Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10057 on 18 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 responses are still currently being analysed and considered carefully. This will help to determine the next steps and will also provide more understanding of what support is needed to help the people affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have started the process of establishing specialist support and peer support groups for those affected. We have also introduced a working group to assist with the implementation of peer support groups where we are working with partners to scope and develop the support service.

At the heart of our Active Travel Policy is the drive to close the mobility gap and take action against transport poverty. A truly accessible Active Travel landscape is one in which there is equal opportunity to access provision that allows people the opportunity to choose walking, cycling or wheeling as their method of transport for everyday journeys.

The Scottish budget for 2022-23 increased investment in active travel to a record £150 million as we progress towards our commitment to invest at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget by 2024-25.

We are clear that in all of the funding which we give out in grants to active travel delivery partners, they must ensure that funded schemes promote and support equality for all. A few examples of specific schemes are:

To encourage our youngest citizens to participate in Active Travel, we are running 9 pilot projects to test mechanisms to provide free bikes for all Children of school age who cannot afford them.

In 2022-23, £3 million was allocated to the e-bike Loan Fund in order to provide interest-free loans to support individuals and businesses to purchase e-bikes, adaptive and e-cargo bikes.

In 2019 we launched the £1.3 million Social Housing Fund for improved Walking and Cycling Facilities to encourage active travel within communities, particularly those in areas of multiple deprivation. This project will receive funding of £900,000 in 2022-23.

Scotland’s Cycle Repair Scheme provides free repairs to those who otherwise couldn’t afford it, and the Access Bikes scheme is exploring ways of providing affordable bikes through a variety of different mechanisms, to those who are experiencing financial exclusion.

There are multiple routes through which local authorities and housing associations can get support and funding for the installation of residential cycle storage.

The Places for Everyone programme (PfE) includes provision for cycle storage as part of larger cycle infrastructure projects. For example, in Edinburgh, 108 secure cycle parking units providing 648 individual spaces have been installed in this way since 2019.

We also invest over £900,000 a year in the Cycling Scotland Social Housing Partnership Fund which provides funding directly to housing associations to retrofit cycle storage on their properties. And the Cycling Scotland Cycle Friendly programme provides small grants to local communities, businesses and employers to improve local conditions for cycling, including through the provision of parking and storage.

We continue to look at ways to improve access to cycle storage, taking into account this report and other feedback.

The Scottish Government promotes cash-first responses to hardship so that people are able to make choices about the essentials that best meets their needs. This includes through investment in key social security measures such as the Scottish Child Payment, which will be further increased in value to £25 per child per week and expanded to eligible children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022.

Anyone worried about affording essentials should contact their local authority where they will be put in contact with local advice and support, including the Scottish Welfare Fund.

NHS Inform promotes staying safe and healthy in the summer and includes information on staying safe in the sun Summer health | NHS inform .

We know that inflation is having the biggest impact on those with the lowest incomes. We are doing what we can within our devolved powers and this year we have allocated almost £3 billion to support people who are struggling.

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.

In 2021 Play Scotland published its progress review of Scotland’s Play Strategy which identified eight broad recommendations for next steps on play in Scotland, including that government and others should “maintain a focus on playful learning and play in schools”. Play Scotland’s progress review is available at: https://www.playscotland.org/resources/progress-review-of-scotlands-play-strategy-2021/.

In 2020 the Scottish Government and Education Scotland published ‘Realising the Ambition: Being Me – Practice Guidance for Early Years in Scotland’. This national guidance for staff working with children and families from pre-birth until the end of Primary 1 and beyond, draws on research, evidence and theory and includes guidance on play pedagogy across the early level of Curriculum for Excellence. On 27 July 2022, Education Scotland launched an updated and strengthened version of the Early Level Play Pedagogy Toolkit, available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/early-level-play-pedagogy-toolkit/.

Individual school inspection reports consider play pedagogy alongside the variety of early level pedagogical approaches adopted by schools. They report on outcomes for learners and make reference to the quality of children’s experiences.

Each screening programme has a programme board that meets regularly and provides an assurance function on governance activity across the programme, acting on behalf of the programme to advise NHS National Services Division, National Screening Oversight, the Scottish Screening Committee, and Scottish Ministers. The programme boards ensure high quality, safe and effective standardised screening service delivery in a way that is delivered to national standards and addresses any screening inequalities.

Public Health Scotland also publishes annual statistics for the breast screening programme covering performance standards, uptake, cancer detection, and screening outcomes. Healthcare Improvement Scotland provides definitions of the acceptable and achievable performance measures for the programme.

We have not undertaken any assessments regarding the affordability of nappies in Scotland, however we will continue to work with partners to ensure that our financial supports, such as the Scottish Child Payment and the Best Start Grant, are maximising the support available for families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs.

Our Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment helps eligible low income families with expenses associated with pregnancy or with having a new child. Families are able to use this payment to best meet their needs which could include buying nappies.

Food banks do not currently publish data on nappies and other baby products, however, Scottish Government officials do meet regularly with both the Trussell Trust and the Independent Food Aid Network who share information about food bank use in general.