Chamber and committees

A key principle at the heart of our second Benefit Take-Up Strategy, published in October 2021, is communicating and engaging effectively. Evidence-based communication and engagement strategies are developed for each of our benefits and paid-for tailored marketing campaigns for different payments are targeted at eligible audiences at relevant times throughout the year to make sure we are reaching the right people at the right time.

Social Security Scotland is currently running a national marketing campaign to encourage disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to check if they’re eligible for Child or Adult Disability Payments. Other recent Social Security Scotland marketing campaigns have focused on Scottish Child Payment’s extension to under 16 year olds, Young Carer Grant and Funeral Support Payment.

Scottish Government guidance on grant giving requires that all grants be completed by default. Therefore, at any one time, there can be a large amount of grants available, all at different stages of their operational cycle. Each grant fund is managed by a specific policy area within the Scottish Government. To ensure fair and transparent application processes, these funds are advertised as appropriate on the gov.scot website or other specific sites to ensure stakeholders and key specific groups are targeted for applications. The SG does not hold central information at the detailed level of individual scheme operation.

The Scottish Government’s National Carers Strategy (December 2022) sets out our cross-government approach to carer support and recognition, including through collaboration with different partners spanning local government, the Third Sector, the NHS and the wider public sector. The Strategy specifically considers the importance of all employers being positive about carers in the workforce, and sets out our intentions regarding carers and employment at chapter 4. This includes our commitment to fund and promote the Carer Positive employer accreditation scheme.

The Scottish Government funds Carers Scotland to run the scheme, raise awareness and engage with public services and other prospective employers, for example through direct engagement, speaking at networks and events and one-to-one support. The Scottish Government Ministers will continue to promote the scheme, working with Carers Scotland.

A full list of Carer Positive employers, including a significant proportion of public bodies is published on the Carer Positive website .

There is no reliable data held or published which we can refer to answer this question: Whilst Public Health Scotland publish the total number of patients waiting for specialist mental health services, detail of the individual types of assessment or diagnosis is not held.

The publications for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies waiting times for the quarter ending December 2022 can be found at Publications - Public Health Scotland .

The Scottish Government’s National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People sets out seven standards for service providers to ensure that children and young people who have neurodevelopmental profiles with support needs receive the support that they require. The Specification is purposefully inclusive and includes support for those who may be identified with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

I can confirm that 28 of 32 local authorities charge citizens for technology-enabled care equipment as part of their telecare services.

The Data collated in 2022 also identified that charges range from £1.48 to £8.40 per week for telecare. An annual survey to ascertain current charging levels will be issued to local authorities, via COSLA, during the summer of 2023.

The Scottish Government nor it's partners hold any indication information, and so cannot identify patients with chronic pain who have been prescribed morphine.

The requested information is shown in the following table:

Table 1: Total number of paid items for morphine from calendar year 1999 to 2022.

As a statutory inquiry, The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry is independent of the Scottish Government.

Questions concerning the conclusion of the inquiry, including its timeline, are a matter for the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry team and Lord Hardie.

We are aware of the update on inquiry’s website advising that Lord Hardie’s report has been handed over to the publishing company and is due to be with them for several weeks. We look forward to receiving Lord Hardie’s report when it is ready.

The Scottish Government remains committed to removing non-residential charges for social care within the lifetime of this Parliament.

‘The Right Tree in the Right Place: Planning for Forestry and Woodlands Guidance’ provides Scottish Government advice to planning authorities on planning for forestry and woodlands. It supports Scottish Ministers’ desire to see a significant expansion in woodland cover, delivering multiple benefits to society. This includes advice regarding the preparation of Forestry and Woodland Strategies.

As set out in the first iteration of National Planning Framework 4’s Delivery Plan there is a commitment to review ‘The Right Tree in the Right Place’ Guidance as a short to medium term action (2023 – 2028). This review will be a joint piece of work between Scottish Forestry and Scottish Government Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division officials. This commitment is also reflected as an action in the current Forestry Strategy Implementation Plan (2022 – 2025).