Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09976 on 16 August 2022. 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 Tackling Child Poverty Programme Board is part of the Scottish Government’s internal governance. It advises the Scottish Government’s Director-General Communities for tackling child poverty on the Scottish Government’s overall performance in relation to the implementation of Best Start, Bright Futures : Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26.

The Board has both Scottish Government senior officials with expertise from areas which will contribute most to tackling child poverty and leaders, delivery partners and champions of change from beyond the Scottish Government. This includes representatives from organisations with extensive experience working with women with lived experience of poverty, such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; One Parent Families Scotland; Child Poverty Action Group; The Poverty Alliance; and Aberlour Children’s Charity.

The Scottish Government recognises the inextricable links between women’s poverty and child poverty. As part of overall monitoring and governance for the delivery plan, the Scottish Government will seek to maintain and further strengthen the collection and use of qualitative data in order to continue making progress towards the statutory Child Poverty Targets and to further understand and address the specific barriers faced by women experiencing poverty.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information however the Scottish Legal Aid Board does record applications for legal aid in Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act (DASA) 2018 cases applied where Section 22(1)(dd) of the Legal Aid Act (Person accused of certain offences) applies.

This classification does not specify the circumstances of the grant, only that the grant was made. Therefore it cannot be determined from the data below what ratio of those applications came from court appointed solicitors. This designation under section 22(1)(dd) is also not exclusive to DASA cases but is also applicable to all cases where an accused cannot represent themselves i.e. cases involving sexual offences, child witnesses, vulnerable witnesses, Abuse Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, and trials in absence.

The annual figures for all section 22 (1)(dd) cases are as follows:

The Scottish Government is providing over £30 million this financial year to accelerate the shift to zero emission transport. This includes support for zero emission community transport and car clubs in addition to funding interest free loans for electric vehicles. This approach is designed to support more people and households on lower incomes to make the switch to electric.

In January we also announced a new fund that would enable £60 million investment in the public charging network over the next four years, anticipating over half of this investment will come from the private sector. The fund aims to ensure the right level of investment in public charge points across all of Scotland, including in settings, where lower demand for electric vehicle charging means that there is less opportunity for commercial investment.

The Scottish Government position is that pesticides should be authorised on a case by case basis where the available scientific evidence shows they do not pose unacceptable risks to human health, animals and the environment. An emergency authorisation for the use of the herbicide product Asulox has been approved for bracken control in 2022 in limited and controlled circumstances.

There is a need to move away from the use of emergency authorisations as the solution and look into more sustainable, long-term alternatives to Asulox. Officials have been instructed to begin talks with the other UK administrations and the Health and Safety Executive, to further engage stakeholders and those working on alternative solutions, to ensure we have more sustainable forms of bracken control going forward.

We remain committed to making regulations under section 4 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 to enable marriages to become civil partnerships.

We are currently in discussion with the UK Government on reserved consequential legislation and will consider timings once these discussions have completed.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care attends regular meetings with his counterparts in the UK and other Devolved Administrations to ensure that the Scottish Government is represented in relation to public health incidents which require a coordinated 4 Nations response.

Additionally, Public Health Scotland (PHS) are leading on the response in Scotland and are working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Public Health Wales and Northern Ireland HSC Health Protection Agency to ensure a coordinated response to monkeypox in the UK. Where appropriate, Scottish Government officials are also represented on 4 nations groups established to support these coordination efforts.

The 2021-22 season has seen the UK’s largest outbreak of avian flu to date, which has affected wild bird populations, including some internationally important seabird populations.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds reported to Defra’s GB national helpline. As of 10 August 2022, 588 wild birds from multiple locations across Scotland, consisting of 29 species, have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). These figures capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that are present in wild birds and are not an indication of the total estimated mortality. More information, including the findings of HPAI in wild birds are available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/avian-influenza-outbreaks/#wildbirds .

In addition to the GB surveillance programme, NatureScot and other relevant parties have been carrying out monitoring at key seabird colonies across Scotland to collect data on bird numbers and any mortality events. While the full extent of mortality is unknown, some seabird colonies have clearly been affected by the current avian influenza outbreak. Colony surveys will be undertaken during the 2023 breeding season to assess the status of seabird colonies

The Scottish Government is aware that food producers and retailers, as well as many other businesses, are struggling under the current trading conditions that are arising from the effects of Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine and the increasing costs of doing business more generally. That is why we are working closely with industry to mitigate these challenges.

We are taking a range of actions, within a limited budget and the restrictions of devolution, to help those facing the combined impact of higher energy bills and interest rate rises. This includes almost £3 billion in this financial year that will help households facing the increased cost of living, providing services and financial support not available elsewhere in the UK. This is helping to reduce everyday costs, increase incomes and is expected to indirectly support communities and local businesses.

In conversations with business the specific support they need most falls within the reserved responsibilities of the UK Government. Among those measures businesses are seeking help to address are energy price caps, VAT reduction on business energy bills, expansion of shortage occupation lists, support in handling business debt and pausing the National Insurance increase. I have written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to urge the UK Government to take action on these matters.

We continue to urge UK Ministers to use all the powers and fiscal headroom at their disposal to address the cost of living and business crisis.

The Scottish Government is aware that all businesses, particularly small ones, are struggling under the current trading conditions that are arising from the effects of Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine and the increasing costs of doing business more generally. That is why we are working closely with businesses to mitigate these challenges.

We are taking a range of actions, within a limited budget and the restrictions of devolution, to help those facing the combined impact of higher energy bills and interest rate rises. This includes almost £3 billion in this financial year that will help households facing the increased cost of living, providing services and financial support not available elsewhere in the UK. This is helping to reduce everyday costs, increase incomes and expected to indirectly support communities and local businesses.

In conversations with business the specific support they need most falls within the reserved responsibilities of the UK Government. Among those measures businesses are seeking help to address are energy price caps, VAT reduction on business energy bills, expansion of shortage occupation lists, support in handling business debt and pausing the National Insurance increase. I have written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to urge the UK Government to take action on these matters.

We continue to urge UK Ministers to use all the powers and fiscal headroom at their disposal to address the cost of living and business crisis.