Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25634

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it approaching four years since the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, was published, and that three years have nearly passed since the Scottish Government published its plan for delivering on its commitment to implement, in full, the recommendations of the review, whether it will (a) provide an update on its delivery plan and (b) confirm when it expects to implement the remaining recommendations of the review to improve the lives of those impacted by sodium valproate, Primados and mesh implants.

There has been progress in implementing the Scottish Government’s delivery plan:

the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023 established a Parliamentary Commissioner on patient safety
the Glasgow Complex Mesh Surgical Service offers mesh removal surgery, and women can also choose an NHS England surgeon or an independent provider
25 women have had the costs of previously arranged private mesh removal surgery reimbursed
the NHS Scotland Scan for Safety Programme for implantable medical devices is planned to roll out across territorial boards by the end of March 2026
on valproate, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency introduced regulatory measures for the prescribing of valproate and we are working closely with the agency to support their implementation

The Scottish Government considers, further to the undertaking offered in 2021, that it is taking appropriate action to pursue the outcomes sought by all of the recommendations of the 2020 report insofar as they relate to devolved matters.

Question reference: S6W-25667

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether all one- and two-year-olds in low-income families receive free early years education.

The Scottish Government funds delivery of 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four-year-olds and around a quarter of families with an eligible two-year-old, who experience the most disadvantage, across Scotland. This entitlement is regardless of the working status of their parents - putting children first.

We recognise how important both early learning and school age childcare are for families, especially those experiencing poverty and that is why within this year’s Programme for Government we have committed to work with local government and partners in the ELC sector to expand our childcare offers.

We recognise that younger children have different needs to those aged three or four and therefore our new offer will be guided by what the evidence tells us about what is best for children and families depending on the age and stage of the child.

We also know that for children aged under three, how much they benefit from Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) is determined by crucial factors such as their family background, what age they start in ELC, the quality of services and the balance of hours they spend between care at home and in ELC settings. That is why we are committed to listening to families and to putting quality at the heart our work on both the Early Adopter Communities (EACs) and the expansion for two year olds.

We have recently completed and published two key pieces of research to help us understand and identify what models of ELC are best for younger children. The first is a summary of work to map current ELC provision for younger children in Scotland and the second a literature review undertaken by Public Health Scotland. Evidence from this early insights work supports taking a considered approach to policy development in 2024-25, so that we understand what is right for families with under three’s.

Over the next year we will continue to build on this early insights work by piloting new approaches via funding from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to test models of holistic family support and by engaging with the ELC sector to understand what is required to support an expansion.

We are already engaging with families through our work with EAC’s and are working to expand our reach to include Fife and Shetland and also to broaden the work to include younger children. This work will provide us with a clearer picture about what approaches deliver the greatest impact for families with younger children.

In parallel we will continue to work with local authorities and our partners in the sector to support up-take of the existing two-year-old offer, to ensure as many children as possible receive the benefits of high quality ELC, as well as planning for a further expansion.

Question reference: S6W-25596

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any local authorities that are yet to publish their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and delivery plan have indicated by what date these will be completed, and, if so, (a) which ones and (b) what timeframes have been offered.

The Scottish Government is able to confirm that we are expecting around a further 9 local authorities to publish their LHEES by the end of March 2024, with the remaining LHEES expected to be published by the end of the summer.

We are encouraged by the quality of the LHEES published to date. The local authorities have taken a reasonably consistent approach in development of their LHEES, and those covering cities and urban areas have identified strong heat network opportunities.

The Scottish Government is aware that, in developing LHEES, local authorities have faced a number of challenges which have hindered their ability to meet the deadline, including recruiting staff, procuring technical consultants, the timing of governance processes, data access and timescales for stakeholder engagement.

We continue to engage closely with local authorities to support them finalising their LHEES. Through our quarterly check ins we are able to understand their progress and provide tailored support where required including technical assistance through Zero Waste Scotland.

An LHEES review service has also been provided to act as a critical friend for local authorities, providing feedback to ensure they are able to meet the requirements set out in the LHEES Guidance.

The Scottish Government is providing long term funding to support local authorities to develop and deliver their LHEES with funding committed for each local authority of £75,000 per year until 2027-28.

Question reference: S6W-25633

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to mesh survivors in Scotland, whether it supports the recommendations in The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh.

Question reference: S6W-25595

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the publication of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) and delivery plans by local authorities, whether it will provide an update on which local authorities' (a) LHEES and (b) delivery plans (i) were published by and (ii) have been published since 31 December 2023.

Eleven local authorities published their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) and Delivery Plans by 31 December 2023.

Between 1 January 2024 and the time of writing, a further two local authorities have published their Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies and Delivery Plans. One of these two local authorities (Renfrewshire Council) have are yet to publish their Delivery Plan. This brings the total published documents to thirteen.

Nineteen local authorities have yet to publish their Local Heat and Energy Strategies and Delivery Plans. Local authorities cite a number of challenges that have hindered their ability to meet the deadline, including recruiting staff, procuring technical consultants, the timing of governance processes, data access and timescales for stakeholder engagement.

Scottish Government officials continue to engage closely with local authorities to support them in publishing their LHEES. This includes provision of an independent review service to provide feedback to ensure they meet the requirements set out in the guidance, one-to-one capacity support training, in-person visits to raise awareness at senior level and through tailored online sessions.

A table of local authorities which have published their LHEES and whether or not they met the deadline of 31 December 2023 is as follows.

LOCAL AUTHORITY	PUBLISHED BY 31 DECEMBER 2023
City of Edinburgh Council	Yes
Clackmannanshire Council	Yes
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar	Yes
Dumfries & Galloway Council	Yes
Falkirk Council	Yes
Fife Council	Yes
Glasgow City Council	Yes
Highland Council	Yes
North Ayrshire Council	No
North Lanarkshire Council	Yes
Renfrewshire Council	No
Stirling Council	Yes
West Lothian Council	Yes

An LHEES has two parts which are integral to each other.

A Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy is a long-term strategic framework for the improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings in the local authority’s area, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the heating of such buildings.

A Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Delivery Plan is a document setting out how a local authority proposes to support implementation of its Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-25266

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of spend from the Just Transition Fund in financial year 2022-23.

The Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.

A total of 23 projects were delivered through the Just Transition Fund in 2022-23.

Spend totalled £10.9 million comprised of £9.93 million in capital, £500,000 in financial transactions and £465,000 in resource funding support. A breakdown across projects is detailed in the flowing table:

Energy Transition Skills Hub (formerly Advanced Manufacturing Skills Hub	£1,180,000 (capital)
Cabrach Distillery	£361,767.25 (capital)
Climate Assemblies Pilot	£214,055 (resource)
Community Capacity Support	£23,968 (resource)
Digital Innovation Lab	£313,982.04 (capital)
Easter Anguston Farm	£504,446.86 (capital)
Energy Skills Passport	1,871,967.88 (capital)
Findhorn Ecovillage	£226,775 (capital)
Findhorn Watershed Initiative	£139,972.45 (capital)
Hydrogen Offshore Production (HOP2)	£126,000 (capital)
Hydroglen	£262,270.09 (capital)
Just Transition Hub	£243,601.16 (capital)
Moray Council Just Transition Masterplan	£250,544.62 (capital)
NESS Carbon Capture Feasibility Study	£96,750 (capital)
North East Adventure Tourism (NEAT)	£397,000 (capital)
Participatory Budgeting	£1 million (capital), £200,000 (resource)
Pilot Energy Skills Project	£39,960 (capital)
SeedPod	£500,000 (capital)
Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund	£476k (capital), £500k (FT’s), £27,180 (resource)
Sustainable Solvent Recovery/EV Battery Recycling	£457,559 (capital)
Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund	£1,299,598 (capital)
Tidal Rotor Generator	£71,200 (capital)
Moray Net Zero Bottlenecks	£41,596.47 (capital)
Wave Energy Converter	£70,000 (capital)

Question reference: S6T-01835

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported claims by the director of Shelter Scotland that it is "gaslighting" the country on housing when its budget "condemns 10,000 children to lives trapped in the homelessness system".

Question reference: S6T-01838

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to resolve industrial action in the further education sector.

Question reference: S6T-01837

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by Aberdeen City Council that residents of approximately 500 homes in Torry face relocation as a result of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6F-02905

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister, in light of International Women's Day on 8 March, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle gender-based violence.

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