish Government would restart work on the prospectus for independence. The Scottish Government is now determining how this work will proceed, as we do for delivering our commitments across the whole range of our responsibilities in the interests of the people of Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02844 on 23 September 2021. 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 .

ScotRail has commenced the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) and the timetable consultation process will contribute to this assessment. The purpose of the consultation is to enable passengers and stakeholders to provide specific feedback on how the proposals impact their journey compared to ScotRail’s current timetable and will allow completion of the EIA prior to finalising the timetable from May 2022 onwards.

Following the completion of the timetable consultation, a copy of the EIA document would be available directly from ScotRail.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Children and young people whose referral is not accepted by CAMHS are sensitively and appropriately signposted to a more suitable service within their community.

We are committed to improving the availability of community mental health and wellbeing services for children and young people. This year we have provided local authorities with an additional £15 Million to fund over 200 new and enhanced supports and services for 5 -24 year olds. These services are expected to set up links to local CAMHS with signposting the minimum expectation and direct referral to community services the aspiration. The recently published Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party shared policy programme commits to doubling the budget for community based mental wellbeing services for children and young people to £30 million.

In addition, we have implemented a National CAMHS Service Specification, which sets out the standards of service that children, young people and families can expect from CAMHS across Scotland and have provided funding to support Boards to implement the specification. The specification includes a clear expectation that services should have appropriate re-engagement policies in place.

We will work closely with The Promise Scotland and partners across local government, social justice, health, the third sector, and with children and families to design and deliver the Fund. Further details will be provided in due course.

The commitment to investing at least £500m over the life of this Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is significant. This will enable transformational change by building services which are universal, holistic support services available in communities across Scotland giving families access to help when and where they need it, and help Scotland #KeepThePromise.

Our ambition is that, from 2030, we will be investing at least 5% of all community-based health and social care spend in preventative whole family support measures that will enable us to continue to #KeepThePromise and create a Scotland where more children will only know care, compassion and love.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02844 on 23 September 2021. 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 .