Seòmar agus comataidhean

Anyone supporting a family in desperate need should refer them to their local authority or a health professional such as a health visitor or midwife in order to make sure they are getting the holistic support they need, including financial advice and a referral to cash-first crisis supports such as the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Prioritising cash-first in response to food insecurity is in line with a human rights approach and consistent with UNICEF guidance. Following on from last year’s consultation, we are publishing our plan on ending in the need for food banks later this winter – this restates our commitment to this ambition and to continuing to work urgently with partners to strengthen cash-first support available.

The UNICEF guidance does not prevent the purchase and distribution of milk where there is no immediate alternative. UNICEF note that in certain circumstances food banks can make use of crisis funding to support families to purchase the right supply, but they discourage the redistribution of donated milk as this is not a secure, sustainable or appropriate route for ongoing supply.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13273 on‎ 12 January 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

We are deeply concerned about these reports. The only nutrition suitable for babies under 6 months is breastmilk or first stage formula milk.

Parents should be advised to speak to a health professional for further advice and support for breastfeeding or safe formula feeding, and can be directed to their local authority for crisis funding in an emergency. Food banks are not a safe, secure or sustainable route to accessing infant formula milk.

We continue to work with partners to ensure that our financial supports, such as Best Start Foods, Best Start Grants and the Scottish Child Payment, are maximising the support available for families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs. It is crucial that families follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to make up baby’s formula feeds safely. We have adapted existing information for safe formula feeding on our Formula feeding | Parent Club website and are promoting this through our social media channels.

This Government has delivered the highest school spending, and has more teachers per pupil, than any other UK nation. Our pupil teacher ratio is just 13.2 – its lowest level since 2009 - compared to 18 in England and 18.5 in Wales.

In our Budget we have sought to protect Councils by providing over £13.2 billion in the Local Government Settlement for 2023-24. This funding package represents a real terms increase compared with 2022-23 and enables the continued delivery of high quality education for our children. As part of this, we will continue to provide local authorities with specific funding of £145.5 million per year to support the school workforce.

The Scottish Government values all NHS Scotland staff, at every level and in every profession. The latest pay offer we have made is significantly more generous than the 2022-23 pay settlements which have been put in place in the rest of the UK and was negotiated through a partnership process with the input of all recognised Agenda for Change Staff Side organisations. Depending on the grade, under this pay deal Clinical Psychologists will earn anywhere between £53,513 and £112,673 per annum.

The Scottish Government is proud that our Agenda for Change staff are the highest paid in the UK. This applies to both starting salary and people at the top of their Band. It may be helpful to contrast the latest pay offer in Scotland against the settlements which have already been implemented in England and Wales for Band 8 and 9 staff. This information is set out in the following table.

Social Landlords are required to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), which is monitored by The Scottish Housing Regulator(SHR). SHR wrote to all Social Landlords on 1 December 2022 on the importance of having appropriate, proactive systems to identify and deal with any reported cases of mould and damp timeously and effectively. The Regulator will also be working with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) to identify and promote good practice in the management of mould and dampness. Scottish Government officials will keep in close touch with the progress of this work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12852 on 10 January 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 .

We expect around 400,000 people to receive our Winter Heating Payment each year, more than double the 185,000 people who on average have received Cold Weather Payments over the last 7 years.

Subject to parliamentary approval, we will begin making payments of Winter Heating Payment in February 2023. We are reliant on DWP meeting their commitment to provide us with the right data by 31 January so that we can complete the necessary assurance and processing of payments to around 400,000 eligible people across Scotland. While it will therefore not be possible to make payments sooner this winter, we have committed to exploring the feasibility of bringing forward the payment date in future years.

Separately, in response to the energy crisis we have doubled the Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million to ensure support continues to be available to people affected by the rising energy costs and struggling with their bills this winter.

The cost of responding to these types of incidents or spills are a matter for the public bodies, the relevant authorities, or agencies. The information requested is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.