Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is engaged in ongoing discussions with Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) on how the Learning Disability Statistics Scotland (LDSS) report can be improved to provide the most precise picture of people with learning disabilities across Scotland. This includes consideration of publication timescales.

We understand the importance of reliable evidence and data about people with learning disabilities and are committed to improving the evidence base through our autism and learning/intellectual disability transformation plan 'Towards Transformation'.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out that in 2030, Scottish electricity demand that is not met from domestic renewable electricity generation could be met by other sources including energy storage, abated CCGT, or hydrogen. We anticipate that cross border transfers of electricity and interconnection to the wide diversity of technologies across the continent will continue to play a role.

Scotland has long been a net exporter of electricity. In 2022, Scotland exported 20.3 TWh, and imported around 1.5 TerrWatt hour of electricity, meaning that net exports of electricity were approximately 18.7 TerraWatt hours in 2022.

As well as scaling up renewables, we are taking action to our energy demand including our commitment to raise energy efficiency standards – so that all homes achieve at least EPC C by 2033. We are consulting this year on reforms to EPC for both domestic and non-domestic sectors to give more meaningful information on energy use. Over this Parliament, we have budgeted £1.8 billion to support the heat transition – that includes support for householders, businesses and communities.

In The Warren Report, (Jul/Aug 2022) Andrew Warren, chair of the British Energy Efficiency Federation said [QUOTE]: “My advice to Whitehall is simple. Whether you take the high road or you take the low road, you had best be copying Scotland’s initiatives.

Scottish taxpayers with earnings below £27,850 will pay slightly less Income Tax in 2023-24 than if they lived elsewhere in the UK.

The Scottish Government is aware of this drug, to date there have been two detections in Scotland that we have been made aware of through the Welsh WEDINOS programme.

Public Health Scotland, through their Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) programme, are continuing to monitor this situation. Currently xylazine is not routinely screened for in police or post-mortem toxicology throughout the UK, but we will keep this under review and future decisions around adding this to toxicology screening in Scotland would be made by the RADAR pathology and toxicology network.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD, the UK Government’s drug advisory body) New Psychoactive Substance committee are also monitoring the availability of this substance and are conducting an evidence review which will also inform action in Scotland. Public Health Scotland continue to lead on the ongoing development of RADAR which provides essential and real-time data on drug trends and harms to ensure a quick response to what is happening on the ground, including providing vital public health alerts, such as they issued around nitazenes in January 2023.

Most Integration Joint Board (IJB) reserves are earmarked for specific purposes, including the response to COVID-19, and cannot be used to fund other spending commitments. In 2022-23, surplus COVID-19 reserves were redistributed to meet COVID-19 costs across health and social care, whilst ensuring that IJBs continued to have sufficient funding to cover their COVID-19 costs.

Ultimately, it is for IJBs, including locally-elected representatives, to make informed decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

Video appointments are an option across social work in Scotland via Near Me, through the Scottish Government’s purchase of a national licence for the use of Near Me by any part of the public sector that wishes to use it. Work continues supporting the social work sector on considering how and when video appointments work best, for example in accessing out of hours support. This work includes a funded and expert-supported programme in Fife HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership) to establish use cases and develop pathways by the end of the year.

The delivery of the actions in the Report of the City Centre Recovery Task Force 2021-22 is being carried out under the auspices of the Scottish Cities Alliance, in agreement with our local authority partners. As a member of the Alliance, the Scottish Government will work with the cities to progress the strategic objectives in the report as part of the Alliance’s Operational Programme 2022-2026.

In addition, the Scottish Government has also adopted the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) in February 2023, which references the ambitions of the Report and directly influences all planning decisions. NPF4 recognises that our cities and towns are a national asset and their centres bring together a wide range of functions and land uses. Its policies help centres adapt and be vibrant, healthier, creative, accessible and resilient places for people to live, learn, work and enjoy. In March 2023 we also introduced new permitted development rights that provide greater flexibility to change the use of buildings and place furniture outside specified hospitality premises.

The current ScotRail mobile app went live on 1 July 2019 and the following data, as provided by ScotRail, is relevant from that date until the present day:-

- App downloads: 1.4 million (this figure includes re-installs which ScotRail is unable to differentiate)

- Average users per month: 619,000 (average across last three months)

- Average sessions per user per month: six (average across last three months)

- Average session length: one minute, five seconds (average across last three months)

On 10 May I met with David Kennedy and David Threadgold from the Scottish Police Federation as part of my regular meetings where we discussed various topics of interest. As the pay claim for 2023-24 had been submitted, in line with the Police Negotiating Board, (PNB) protocols, it was not appropriate for us to discuss details of this during our meeting.

Our next planned meeting has been arranged for the 14 September 2023.

Information on the facilities available at ScotRail stations can be found on its website at the following link:-

Stations and facilities | ScotRail

The information on cycle storage at stations can be found under each station under the heading “interchange”. This confirms if the station has cycle storage available and how many storage spaces are available at that station.