Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

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.

The local road network is the responsibility of local authorities and they will allocate resources on the basis of local priorities. The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

In the most challenging budget settlement since devolution, we are providing over £13.2 billion in the Local Government Settlement 2023-24.

The local authority may also wish to contact the Coal Authority to establish if there is any recourse to them regarding the historical mine works.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13547 on 16 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

The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland. Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding the national thrombectomy service, and the appropriate timescales to achieve this. This includes seeking input from National Services Division, to ensure that regional plans are cohesive and maximise access to thrombectomy procedures nationwide.

The budget for thrombectomy and development of a refreshed stroke improvement plan has been increased from £8.6 million for 2022-23 to £12.5 million in 2023-24. Prior to the 2023/24 budget announcement, the delivery of a national thrombectomy service had already received over £16 million of investment.

Our NHS Recovery Plan also invests £1 billion of targeted funding over five years to increase NHS capacity, deliver reform, and ensure everyone has the treatment they need at the right time, in the right place, and as quickly as possible, all in aid of our recovery from the global pandemic, the biggest shock our NHS has faced in its 74 year existence.

There has been no new assessment into the possibility of material switching in light of the recently published producer fees.

The Scottish Government consulted on a Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map in summer 2022, setting out proposed actions that must be taken to meet Scotland's waste targets and deliver a circular economy in Scotland. This included a proposal to strengthen the approach to household recycling collection services through new co-designed statutory guidance to provide a clear strategic direction for recycling in Scotland, improve consistency of services for households, and accelerate improvements to both the quality and quantity of recycling collected to help meet our waste and climate change targets .

The analysis of consultation responses to the Bill was published in November 2022. Programme for Government states that the Circular Economy Bill will be introduced in this parliamentary year.

As stated in my answer to S6W-13230, these calculations are based on commercially sensitive data provided in confidence to ZWS by local authorities. Therefore, we will not provide a breakdown by local authority.

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

In relation to the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme, we continue to progress the preparation stages of the scheme with a view to completing the statutory process. This includes the significant work required to prepare for publication of made Orders, including the Compulsory Purchase Order, in the coming weeks. Subject to no legal challenge being received, the Scottish Ministers will then have the relevant powers to acquire the land necessary to construct the scheme.

Delivery can only commence if approved under the relevant statutory procedures and thereafter a timetable for progress can be set in line with available budgets.

Moray Council attended a series of A96 Corridor Review stakeholder sessions and provided feedback to the public consultation survey undertaken as part of the review during 2022. We will continue to engage with stakeholders including Moray Council as we progress the review.