Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the level of foreign direct investment from Scotland into China, or any other market.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of strip searches carried out by Police Scotland. This information is held by Police Scotland.

Data Publication - Police Scotland .

The Stop and Search Code of Practice stipulates that a record must be made of any search in the exercise of any power to which the Code applies. The Code also sets out what information must be recorded, including whether a search was a standard search, a strip search within a police station, a strip search outwith a police station, or an intimate search. Police Scotland publish this data quarterly on their website:

Additionally, section 7 of the Code of Practice outlines additional considerations that should be taken when a search involves a child or a young person, requiring Police Officers to ensure that their actions are fully compatible with the young person’s human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Scottish Prison Service carries out ‘rub down searches’ or ‘full body searches’ rather than strip searches. These are performed in line with SPS search procedures, and are not recorded. Information on the number of body searches carried out is not collated centrally.

The Care Inspectorate is responsible for the regulation of care services for children and young people in Scotland, and assessing safety is a key element of inspection.

Within secure care, this extends to considering how the service protects children and young people from unsafe and unknown articles being brought into the service. The Care Inspectorate require each secure care service to keep records if a member of staff needs to search any person or their property. The service’s record should identify reasons for a search , the person authorising, staff involved and any subsequent action arising. The Care Inspectorate does not hold aggregated or centralised data.

Scotland’s secure centres all subscribe to the October 2020 secure care pathways and standards, co-designed with young people who have experience of secure care. All secure centres have written search policies reflecting the expectations set out in those standards. There is no central data on the number of strip searches carried out in each independent secure unit.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07156 on 28 March 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 published our Test and Protect Transition Plan on 15 March 2022. This states that from mid-April in place of a population wide approach, we will use asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 on a targeted basis. This includes testing to support patient care and protect higher risk settings.

Regular asymptomatic testing will continue for parts of the health and care workforce primarily in settings which are still considered high risk and/or where those using services are deemed to be at a higher risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19.

In social care, the priority will continue to be testing in long stay settings and services for elderly people such as residential care homes, care at home and adult day care. There will also be a continuing priority to support testing for hospital based staff to reduce the risk of infection spread in our hospitals.

LFD tests will continue to be made available for eligible unpaid carers, personal assistants and anyone visiting a care home or hospital, this will be kept under regular clinical review.

For any purpose for which COVID-19 testing (PCR or LFD) continues to be advised we will ensure that these tests remain available free of charge.

I am deeply concerned by the impacts that price rises are having for off-gas-grid customers and we are determined to address the higher levels of fuel poverty found in many of Scotland’s remote rural and island areas.

That is why the new fuel poverty definition takes account of the additional costs associated with living in remote and island communities. We are committed to continuing to spend more per head on energy efficiency in remote rural areas, to bring down energy costs and we are providing support through the £10 million Fuel Insecurity Fund, including for households reliant on solid and liquid fuels such as heating oil.

Following on from recent discussions with the heating oil trade body, UKIFDA, officials have engaged with the UK Government to raise concerns about the recent unprecedented rises in heating fuel costs for off-gas-grid customers in parts of Scotland, however the UK Government has indicated that there are no plans to regulate the sector.

As set out in our Programme for Government, we will be setting out full details of our Seafood Trade Strategy this year.

Following on from the launch of the Blue Economy Vision in March, the strategy will set out actions to revitalise the sector consistent with a sustainable and natural capital approach, to ensure remote and rural communities benefit from activity to support growth.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07634 on 21 April 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

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of strip searches carried out by Police Scotland. This information is held by Police Scotland.

Data Publication - Police Scotland .

The Stop and Search Code of Practice stipulates that a record must be made of any search in the exercise of any power to which the Code applies. The Code also sets out what information must be recorded, including whether a search was a standard search, a strip search within a police station, a strip search outwith a police station, or an intimate search. Police Scotland publish this data quarterly on their website:

Additionally, section 7 of the Code of Practice outlines additional considerations that should be taken when a search involves a child or a young person, requiring Police Officers to ensure that their actions are fully compatible with the young person’s human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Scottish Government continues to work hard to bring in new workforce capacity across NHS services. This is why we announced our commitment to recruit an additional 1,000 health and care support staff by 31 March and provided up to £15 million in funding to take forward that recruitment.

I am delighted to announce that following a period of intense recruitment activity by our health boards, we have welcomed over a thousand additional Agenda for Change bands 2 to 4 staff.

This additional influx of staff will provide longer term improvement in service capacity across our health and social care systems as we continue to recover from the pandemic and provides them with an opportunity to develop a career in health and social care.