Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-01824

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the effect of the rent cap on the number of homes available for rent in the private sector.

Question reference: S6O-01819

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Leave no one behind, from The Health Foundation.

Question reference: S6O-01821

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what guidance it gives to landlords in all sectors to help prevent and deal with damp, condensation and mould in their properties, including when this was last revised.

Question reference: S6O-01815

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last spoke to NHS Lothian and NHS Borders.

Question reference: S6W-13594

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it assesses the efficacy of its New Scots strategy.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The strategy provides a clear framework for all those working towards refugee integration in Scotland. It has also assisted in coordinating the work of the Scottish Government and its partner organisations to maximise impact and make the most of limited resources, placing Scotland in a strong position to respond to recent humanitarian crises.

The New Scots Core Group brings together key stakeholders and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing progress against the overarching outcomes of New Scots during the strategy implementation period. The Core Group is chaired by Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow.

The year one report for the New Scots refugee integration strategy 2018-2022 was published on 2 April 2019. The report can be found here: New Scots refugee integration strategy 2018-2022: first year progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The COVID-19 pandemic and work to support people arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine have impacted delivery of the strategy and meant that it has not been possible to produce the year two and three reports as originally planned. However, the New Scots Core Group continues to meet four times a year to monitor and review progress of the strategy, as well as identifying areas for collaboration.

The New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project includes a workstream on research and evaluation. This entails working with our partners and external evaluators to carry out project monitoring, research work and an evaluation of the strategy. An evaluation report of the current strategy is due to be published in Spring 2023.

Question reference: S6W-13593

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants have worked on helping to implement its New Scots strategy in each year since 2018.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

From 2017-22, the Scottish Government had one civil servant working on the New Scots refugee integration strategy, although the post was redeployed to support the Covid-19 response in 2020-2021. An additional civil servant has supported work on the strategy since May 2022. Other civil servants have worked in support of the New Scots strategy across a range of policy areas.

In addition to the permanent civil servants working on the strategy, from January 2021, up to three additional temporary staff have worked to manage the delivery of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project.

Question reference: S6W-13567

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the Parliament on when a formal national apology for forced adoption will be made.

We are still considering the next steps on how to address the responses to our engagement with people affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people affected by historical adoption practices. This will help us understand where we need to improve, introduce or enhance the services to better meet the needs and expectations of those affected by historical adoption. The research started on 9 January and will take approximately 8 months.

We have also agreed to fund a proposal to establish specialist peer support groups for those affected, in partnership with Health in Mind The planning and implementation of this support service has already begun and been influenced by a working group of people affected by historical adoption.

Question reference: S6W-13374

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to spend on (a) Facebook, (b) Instagram, (c) Twitter, (d) YouTube and (e) Tik Tok in relation to its Winter Heating Payment advertising campaign.

Social Security Scotland posted on its Twitter and Facebook accounts to raise awareness of Winter Heating Payment. There has been no spend to date on Winter Heating Payment advertising through social media channels. This will be part of further advertising planned for early this year. Social Security Scotland's budget breakdown by channel is still to be confirmed and will be based on insight, taking advice from their media buying agency.

Question reference: S6W-13927

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many compulsory purchases of a building or land under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 have taken place in each year since 2003, broken down by local authority area.

There have been no compulsory purchases of a building or land under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 since 2003.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 originally contained two rights to buy.

The Community Right to Buy (Part 2) which is a right for a compliant community body to register an interest in land. If granted, this right means that if and when an owner of such land should decide to sell, then the community body is given the first option to buy at market value. This is not a compulsory purchase power.

The Crofting Community Right to Buy (Part 3) is a right that applies only to crofting areas and which, if granted, gives a compliant crofting community body the right to force the compulsory sale of the crofting land identified in their application. Only two Part 3 applications have ever been approved, but these were not taken forward as the owners in both cases agreed to a negotiated transfer.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) 2015 inserted a third right to buy to the 2003 Act. This third right was the Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land. This right, if granted, gives a compliant community body the right to force a compulsory sale of land which is either abandoned, neglected or detrimental to the wellbeing of the community. To date, there have been three applications under this part of the Act and none of these have been approved by Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6W-13398

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, whether it plans to include specific measures on (a) restraint and (b) the provision of secure transportation services under the heading of "Residential and Secure Care", in light of the recent consultation analysis that cited concerns in these areas.

Following careful consideration of responses to the consultation on the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government is content that there is sufficient legislative provision to enable secure transport to be utilised when necessary, and to ensure the safety of the child and others.

An overly prescriptive approach to minimising restraint practices could bring adverse consequences around escalation and criminalisation. Instead, Ministers consider that a blended framework of regulation, guidance, practice support and precise reporting is likely to best serve Scotland’s children.

Work is ongoing with partners to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of restraint in respect of children in care. This includes working with the Scottish Physical Restraint Action Group (SPRAG) to explore definitions of restraint, along with the availability of data, training and support.

A national service specification for secure transport is being developed by the joint Scottish Government and COSLA led Secure Care Group. The specification states that any use of restraint must be in line with Scotland’s Holding Safely guidance. This specification aims to bring consistency to the expectations and requirements, wherever secure transport requires to be commissioned. It covers areas such as data gathering and staff training. It also prohibits the use of mechanical restraint, handcuffs or pain-inducing techniques.

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