Seòmar agus comataidhean

Jacobs were awarded the review of transport governance structures in Scotland, which formed part of the National Transport Strategy review, through a Task Order. This was progressed as a call off from the previously signed Agreement as a supplier for one of the Lots forming part of the Multi-Supplier Framework Agreement for Transport and Land-Use Modelling and Transport Appraisal and Planning.

The duration of the Task Order was 13 and a half months from November 2017 to 31 December 2018.

Scottish Government officials engaged ferry stakeholders, including some representatives also on the Ferry Industry Advisory Group, as part of the National Transport Strategy review, which included the review of transport governance.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02580 on 13 September 2021 on stakeholders engaged by Jacobs as part of the review on transport governance structures in Scotland. 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

In addition, a review of the current legal structures and governance arrangements around the provision of ferry services is underway. As part of this review, we will work with all key stakeholders to ensure the most efficient and best value arrangement to deliver our key lifeline ferry services.

The Scottish Ministers are committed to ensure the most efficient and best value arrangement to deliver our key lifeline ferry services. An independent review of the current legal structures and governance arrangements around the provision of ferry services is already underway. There is nothing ‘off limits’ to the appointed consultants when addressing the issues within the scope of the review, including the direct award option. The review remains on track and we hope to publish the provisional outcomes of the review around the end of the year.

The Bank has been established to be administratively independent from Government. While Ministers set the Missions, the Bank’s Board determines its investment strategy and investment criteria. Any investment the Bank makes is assessed rigorously by the Bank’s experienced investment team and must deliver both commercial returns and mission impact returns that support at least one of the missions. It must also meet the Bank’s subsidy control permissions, including assessing whether the Bank is at risk of crowding-out private investment.

There is potential for a substantial and growing market for natural capital and nature-based solutions to climate change emerging in Scotland, and for these in turn to have positive benefits for local communities. The Bank’s investment supports Gresham House in a new sustainable forestry fund venture which is focused on new and diverse planting in Scotland. It represents a new investment proposition which mainstream investors have yet to fully embrace. The Bank’s cornerstone investment is designed to encourage other investors to follow the Bank into this new type of forestry fund.

The Scottish Government published updated guidance on Healthy Eating in Schools on our website in February 2021. This guidance is available on our website through the following link: Healthy eating in schools: guidance 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Our guidance recognises that cultural traditions, religious beliefs and faiths can have a significant impact on the kind of food we eat, how it is prepared and even how or when it is eaten. Therefore the guidance advises that local authorities may wish to work with their school communities to include a statement within their school food policy that reflects the diversity of their particular school population.

Although the guidance makes no specific reference to what action should be taken to identify foods containing pork or other animal products, where a child or young person or their parents/carers request a special diet, whether that be for medical or cultural reasons, we would expect schools and local authorities to accommodate any such requests.

This is a matter for Angus Council as the A90 Montrose link road is a local road project being taken forward by the Council.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the Promise, supporting families to stay together in a safe and loving environment, and reducing the amount of children who are taken into care. Fundamentally, Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is the Scottish Government's approach to supporting children and young people. It supports families and helps to prevent family breakdown by making sure children and young people can receive the right help, at the right time, from the right people. GIRFEC is a strengths-based approach and is underpinned by principles that include working in partnership with families, and providing an early offer of support to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.

The Scottish Government also recognises more needs to be done to transform the system of holistic support that is provided to families. The Programme for Government 2021 commits to investing at least £500 million over the life of this Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. This will enable the building of universal, holistic support services, available in communities across Scotland, giving families access to the help they need, where and when they need it. Furthermore, 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 Keep The Promise.

In addition, the Scottish Government continues to deliver a range of policies aimed at supporting the specific needs of children, young people and families. For example:

• National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (published 2 September 2021), which places greater emphasis on prevention and support and working with children and families to reduce the risk of harm.
• Development of a Framework to improve holistic family support for families affected by a loved one's drug or alcohol abuse.
• £120 million through our Recovery and Renewal fund to address the mental health impacts of Covid-19 including a range of actions addressing relationship support.
• Funding to Relationships Scotland, who provide a number of services including family mediation, relationship counselling and “parenting apart” classes.

Charges for National Qualifications have remained unchanged since 2012-13 despite changes in costs. While charges contribute towards the cost of awarding National Qualifications they do not cover the full costs. In addition, 2020 and 2021 late entry fees have been waived and there have been no charges for appeals. There are therefore no plans to reimburse National Qualifications payments.

For 2021, SQA estimates that the costs of providing certification for national qualifications was £41.7m, while income from local authorities, colleges and independent schools is expected to be £30.5m. The remaining cost is covered by SQA’s grant in aid budget from the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), NHS Boards and other partners to manage supply issues relating to certain blood collection tubes.

NSS is continuing to meet supply requirements and all of NHS Scotland services are currently operating as normal. A number of resilience measures have been activated by NSS and they are working in partnership with clinical and laboratory colleagues, suppliers and NHS colleagues across the UK. NSS is reviewing the medium-term supply position closely and is seeking to ensure products remain available.

Guidance about best practice in diagnostic test use was issued on 20 August 2021.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 161 provides guidance on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 including signposting people to rehabilitation services where required.

In addition the Implementation Support Note , which has been developed in consultation with people with lived experience, third sector organisations, and healthcare professionals, provides primary care teams with practical information on identifying, assessing and helping people with long COVID to access the services relevant to their individual needs.