Chamber and committees

The Chancellor has set out plans to end universal Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales by restricting it to those receiving Pension Credit and other means tested benefits from this year onwards. This decision was taken without any consultation or discussion with Scottish Government Ministers, which is deeply disappointing given both governments committed to resetting the relationship between them.

The UK Government’s approach reduces the Block-Grant Adjustment associated with devolution of the UK’s Winter Fuel Payment by an estimated £140 million to £160 million in 2024-25 – nearly 90% of the cost of the Scottish Government’s new replacement benefit, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Following careful consideration of the options available for Scotland it is with deep regret that I confirm that the Scottish Government must replicate the decision made by the UK Government and restrict eligibility for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment to older people on relevant eligible benefits. This has been a very difficult decision and not one we want to, or expected to, be making. However, despite all efforts to review our financial position it is a necessary decision when faced with such a deep cut to the budget and in the most challenging financial circumstances since devolution.

The timing of the UK Government announcement has meant it is not practical to make changes in good time for the launch of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. Delivery will therefore be deferred until winter 2025. However, I can offer reassurance that the Scottish Government is in discussion with the Department of Work and Pensions, which has committed to make payments this winter to eligible pensioners in Scotland on terms equivalent to Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales.

We are also keen to understand the UK Government’s wider plans to protect energy customers in greatest need, such as a social energy tariff, and will work closely to ensure that they take every possible step to drive up the take-up of Pension Credit and other benefits which pensioners are entitled to.

Information about school clothing grants is recorded centrally through the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics returns. Information about the number of school clothing grants paid to eligible families as well as expenditure on school clothing grants, during the five most recent financial years for which we hold this information, is as follows:

Parental engagement is vital when there are decisions to be made about the care and education of children, particularly those with additional support needs.

The Scottish Government seeks to create opportunities to enable parents and carers to be consistently involved and fully listened to as key partners in the development of additional support for learning (ASL) policy, and more broadly in education policy. Parents and carers are represented in all our key stakeholder groups on ASL.

Parents are involved in the planning process for the delivery of care and educational support provided by local authorities, through Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and ASL policy implementation.

The Children’s Service, My Rights, My Say is a Scottish Government funded national service which supports children who have attained the age of 12 years and their parents and carers who wish to exercise, or are considering exercising, relevant rights to help them access the advice and support that they need to be fully involved in decisions about their education.

The Scottish Government also funds Let’s Talk ASN Scotland, a national advocacy and legal representation service for young people (over 16 years old) and the parents and carers of children with additional support needs, who may require support in relation to a dispute or potential dispute with an education authority regarding support under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004.

Health Boards and Health & Social Care Partnerships are responsible for considering local health needs and taking population growth and infrastructure expansion into account when planning and providing for General Medical and Dental Services.

The Scottish Government annually uplifts General Medical Services funding specifically to account for population growth. In 2023/24, this amounted to £8.3 million.

The Scottish Government also introduced dental payment reform on 1 November 2023; this programme aims to better reflect the increased costs of modern dentistry, providing longer term sustainability and encouraging the dental sector to increase its existing NHS provision.

The latest statistics from Public Health Scotland show 90.9% of the population of Lothian Health Board were registered with a NHS dentist on 31 March 2024, over 833,000 adults and children: tables.xlsx (live.com)

I refer the member to the answers to questions S5W-32637 on‎ 9 November 2020 and S6W-22271 on 16 November 2023.

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 .

The information requested on how many epilepsy specialist nurses there have been in each NHS board in each of the past two years is not centrally available.

The assertion that there is no Scottish strategy for decarbonising aviation does not take into account that aviation is reserved or that the UK Government’s Jet Zero Strategy applies throughout the UK. Separately, the Scottish Government’s Aviation Statement has now been published and describes actions we will take to contribute to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions. The Statement also emphasises that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and that Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure this aim.

The Scottish Government’s response to the UK Climate Change Committee's report will be published in the coming months.

The decision to allow Heathrow expansion was taken by the Westminster Government and UK Parliament. The Scottish Government’s Memorandum of Understanding with Heathrow Airport ensures that Scotland will benefit from this major infrastructure project, which will bring significant job creation and investment opportunities to Scotland.

The UK Government response to the Climate Change Committee recommendation on airport capacity expansion provides its reasoning as to why it considers a UK-wide airport capacity management framework is not required.

The Scottish Government publishes ‘Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics’ on an annual basis. This contains information on emissions from aviation in Scotland, including flights to Heathrow.

The UK Government’s Jet Zero strategy, with its associated emissions trajectories, will apply throughout the UK. As the Aviation Statement makes clear, it is therefore vital that Jet Zero should benefit Scotland and Ministers will work with the UK Government to secure that aim. Scottish Ministers support the harnessing of new technologies across aerospace to meet climate targets. In addition to the technology-related actions in our Aviation Statement, the Scottish Government has established an expert working group to provide recommendations on increasing the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Scotland.