Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government deemed that the most sensitive way of investigating previous post-mortem practice in Scotland was the Independent Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post Mortem Examination which was established in September 2000 by the then Scottish Executive. The final report was published in November 2001.

In addition, Audit Scotland was instructed by the then Auditor General for Scotland to undertake an exercise to validate the information provided to the Review Group by NHS trusts (now known as NHS boards). The Audit Scotland report summarises the findings from the validation exercise and the systems review undertaken during the period November 2001 to January 2002.

At present, free school lunches are available during school term-time for all 281,856 children in primaries 1 to 5 and special schools, as well as eligible pupils from primary 6 to secondary 6. We are working with our partners in local government to plan for the expansion of free school meal provision to primaries 6 and 7, and this work is being supported by £30 million of capital funding in this financial year to support expansion of catering and dining facilities to prepare for the anticipated increase in uptake.

I recognise the current cost of living crisis is having an adverse impact on many household budgets, therefore we will be offering further support to low income families through an increase in the Scottish Child Payment to £25 per eligible child, per week starting from 14 November. On this date, the Scottish Child Payment will be extended to include families with older children aged 6 to 15. This support is not available anywhere else within the United Kingdom and I would urge all eligible families to apply for it in the coming weeks in order to start receiving it.

The Scottish Government is committed to making universal free school lunches available for all primary school children during the course of this parliamentary term. In addition, we are committed to a pilot of free school meals in secondary schools to support our consideration of further expansion.

Continued partnership is at the core of delivering and improving the Super Sponsor Scheme. The Scottish Government is grateful to the continued work of local authorities, including City of Edinburgh Council, in their support to displaced people who have had to flee their homeland.

The Scottish Government understand that arrangements underpinning the Super Sponsor Scheme have incurred costs which could be considered out of scope of the various UK tariffs. We continue to urge the UK Government to have parity of funding no matter the route through which someone arrives.

Officials are in discussions with COSLA to finalise a framework through which local authorities will be reimbursed for costs incurred due to the super sponsor scheme as well as engaging directly with City of Edinburgh council to understand and agree costs incurred by the council since the scheme opened for applications.

The Scottish Government would like to offer reassurance that reasonable costs associated with the super sponsor scheme will be met by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns any form of hatred or prejudice, and is clear that people of all faiths and none must be supported to follow their way of life, without fear or discrimination.

I established the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group to provide collective cross-sectoral strategic leadership in the development of a new strategy, which will set out our priorities for tackling hatred and prejudice in Scotland. Importantly, it will be informed by communities with lived experience of hate crime, including religiously motivated hate crime. We are aware of the harmful impact online hatred can have on individuals and communities and this will be considered as the strategy is developed.

Furthermore, we are committed to tackling prejudice and building resilient communities within which divisive messages will not resonate, including continuing to support the important interfaith engagement work that takes place across Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10233 on‎ 29 August 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 Breastfeeding etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 has shaped our policies to raise awareness of and protect the rights of parents to feed their babies in public. Scotland is the only country in the UK to introduce legislation which specifically protects breastfeeding. It has enabled a more robust response to negative attitudes as we work to normalise breastfeeding.

The Scottish Government carried out a Maternal and infant nutrition survey in 2017 and asked questions on experiences of feeding babies outwith the home. Of those who responded, one in ten felt uncomfortable breastfeeding in public.

We used this evidence to launch the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme in 2019, where private businesses and public organisations can sign up to offer a supportive environment for babies to be breastfed. This scheme makes clear it is illegal to prevent someone breastfeeding a child in public in Scotland.

We also restated the importance of the protection offered by this legislation in the 2019 Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland report.

Breastfeeding rates in Scotland have continued to increase year on year, with more than half of all babies (55%) being breastfeed at 10-14 days of age.

I understand that the UK Government’s e-scooter trials, which commenced in July 2020, are still ongoing in England. The first phase of analysis of the trials is now complete, and I understand that this will be published in autumn 2022.

Transport Scotland has still not received any data or analysis from the trials in England from the UK Government. My officials will continue to push for sight of this data.

Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland.

Under current arrangements, the Scottish Government sets the overall strategic framework for social work delivery. The majority of social workers are employed by local authorities and the deployment of social work services is decided locally.

Social work professionals need to have the time to build relationships and trust, undertake person-centred assessments, plan for the future and arrange or provide appropriate support. The Scottish Government has invested £25m, as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector. £22m of this funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure, as agreed by COSLA Leaders, and will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce. Over the last five years the Scottish Government has provided over £25m to support the training of social workers, including for post-graduate bursaries and support for practice-based learning to increase the number of entrants into the profession.

The recently introduced National Care Service (Scotland) Bill reflects the Scottish Government's ambition for a National Care Service that ensures people of all ages can access the support they need to live a full life by improving consistency and quality of provision. We will transform people's experience of social care support and related services, strengthen prevention and community-based support and reform access.

The Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency which will invest in the social work profession by providing national leadership, and overseeing and supporting social work in a range of areas, including workforce planning. These objectives will enable social workers to work more effectively with people to transform their lives and implement rights-based practice.

We provide year round support for children from low income families, including over the summer holiday period, through the Scottish Child Payment (worth £20 per week for every eligible child under the age of 6), Bridging Payments (worth up to £520 in 2022 with over 148,000 school age children benefitting and a further £130 paid for each eligible child ahead of the summer holidays) and School Clothing Grants (worth £120 for eligible primary school children and £150 for secondary). We recognise that holiday periods can present additional challenges for families, so we have provided local authorities with £21.75 million to fund free school meals alternatives for all eligible families. This is provided directly to families in the form of vouchers or cash payments. This year we have also invested a further £10 million into a targeted summer holiday programme, designed to reach those school age children and their families who can benefit most from access to free holiday childcare, activities and nutritious food.