Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09864 on 15 August 2022. 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 .

We publish a six-monthly update on the progress of infrastructure projects with a capital value of £5 million or more which are at the Outline Business Case (or equivalent) approved stage or beyond and the most recent update can be found via the following web link: IIP - Major Capital Projects Progress Update - March 2022 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/infrastructure-investment-plan-2021-22-2025-26-major-capital-projects-progress-update-march-2022/documents/ )

The update mainly comprises those projects included within Annex D of our Infrastructure Investment Plan which was published in February 2021. The update provides details on the progress of projects as a whole and does not provide information on outturn against budgets or align directly to a single financial year.

Financial information on expenditure against budget by portfolio was provided to Parliament in the Provisional Outturn statement on 23 June 2022. A copy of this information has been replicated in the table below, while a more detailed breakdown providing further analysis is included in Annex A.

The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 places a responsibility on any person who has control of any premises to ensure that those occupying the premises are safe from harm caused by fire. The legislation places a duty on those responsible for fire safety within relevant premises to carry out a fire risk assessment.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the authority responsible for enforcing this legislation. The Service may visit certain premises to ascertain whether the fire precautions are being maintained to a satisfactory standard and that the requirements of the legislation are being met.

As for SEPA's role, it ensures waste management operators operate their sites in a manner that does not pollute the environment or harm human health. In the event of a serious fire, SEPA typically works with the SFRS, the local authority and the public health authorities.

SEPA will continue to work with the SFRS to address fire risk in the waste industry, taking account of any lessons from the recent fire at the Suez Recycling and Recovery plant, and in particular, will continue to support the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum which is a partnership between the HSE, the waste industry, the fire and rescue services and the UK environmental regulators. The WISH forum has produced guidance on fire prevention for the industry and this can be found at the following link: https://www.wishforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WASTE-28.pdf .

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table indicates the number of incidents in each month where an individual was identified as being Unlawfully at Large in that month from January 2020 until July 2022:

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. Welcome Hub staff will talk to those who have arrived about their immediate needs, including language support.

Public services in Scotland – including healthcare, welfare, schools, councils and housing services – must provide individuals with a qualified interpreter if they need one. Some councils are also offering translated information on a variety of subject matters, and guests from Ukraine can discuss the availability of these with their assigned local authority caseworker.

The Scottish Refugee Council are working with the Scottish Government to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme, which includes translation and interpreting services. The Scottish Refugee Council have received funding from the Scottish Government to recruit additional advisors for their Refugee Integration Service, including Ukrainian speakers, as part of their work to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme.

We recognise that translation and interpreting services for people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine are extremely important and the Scottish Refugee Council have asked that anyone wishing to offer assistance in this area contact them to discuss what support they can offer.

It has been heart-warming to see the groundswell of support from our communities, pubic services, third sector and partners for people fleeing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have worked closely and collaboratively with partners to stand up our Warm Scots Welcome response, ensuring that all those arriving from Ukraine are accommodated and supported as soon as they arrive in Scotland. Local authority caseworkers are in place to enable access to services including healthcare, education, employment and benefits advice.

In collaboration with the Scottish Refugee Council, we have delivered three public webinar sessions for hosts. Scottish Government officials regularly engage with community groups working to support people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and those who have volunteered to host displaced people in their homes.

We are working closely with the UK Government, local authorities and other partners to ensure we are ready to welcome people to Scotland and ensure they are provided with the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives. A national matching service, delivered by COSLA and Scottish Government, is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for displaced people from Ukraine, ensuring their full integration into communities across the country.

All 32 Scottish local authorities are working to conduct the necessary person and property checks for volunteers in Scotland who, having signed up initially for the UK Government scheme, have continued to express interest in hosting displaced people. Once checks have been completed, if the offer is deemed suitable, these hosts' details are uploaded onto the national matching service database, so that displaced people can be offered the opportunity to move into their homes.

We are aware that some volunteer hosts have expressed interest but have not yet been contacted, while others are still awaiting the outcome of checks. The Scottish Government is grateful to volunteer hosts for their generosity, and their patience. We are working closely with local authorities and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), doing all we can to speed up the matching process and increase the numbers of displaced people moving into host accommodation, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

The mental health and emotional wellbeing of all children in Scotland is a key priority for the Scottish Government. The 2017-2027 Mental Health Strategy committed to ensuring everyone across Scotland was able to access the right support in a way which best met their individual circumstances. This included support to children and young people as a whole as well as a specific focus on specific challenges. As part of this, the Strategy committed to supporting work aimed specifically at the mental health needs of veterans and their families. This is being taken forward through the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan.

Over the course of the pandemic, we put in place a variety of measures to support children and young people. These included supporting children struggling emotionally and providing advice and support to parents through Parent Club and the Solihull Online child development programmes. These resources provide families with easy ways to support their mental health and wellbeing through Covid restrictions and beyond.

We continue to invest in a range of measures to support children and young people in looking after their own mental health and wellbeing. This includes providing enhanced digital resources on mental health and wellbeing available via the ‘Aye Feel’ website and social marketing campaigns, managed by Young Scot. We are also committed to improving access to community mental health and wellbeing support. We have provided local authorities with an additional £15 million per annum to fund over 230 new and enhanced supports and services for children and young people across Scotland.

As committed to within our Heat in Buildings Strategy, work is currently underway to develop a new Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy, to be published in early 2023.

This will build on the broader approach to public engagement on climate change that we published last year, and will aim to:

• Increase understanding of the changes we need to see in how we heat our homes and buildings, and why;
• Raise the profile of energy efficiency and net zero carbon heating options so that people are aware of the benefits and begin to see them as a positive choice; and
• Raise awareness of advice and support services to maximise uptake of the help available.

The strategy will to set out a range of activities for public engagement that will be implemented over the transition to zero emissions heating, including: national marketing campaigns; education initiatives; a social research programme; and public participation in policy and delivery programme design, to ensure the needs of different (domestic and non-domestic) groups are considered. This reflects our commitment to supporting a just and fair transition.

To inform development of the strategy, this autumn we will undertake a Call for Evidence. Alongside publication of the strategy, next year we will launch a national conversation and campaign on heat decarbonisation, working with a range of practitioners, consumer organisations and others across Scotland to increase awareness of the heat transition with different audiences over the coming months. Early focus will be on building readiness for change amongst a wide cross-section of society ahead of the introduction of proposed regulations. We will also launch a national marketing campaign this autumn to promote awareness of our free and impartial advice and support services – Home Energy Scotland and Warmer Homes Scotland.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Statistics in relation to Psychoactive Substances (PS) detections are only available from 2018 onwards.

The following table provides the total number of detections for (PS) per year across all establishments from 2018 – present day.

*Includes detections for PS only and does not include other types of substances detected by the Rapiscan Itemiser machines.

**Prior to 2020, only 3 establishments had Rapiscan Itemiser machines in place. From 2020, this equipment was introduced to all establishments which accounts for the significant increase from previous years.