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The Scottish Government does not designate assistance centres or make decisions regarding the pre-positioning of generator capacity.

These issues are rightly for the front line responders, principally Local Authorities, to consider following any emergency. In the Scottish Government's June 2022 update to the Storm Arwen Review, we noted that "All LRPs (principally via Local Authorities) have a wide range of pre-identified rest or assistance centres, with associated arrangements for activation.”

The overall response landscape in Scotland is set out in our guidance document “Preparing Scotland - Responding to Emergencies”.

A review of this suite of guidance is currently underway. The review, which is being undertaken in consultation with resilience partners, will consider whether the inclusion of additional mechanisms for the coordination of mutual aid should be built into the arrangements.

In the Onshore Wind Policy Statement 2022, the Scottish Government committed to assess the operation of, and if necessary update or replace the carbon calculator. This work is currently ongoing and its outcomes will be published in due course.

The Scottish Law Commission's homicide law project has been continued into their 11th Programme of Law Reform. In 2021, the Commission published their discussion paper on this subject. Scottish Government officials have engaged with the Scottish Law Commission who advise they hope to be in a position to publish their final report during 2024.

Who Cares? Scotland was established in 1978. It provides independent advocacy for children and young people in care across Scotland, and campaign on behalf of and with children and young people with care experience. The organisation’s vision is ‘a lifetime of equality, respect and love for care experienced people’.

Who Cares? Scotland also offer a range of groups, activities and events to care experienced people, specifically to those that become members.

The Scottish Government provides grants to Who Cares? Scotland to provide a Helpline Service, Corporate Parenting Training and Children's Advocacy for Children's Hearings as part of a national scheme.

The objectives on these topics for the financial year 2022 to 2023 were:

Helpline Service

1. To provide a helpline service that will act as the main point of contact for people with care experience which will allow them to:
‎ •access support and advice; and
‎ •receive sign-posting to other support networks as required

2. To work with Scottish Government officials to report on key themes that are highlighted through calls to the helpline to allow Scottish Government colleagues to work across policy areas to address emerging or ongoing issues.

3. To work with Scottish Government officials to evolve and align this current grant funded activity with the Scottish Government’s strategic priorities including work to Keep the Promise, particularly around the development of a future advocacy support model and any future and consequential implications for the helpline.

Corporate Parenting Training

1. To provide a Training Programme for Corporate Parents - with a focus on Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), will proactively receive offers of bespoke training to upskill their workforce and embed The Promise and UNCRC within their practices. The promotion and protection of the rights of people with Care Experience amongst Corporate Parents will be enhanced.

2. To provide a Training Programme - A programme of themed training events, including health specific themes, will be available to all Corporate Parents. These are to be designed to help Corporate Parents understand how to collaborate for maximum impact to improve outcomes for people with Care Experience.

3. To provide on-Going Support - Provide on-going advice and concentrated support to Corporate Parents to encourage positive change in internal structures, policies and practice. Health Boards and HSCPs will be specifically targeted to offer support.

4. To establish Corporate Parent Champions – A Corporate Parent Champions network is established to champion change within their own organisation, share practice across Corporate Parents and influence nationally.

5. To develop Digital Communications - Develop, maintain and promote online learning and training resources available to Corporate Parents.

6. To Engage with Young People - Provide opportunities for Corporate Parents to access the voice of Care Experienced people in a meaningful way in order to support ongoing policy development and public understanding.

7. To tackle Stigma – Throughout all activities, communications and support provided, the Grantee should ensure that all efforts to reduce stigma faced by people with Care Experience are in line with the wider sectoral commitment - The Each and Every Child Initiative.

Children's Advocacy for Children's Hearings

1. To support the Scottish Government with the development, delivery and promotion of the national children’s advocacy in children’s hearings scheme as part of the implementation of section 122 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Children’s Advocacy Services) Regulations 2020, in a manner which gives cognisance to the:

o Scottish Government’s Children’s Advocacy Guidance (published in 2014), https://www.gov.scot/publications/childrens-advocacy-guidance/; and

o National Practice Model for Advocacy in the Children’s Hearings System (published in March 2020), Advocacy in the children's hearings system - national practice model: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

2. To promote high quality independent advocacy services to children and young people, to support them to exercise their rights to be heard within their Hearings and contributing to the recovery of children’s hearings from Covid 19 impacts towards stable service.

3. To promote high quality independent advocacy services to brothers and sisters, to support them to exercise their rights to participate in the Hearings of their siblings on staying together/contact arrangements as introduced by section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and related changes in Regulations made under section 177 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2011 - The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Rules of Procedure in Children’s Hearings) Amendment Rules 2021 (legislation.gov.uk)

4. To support planning and future implementation of The Promise by improving experiences and outcomes for care experienced children and young people.

5. To take steps to promote, respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children and young people and increase awareness of the UNCRC amongst staff and stakeholders. You will promote the UNCRC throughout the creation and development of the project, and related policies and procedures in relation to this funding.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22335 on 7 November 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-22335 on 7 November 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-22375 on 3 November 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 .

Bereaved families should not have to wait to receive final confirmation of the cause of death and it is imperative that information about their loved one is provided as soon as possible. As the Lord Advocate noted in her response to S6W-21281, there have been delays in reporting post-mortem results, which is unacceptable. She also recognised that collaborative work has been done to resolve the delays, and that significant progress is expected within the next few weeks.

The Lord Advocate has responsibility for the investigation of all sudden, suspicious, accidental and unexplained deaths in Scotland – including providing bereaved families with the final confirmation of the cause of death of a loved one following receipt of the post mortem report. The Lord Advocate set out her position on post-mortem toxicology delays in her answer to question S6W-21281.

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

When an application for consent is received, the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) completes a data check in accordance with the relevant guidance. The carbon calculation is then published and available to view online.

All applications submitted and received using the carbon calculator may also be subject to audit by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). This is to ensure, as far as possible, that the carbon calculator continues to be used appropriately. Finally, on a case-by-case basis, the Scottish Ministers may request an audit by SEPA.