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The Scottish Government recognises the positive economic and environmental impact that canals and inland waterways make to Scotland.

Scotland’s canals contribute significantly to the nation’s economic, social and environmental prosperity, from supporting tourism and local businesses to creating jobs, stimulating housing development, helping to tackle health inequalities and encouraging greater accessibility to green and blue spaces for millions of people.

The results of an economic study in 2019, conducted by Peter Brett Associates (now part of Stantec), assessed the investment in the canal corridors across Scotland since the re-opening of the Lowland inland waterways in 2002. It found that the regeneration of Scotland’s canals has acted as a catalyst for £1.53 billion of investment on and around their banks, contributing to the creation of thousands of new houses and jobs. It further showed that the revitalisation of Scotland’s canals has attracted a substantial investment windfall in regeneration, tourism and infrastructure projects across the Highland and Lowland canals.

Scottish Canals is tasked with environmental responsibility, ensuring that the canals contribute to resilience in the face of climate change, and also contribute to the ambition of a decarbonised future.

Scottish Canals produces an Environment Strategy which seeks to define a clear route to delivering sustainable benefits on the canal network and the wider environment. The purpose of this strategy is to directly contribute to the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes by creating sustainable places, reducing the environmental impact of Scottish Canals’ use of resource and protecting and enhancing the built and natural environment. Scottish Canals will be updating this strategy in 2025.

My Officials have engaged with members of the Inland Waterways Association through the Cross-Party Group on Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism. I last met with the Chair and Board at the Falkirk Wheel on 25 August 2022 and my officials meet with Scottish Canals on a regular basis.

In November the Scottish Government began a data reconciliation project with the aim of gathering detailed case-level updates on the progress and outcomes of property checks by Local Authorities for the Expressions of Interest from volunteer hosts. This data was collected ahead of the launch of the Scottish Government’s Offers of Accommodation scheme and is intended to provide a baseline data set for the property matching app being developed. The returns will be analysed and published in the monthly Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland statistics series, as part of our commitment to data transparency.

The 2021-22 Programme for Government confirmed our plans to introduce legislation on Community Wealth Building during this Parliamentary session.

I am pleased to announce that I have published a consultation paper on how to achieve this today. The consultation will run until 25 April 2023 and can be accessed at: https://consult.gov.scot/economic-development/community-wealth-building-consultation

This consultation is the opportunity for all interested stakeholders to participate in shaping the content of the legislation and I would welcome a wide range of views on the changes that are required to grow local wealth and give communities a greater stake in the economy.

Responses to the consultation will be considered and used to inform the development of the legislation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14348 on 31 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

Supporting the recovery and when ready, the sustainable exit, of those with experience of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is a key aspect of the recently published principles which will underpin the developing Framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution, and support those with experience of it.

The Scottish Government funds a range of services aimed to address commercial sexual exploitation and to support those who may be exploited through it. This includes £700,000, over two years, through the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) Fund to projects tackling commercial sexual exploitation, where the support available can include advice on employment and support to exit CSE. The DES fund also supports the CSE Aware project, which aims to improve awareness within the public and third sector of the support needs which those with experience of CSE may have.

In addition, as part of expanding the reach of Fair Start Scotland, Scottish Government’s devolved employability support service, an employability project is being delivered to support women exit CSE by offering tailored and holistic support, identifying and removing barriers.

Through our Victim Centred Approach Fund we are also providing the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance with £622,000 per annum over a three-year period, to provide support and assistance to women who have been trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.

Commercial sexual exploitation is recognised as a form of gendered violence within Equally Safe: Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls.

The law in Scotland prohibits many activities associated with prostitution, including: trading in the prostitution of others and running a brothel, procuring for the purposes of prostitution as well as publicly soliciting or loitering for the purpose of purchasing sex. No one can lawfully be forced into sexual activity without their consent. Trading in the prostitution of others and procuring for the purposes of prostitution are still offences whether or not they are committed online. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution. This is being taken forward through the development of a Framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and support those with experience of it.

Principles to underpin the Framework were published in December 2022. It is expected that the principles will inform relevant policy and practice across government and the wider public sector. The principles reinforce that there is no place for the commercial sexual exploitation of any individual in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with local authorities, third sector organisations and UK colleagues to assess and mitigate any safeguarding concerns, including the risk of human trafficking relating to displaced people from Ukraine.

This includes chairing a Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy Ukraine sub-group which comprises key operational partners and frontline support services and enables the sharing of trafficking specific information, assessment of ongoing risk and the elevation of any concerns to the Ukraine Safeguarding Strategy Group.

Police Scotland instigated Operation Escarpment to effectively manage and coordinate the required policing response in Scotland. This included human trafficking threat assessments for the Ukrainian diaspora and those arriving who may be vulnerable to exploitation. Potential trafficking and exploitation of displaced people from Ukraine continues to be actively monitored.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.

Unlawful deduction of wages is completely unacceptable and any employees in this situation should seek advice.

Employment law is reserved to the UK Government, and HMRC are the enforcement body for non-payment of wages. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), provides information and advice on workplace rights and entitlements. Anyone can get free and impartial advice from calling the ACAS helpline number on 0300 123 1100. Alternatively there is help online at: https://www.acas.org.uk/

Scottish Ministers cannot intervene in disputes between employers and their staff, however I would be grateful if there is any information on this matter that you could share with my office.

All care homes in Scotland are required to be registered with the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate register can be searched by provider here: https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/care-services.

Data regarding funding given to individual care homes is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Neither is it held by the Care Inspectorate or Public Health Scotland.

Local authorities and integrated health & social care partnerships are responsible for commissioning services for people in their area. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including any public funding for care homes, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

All Health Boards have a responsibility to ensure that that Wi-Fi is of a sufficient standard to support both patients and staff to have access to connectivity.

In 2019, Scotland undertook its first digital maturity assessment across health and social care which helped to prioritise key areas for investment. A further assessment is due to take place later this year which will include consideration of availability of Wi-Fi that we expect to inform further priorities.

There is no centrally held resource providing information about the Wi-Fi provision for residents in care homes. However, data obtained from participating care homes on the programme of work to fulfil the Digital Approaches in Care Homes Action Plan has indicated that an estimated 55% of care homes have Wi-Fi access throughout the premises, 38% have only partial Wi-Fi coverage, and 9% have no Wi-Fi access for residents.