Seòmar agus comataidhean

To support delivery of the National Infrastructure Mission we established the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland to provide long term strategic advice on national infrastructure priorities. Our infrastructure plans build on these recommendations and work is ongoing to develop our infrastructure improvement programme, through developing a new method of appraisal and prioritisation to ensure our infrastructure commitments match long-term goals and in preparing a cross-sector infrastructure needs assessment. This will ensure we are making the best capital investment decisions possible across the public sector to deliver on our ambitious programme for Scotland.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-25 sets out a hierarchy for infrastructure investment which aids decision making and planning on investment choices by encouraging maintenance and enhancement of existing assets over new assets, where appropriate. This Infrastructure Investment Plan sets maintenance and enhancement as a Scottish Government infrastructure priority and all public bodies, including Local Authorities can draw on this when making investment decisions. The Scottish Futures Trust and Scottish Government have jointly developed an Asset Strategy Guidance note to support the application of the infrastructure hierarchy (link Here ) and have developed a Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard to support the whole public sector in making good investment decisions. More information on the Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard can be found here: Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard and on the Infrastructure Investment Plan, here: Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14838 on 9 March 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14838 on 9 March 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14838 on 9 March 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 .

Despite the system wide pressures, health boards continue to deliver a primary care out of hours service for the provision of urgent care when GP Practices are closed. Although the 2022 OOH workforce survey showed a decrease of around 97 whole time equivalent GP’s working in the service, it should be noted that the data collection was incomplete with not all Health Boards providing full returns so this figure should be approached with caution as it is not directly comparable with data from previous surveys.

It is also important to note the increased number of other professions which reflects that this service is now provided using a multi-disciplinary model which includes nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.

The Statutory Guidance for the Scottish Welfare Fund sets out the responsibilities for Local Authorities in their administration of the Fund, including promotion and raising awareness across all potentially eligible individuals. This includes providing information on the Fund and making clear guidance available on how to apply for a grant. Local Authorities are also required to ensure that other services which have contact with people in crisis have up to date information about the Fund, including promotional posters and leaflets.

As recently indicated by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government in correspondence to the Committee for Social Justice and Social Security, the Independent Review of the Scottish Welfare Fund is due to publish soon and will inform next steps across a range of areas, including accessibility and promotion.

The Scottish Government has provided local government with an additional £147.1 million capital funding in 2023-24. The maintenance of buildings and assets is the responsibility of individual local authorities and it is up to councils to manage their own budgets and allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Local authorities also have a range of powers enabling them to take action on buildings that fall into disrepair, such as the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act). Section 28 of the Act gives local authorities powers to take action on defective buildings, this includes serving a notice to bring the building back into a reasonable state of repair having regard to its age, type and location.

Further support is made through the Place Based Investment Programme which aims to align place based investment, working collaboratively with local communities to deliver shared aspirations for their place. The programme includes investment of £140 million over the course of the parliament to local authorities. This investment is expected to support delivery of our policy ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community led regeneration, community wealth building and contribute to net zero. The funding can be used for example for the repurposing of buildings, maintenance and repairs, reallocating external space and community led land acquisition.

The Learning Estate Investment Programme’s (LEIP) outcomes-based funding model was designed by Scottish Government, Local Government and Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The funding model was established to support the implementation of the Learning Estate Strategy which was produced was produced collaboratively by Scottish Government and Local Government. The concepts, principles and outcomes for the LEIP, as well as the mechanics of the funding model, were agreed in workshops between Scottish Government, Local Government and SFT, under the governance of an investment programme board which was co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA.

The use of the LEIP funding model and the associated outcomes have been ratified by COSLA Leaders, and further information on the mechanics of the model are published and available on SFT’s website.

The LEIP board, which meets quarterly, is co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA. The board has membership and representation from Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE, Local Authority networks and SFT. This governance structure provides oversight and direction to the LEIP - including on the outcomes to be measured, the assessment process for projects and the funding model - as the programme has developed.

We continue to engage with local authorities on an ongoing basis, including workshops on the funding model for each phase of the LEIP, and dedicated workshops with local authorities for each project.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that numbers of teachers and support staff are protected. We will provide local government with £145.5 million in next year's budget, which is conditional on the successful delivery of the following objectives:

• Maintaining teacher numbers at 2022 census levels, as published in the Summary School Statistics in December 2022.
• Maintaining pupil support staff numbers at 2022 census levels, which we will publish on 21 March 2023 based on the data collected from local authorities in September 2022.
• Ensuring that places remain available for probationer teachers who need them through the Teacher Induction Scheme.

Where these objectives are not being met, the Scottish Government reserves the right to withhold or recoup funding which has been provided for this purpose.