Seòmar agus comataidhean

Decontamination both during and after any incident is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The provision of infrastructure and equipment at any incident to ensure decontamination is entirely a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

An Implementation Delivery Group has been set up which has held two meetings on 21 February and 20 March 2024, with a third meeting scheduled for the end of April.

Membership of the Implementation Delivery Group consists of representatives from clinical services, third sector and lived experience, under the chairmanship of Jim Miller, the Chief Executive of NHS 24.

We will publish minutes of meetings to date of the SBA Task and Finish Group by the end of July 2024. For any future meetings of the group minutes will be published within 12 weeks after the meeting has concluded.

The most recent Scottish Health Service cost book data published by Public Health Scotland for 2022-23 show that NHS Board spend on Mental Health is over £1.3bn and we expect this will continue in future years.The source of this funding is mainly from NHS Health Boards’ baseline budgets which are provided on an annual basis. Boards are responsible for determining how they utilise that funding to meet the needs and priorities of their local population.

The Scottish Government continues to decarbonise faster than the UK average and is absolutely committed to reaching net zero by 2045 – five years ahead of the UK. The Scottish Government has no intention of delaying our net zero target date of 2045, in recognition that tackling climate change is the fight of our lifetime and must be addressed at the earliest possible date.

Since the New Deal for Business Group published its implementation plan in October 2023, there have been a number of achievements, including re-instating the establishment of the Regulatory Review Group (RRG). The RRG is now beginning to deliver strong engagement across a range of policies, from Circular Economy and Heat in Buildings to public health policy, including Minimum Unit Pricing, and vaping. A flexible work plan has been created and the RRG have been meeting regularly since October 2023.

On 14 March 2024 I co-chaired the first quarterly meeting of the New Deal for Business Group in its revised role of governance and delivery assurance. The New Deal is a project which will take time and the Group continues to oversee ongoing delivery of outcomes that drive an economy that is fair, green and growing.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Disclosure Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, is consulting on how disclosure fees could be discounted for certain groups in future. No decisions have been made on this. The consultation response from stakeholders and the public will help to shape decisions by Scottish Ministers.

Disclosure Scotland has published a draft children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment which considers the possible impact of the proposals made in the consultation on fee waivers and discounting on the rights of children. In doing so they are considering official statistics and surveys, evidence from Disclosure Scotland’s systems, past consultations and stakeholder engagement.

When the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 is implemented Level 2 with PVG scheme membership disclosures will not be available to children aged under 16 years old. Any fees and fee discounting therefore only has a direct impact on children aged 16 and 17 years old.

A copy of the impact assessment can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/disclosure-scotland-act-2020-accredited-body-fees-proposals-discounting-under-pvg-scheme-consultation-childrens-rights-wellbeing-impact-assessment/

Assessment of risk at the attendance of any incident is entirely an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The number of firefighters attending any incident, and the manner in which they operate, is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.