Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-17504 on 11 May 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 .

It is crucial that we prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms, but that aim has to be balanced with careful consideration of the impact restrictions may have on business.

We will not work with the alcohol industry on the development of health policy but will continue to engage with them around potential impacts of, and implementation, of alcohol harm prevention policy.

I have written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to highlight that the Scottish Government should be fully consulted on any proposed material changes to the Equality Act 2010, including on the current definition of ‘sex’, if there would be any impact on devolved matters. Any proposed changes to the 2010 Act must be fully consulted on with the public and stakeholders before being legislated on.

The risk assessment in relation to inflation on the delivery of the remainder of Control Period 6 (April 2019 – March 2024) and for Control Period 7 (April 2024 – March 2029) is reflected in the draft forecasts presented by Network Rail and the amount of risk funding allocated to it.

The impact or risk of inflation in Control Period 6 continues to be monitored by Network Rail and reported to Transport Scotland as part of the normal four weekly monitoring process.

As for Control Period 7, the potential impact of inflation is being considered by Network Rail in their planning for Control Period 7 via the ongoing Periodic Review 2023 process. This will be assessed and regulated by the Office of Rail and Road and be reflected in their final determination for CP7.

The recent Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) includes funding of £4.2 billion for Operations, Maintenance and Renewals for the rail network in Scotland. The budget for railway enhancements is not included in the SoFA. This aligns with the Department for Transport SoFA for Control Period 7 (April 2024 – March 2029), which did not include enhancements funds.

There is no clear scientific consensus relating to muirburn on peatlands. A 2022 report by NatureScot has shown that there is limited and unclear evidence on the impact of muirburn on the total carbon budget. Therefore no specific assessment has been made of any climate implications of redefining the definition of deep peat from 40cm to 30cm in relation to the muirburn licensing provisions of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.

When in good ecological condition, peat can store significant amounts of carbon and that this can help address the impacts of climate change. The provisions in the Bill take a precautionary approach aimed at allowing muirburn to continue as a land management tool, and as a method of controlling the risk of wildfire, alongside reducing the risk and volume of carbon emissions.

The Bill contains regulation-making powers which will allow further changes to the new law on muirburn to made by secondary legislation, should further relevant scientific evidence come to light.

Scottish Government Officials will attend the Sustainable Aquaculture Summit on 16 and 17 May 2023, including participating in a scheduled panel discussion at the event: ‘ Delivering the Scottish Governments Vision for the blue economy ’.

We are currently reflecting on the wide-ranging feedback we received from stakeholders during the recent stakeholder roundtables and are working with an independent contractor to analyse the public consultation responses to understand the views and perspectives of those that responded.

We will publish both the roundtable notes and the consultation findings later this year, which will inform the potential content and scope of any policy proposals and our consideration of appropriate next steps for this work.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold this information. Due to the wide-ranging nature of the question, (a breakdown, per year, per island from every government body who may or may not have delivered diversity initiatives) attempting to gather the information necessary would incur high costs in terms of official and ministerial resources and breach the disproportionate cost threshold.

Integration Authorities (IAs) are required to prepare and publish an annual performance report to demonstrate performance against the national health and wellbeing outcomes. In order to demonstrate performance, IAs use the core suite of integration indicators which includes a measure of the proportion of care services graded ‘good’ (4) or better in Care Inspectorate inspections.

All social care services, including those provided by local authorities, are regulated and inspected by the Care Inspectorate. The results of these inspections are published on the Care Inspectorate’s website.

Social care providers also provide a range of information which is used to collate publications of official statistics by the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS). Scottish Government official statistics are available via the following link Health and social care analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This includes Free Personal and Nursing Care, Social Care Eligibility and Waiting Times, and Carers Census statistics. PHS official statistics releases include: Insights in Social Care, the Scottish Care Home Census, Delayed Discharges and Care at Home Demand ( Publications - Public Health Scotland ).