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Ministers have no current plans to use the discretionary power to align with European Union legislation provided through the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, but will do so where appropriate to maintain and advance the high standards Scotland has enjoyed as part of the EU.

Of the 32 local authorities across Scotland, 31 have signed up to the voluntary Household Recycling Charter, Edinburgh City Council has not yet signed up. So far, 9 councils have fully aligned their services with the Code of Practice, these are: Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Fife, Moray, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, and Stirling.

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

The SPS is currently undertaking a policy review of its ‘ Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy for those in our Custody’. The review is comprised of two main stages.

The first stage is underway and consists of an in-depth analysis of evidence that has emerged since the SPS’ current policy was introduced in 2014.

The second stage will consist of a series of discussions with key stakeholders. The SPS will also publish the current policy and underpinning legal framework on its website, inviting comment and feedback.

It is anticipated that the review will conclude in spring 2022 and a refreshed, evidence based policy position will be published by the SPS.

The Electronic Duty of Care (edoc) system has been operational since January 2014 and was the result of a 4 year, multi-agency project. These project costs are not held centrally. The project was funded through the EU’s LIFE+ environment programme and led by the Environment Agency.

We are taking forward the commitment to move towards the use of a mandatory system for waste monitoring as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

A joint consultation on the implementation of a mandatory electronic waste tracking system is planned for autumn on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory electronic waste tracking should be implemented, including the types of waste that should be included. Accurate costs and staffing hours for this multi-agency project are not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is currently working with Zero Waste Scotland, COSLA and an Advisory Group, comprising local authority Waste Managers, to review the Code of Practice that accompanies the Household Recycling Charter. One of the aims of the review is to ensure that local authorities will still be able to fulfil the aims of the Charter when Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme is introduced.

No specific risk assessment has been carried out for the impact of the Household Recycling Charter on recycling rates.

The Scottish Government has committed to evaluate the Household Recycling Charter. This work has been delayed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are working with COSLA and local authorities to take forward this evaluation.

Statistics detailing a range of information on the Scottish Welfare Fund including application numbers and awards are published on the Scottish Government website monthly, quarterly and annually. The annual update for 2020-21 lists application numbers and awards by local authority area for each year since the Fund began in 2013. These statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/collections/sg-social-security-scotland-stats-publications/

The Scottish Government is providing funding of £60 million towards renewing play parks in Scotland to ensure that all children have access to quality play in their own community. This funding will be distributed to local authorities over the course of this parliamentary term. The first allocation of £5 million for 2021-22 was agreed with COSLA in July 2021 and every local authority has been notified of their individual allocation.

The funding being provided is for the renewal and refurbishment of play parks, ongoing maintenance of play parks is the responsibility of individual local authorities, who will manage their budgets and allocate financial resources to play parks maintenance based on local needs and priorities. We are continuing to work in partnership with COSLA to agree a suite of national aims and principles to provide the framework for delivery of the commitment.

The Scottish Government want every child to have safe access to play and expect that local authorities and other local agencies will play their part in ensuring this. Law and order around the location of public play parks is matter for the relevant local authority and Police Scotland, who are able to exercise powers under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, section 96 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 18 - 22 of the Public Order Act 1986 and section 38 of the Criminal justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

It is for the local authority, Police Scotland and ultimately the courts, to use the powers available to them, to take appropriate and proportionate action against any individual taking part in antisocial behaviour.

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

Whilst a site for HMP Glasgow has been acquired, SPS still need to finalise the future operational requirements for the establishment and undertake a procurement exercise to appoint a suitable contractor who will develop the design of the new prison. There are also obligations to secure further statutory approvals for the site which will include satisfying any planning conditions, before construction work can begin.

We are in daily contact with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) facing the greatest challenges and are monitoring the situation closely. Health Boards and HSCPs have provided assurances that people in need of the most urgent care will continue receiving care during this challenging period.

We are working with local partners to address these pressures at a local and national level, including putting in place measures to support recruitment and multi-disciplinary working. Some of the immediate actions we have taken include: funding support to advertise vacant posts on a dedicated social care webpage; and targeted communication with Further and Higher Education nursing students and Social Work students, to encourage applications to join the workforce.

We have allocated an additional £380 million to Health Boards to help with costs arising from the pandemic. This comes on top of the £1.7 billion already provided to Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships last year.

For unpaid carers, we have invested an additional £28.5m for local carer support in this year’s budget, bringing total investment in the Carers Act to £68m per year. The previous Cabinet Secretary wrote to authorities in March to highlight the importance of using this additional funding to expand carer support. We also added a further £1.1m last year to the annual £3m voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund and have committed an additional £570,000 this year, enabling more families/carers and young carers to take a break from caring.