Chamber and committees

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS engaged the services of legal advisers and cost consultants to advise on cost controls within the contract. It would not be appropriate for SPS to publish this advice as it is commercially sensitive information, however, SPS will publish a summary of their Business Case on their website.

The Scottish Government’s policy is to reduce the consumption of single use materials regardless of composition, rather than to target specific material types or to displace one single use material with another. This is in line with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reduction and reuse over all other interventions.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of asbestos within schools very seriously, and are engaging with COSLA, the Health and Safety Executive, local authorities and other interested parties to set up a working group on this matter.

However, local authorities have statutory responsibility for the control and management of asbestos within their schools. Furthermore, health and safety is not devolved to the Scottish Government, and the Health and Safety Executive has
UK-wide responsibility for enforcement of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

The Scottish Government’s policy is to reduce the consumption of single use materials regardless of composition, rather than to target specific material types or to displace one single use material with another. This is in line with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reduction and reuse over all other interventions.

Official statistics for Adult Disability Payment are routinely published by Social Security Scotland, including information on the number of recipients. Social Security Scotland does not publish statistics on clients leaving the Adult Disability Payment caseload.

Social Security Scotland will continue to review the value of the statistics produced and will take account of users’ needs when developing future publications, in line with Code of Practice for Statistics.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics, covering the period to the end of January 2025, is due to be published on 18 March 2025.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35102 on 5 March 2025:

The Scottish Government’s approach to dealing with RAAC is to follow the guidance set out by Institute of Structural Engineers.

The Scottish Government funded a survey of all NHS facilities suspected of RAAC and it is known where RAAC is present. These phase 1 surveys did not identify any immediate concerns that have not already been acted on.

We are funding a second more detailed phase of surveys of all sites with RAAC to ensure that the right approach is being taken to dealing with it. As a result of this type of detailed survey, necessary remedial works at Knoll Hospital have been identified and are being actioned – in line with the systematic approach to RAAC discovery and investigation across the NHS.

NHS Borders notified the Scottish Government on 27 January 2025 that there was an evolving situation regarding RAAC at Knoll Community Hospital. When a health facility is assessed as requiring maintenance work this does not automatically mean the facility is not safe, and the specialist Structural Engineers who conducted this survey on behalf of NHS Borders, and who are the survey partner for the NHS RAAC programme, have not reported that Knoll Hospital is unsafe.

Phase 2 surveys will be carried out across all NHS properties known to contain RAAC. Where any previously unidentified issues are found during phase 2 surveys, Health Boards are expected to assess, communicate and action with appropriate pace to ensure safety.

For all instances of RAAC identified as requiring an annual reinspection from the Phase 1, Discovery Survey programme, a programme of annual reinspection is currently underway and due to complete in March 2025.

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

It is the responsibility of all Social Security Scotland colleagues to identify and prevent fraudulent applications being awarded.

Social Security Scotland has a zero tolerance to fraud and use a combination of system controls, processes and colleague awareness to prevent it. Mandatory fraud prevention and identification training is provided to all colleagues when they join the organisation.

In support of this Social Security Scotland has a dedicated Counter Fraud branch to further support the organisation in mitigating fraud risk.

Social Security Scotland carefully considers the information on counter fraud activity that can be placed into the public domain to ensure that any information released does not undermine the ability of Social Security Scotland to prevent and detect crime and protect the public purse.

Scottish Ministers recognise the crucial role the port sector plays in supporting the Scottish economy. Ports ownership in Scotland is a diverse mix of mainly private, local authority and trust operated. We recognise that a diverse and successful ports sector contributes significantly to the national, regional and local economies in which they operate.

Regardless of the ownership model, ports in Scotland are deemed commercial entities. Therefore, the Scottish Government has no say in the day-to-day running of their business, nor can it dictate business decisions made by a company on how to best to utilise its resources. This remains the responsibility of the statutory harbour authority.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35102 on 5 March 2025:

The Scottish Government’s approach to dealing with RAAC is to follow the guidance set out by Institute of Structural Engineers.

The Scottish Government funded a survey of all NHS facilities suspected of RAAC and it is known where RAAC is present. These phase 1 surveys did not identify any immediate concerns that have not already been acted on.

We are funding a second more detailed phase of surveys of all sites with RAAC to ensure that the right approach is being taken to dealing with it. As a result of this type of detailed survey, necessary remedial works at Knoll Hospital have been identified and are being actioned – in line with the systematic approach to RAAC discovery and investigation across the NHS.

NHS Borders notified the Scottish Government on 27 January 2025 that there was an evolving situation regarding RAAC at Knoll Community Hospital. When a health facility is assessed as requiring maintenance work this does not automatically mean the facility is not safe, and the specialist Structural Engineers who conducted this survey on behalf of NHS Borders, and who are the survey partner for the NHS RAAC programme, have not reported that Knoll Hospital is unsafe.

Phase 2 surveys will be carried out across all NHS properties known to contain RAAC. Where any previously unidentified issues are found during phase 2 surveys, Health Boards are expected to assess, communicate and action with appropriate pace to ensure safety.

For all instances of RAAC identified as requiring an annual reinspection from the Phase 1, Discovery Survey programme, a programme of annual reinspection is currently underway and due to complete in March 2025.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35102 on 5 March 2025:

The Scottish Government’s approach to dealing with RAAC is to follow the guidance set out by Institute of Structural Engineers.

The Scottish Government funded a survey of all NHS facilities suspected of RAAC and it is known where RAAC is present. These phase 1 surveys did not identify any immediate concerns that have not already been acted on.

We are funding a second more detailed phase of surveys of all sites with RAAC to ensure that the right approach is being taken to dealing with it. As a result of this type of detailed survey, necessary remedial works at Knoll Hospital have been identified and are being actioned – in line with the systematic approach to RAAC discovery and investigation across the NHS.

NHS Borders notified the Scottish Government on 27 January 2025 that there was an evolving situation regarding RAAC at Knoll Community Hospital. When a health facility is assessed as requiring maintenance work this does not automatically mean the facility is not safe, and the specialist Structural Engineers who conducted this survey on behalf of NHS Borders, and who are the survey partner for the NHS RAAC programme, have not reported that Knoll Hospital is unsafe.

Phase 2 surveys will be carried out across all NHS properties known to contain RAAC. Where any previously unidentified issues are found during phase 2 surveys, Health Boards are expected to assess, communicate and action with appropriate pace to ensure safety.

For all instances of RAAC identified as requiring an annual reinspection from the Phase 1, Discovery Survey programme, a programme of annual reinspection is currently underway and due to complete in March 2025.

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