- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) oversight is exercised and (b) data collection is undertaken by ministers regarding the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS).
Answer
The Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) decisions are clinical decisions taken independently of Ministers and Parliament and remain a matter for Health Boards.
There is a requirement for Health Boards to maintain accurate and up to date information on PACS Tier Two requests and their outcomes. Health Boards are required to capture and share data as retrospective in confidence summary reports with the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. The data is retained for internal management purposes only and is not formally validated.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what training is provided to agricultural officers regarding their inspection duties, and whether this includes modules on (a) trauma-informed interviews and (b) working with interpreters.
Answer
Scottish Government provide a wide range of training to Agricultural Officers to ensure officers have the suitable skills and knowledge to deliver their inspection duties. This training includes structured learning, job shadowing and the provision of detailed written guidance.
This training does not include modules on trauma-informed interviews and working with interpreters.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been made available to the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations, and what the objectives associated with that funding were, for each of the last five financial years.
Answer
Please see the following table outlining the funding made available to the Association of Chief Officers or Scottish Voluntary Organisations and the objectives associated with that funding for each of the last five financial years.
Financial Year | Grant name/amount | Objectives/Outcomes of Grant |
20-21 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £164,773 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in responding to Covid-19, as required.
|
20-21 | Resilient Leadership Study £8,000 | - To support the study of “Resilient leadership in the third sector in Scotland”
- To expand intelligence gathering amongst third sector leadership to support this
- To deploy learning in support of leadership exchange work, the Scottish Leaders Forum and other priorities as agreed.
|
21-22 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
|
21-22 | Cyber Resilience – Voluntary Sector “Be Better Informed” Project £5,200 | - Increase access to, and use of, threat intelligence to inform understanding of risk
- Promote the use of NCSC’s Cyber Information Sharing Platform (CISP)
- Include information on cyber threat and risk in advice and guidance from third sector advisory and regulatory bodies
- Promote the range of cyber security standards and regulations available to support clearer choices for the Third sector based on their exposure to risk and their risk appetite.
|
22-23 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
|
23-24 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485 | - SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey
- ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future
- STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships.
|
23-24 | £44,000 | The expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development;
- Transition and succession planning; and
- Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work
The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy. |
24-25 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485 | Outcome 1. SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey Outcome 2. ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future Outcome 3. STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships. |
24-25 | £44,000 | The expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development;
- Transition and succession planning; and
- Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work
The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy. |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the practical differences are between "the setting of fire to" heath or muir, and "the burning of" heath or muir, as set out in section 22 of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.
Answer
The setting of fire could include the act of igniting the fire and the burning of could include managing and controlling the fire.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and the Housing (Scotland) Bill, whether it has considered any impact of tenants potentially being left without any protections between the expiration of rent adjudication on 31 March 2025 and the proposed introduction of rent control areas.
Answer
The temporary modifications were introduced as part of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 to support a cost-of-living crisis. The Housing (Scotland) Bill will seek to introduce permanent rent control legislation.
From 1 April 2025, existing requirements under the Private Housing (Tenancies)(Scotland) Act 2016 will continue to provide protection from above market rent increases. We are taking steps through a further wave of our Renters Rights Campaign to ensure tenants are made aware of their rights to seek a independent review of a proposed rent increase.
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to prescribe medicines have been granted under the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two process in each NHS board in each year since the accompanying guidance was issued in March 2018.
Answer
There is a requirement for Health Boards to maintain accurate and up to date information on PACS Tier Two requests and their outcomes. The Scottish Government does not hold validated data on the number of PACS applications that Health Boards have granted. This information would need to be requested from Health Boards directly.
Health Boards are required to capture and share data as retrospective “in confidence” summary reports with the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. The data received by Scottish Government are retained for internal management purposes only and are not formally validated.
Notably, the majority of collated PACS Tier Two requests are for fewer than five medicines; and data for numbers fewer than five are deemed to be patient identifiable and cannot be published.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, what contact it has had with (a) individual tenants and (b) representative tenant bodies.
Answer
The Scottish Government has engaged with individual tenants and representative tenant bodies and more information can be found in the Housing Policy Memorandum and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) .
Since introduction of the Bill, the Scottish Government continues to engage with tenants and their representatives.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, what legal consideration it gave in relation to the permitted rate of rent increase of 3% for private rented sector tenancies expiring on 31 March 2024.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not routinely disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, what legal consideration it gave when setting the determination of rent payable for private residential tenancies.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not routinely disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether its guidance on the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) issued to NHS boards in March 2018 remains valid, and what modifications to the guidance have been issued since that date.
Answer
Guidance on the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two process was published on 29 March 2018. This guidance remains valid for all Health Boards in Scotland.
