Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19557 on 26 July 2023. 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 Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland. NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care.

The 2023-24 Scottish Budget delivers record funding of £19 billion including increases in funding for community and primary care health services such as GP practices where the vast majority of people with chronic pain seek support. Detail on how funding has been used specifically for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is part of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). SCTS is an independent body corporate and does not answer directly to the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government typically meets OPG once every 3 - 6 months to discuss ongoing business matters, including registration of powers of attorney. The most recent meeting was in May 2023, where the introduction of a new IT system at OPG was discussed, which is expected to reduce processing times for power of attorney applications.

We will meet again over the course of the year to discuss what progress has been made with regard to power of attorney processing times.

The information requested is not centrally held by the Scottish Government but may be available from individual NHS Boards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19387 on 24 July 2023. 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-answer.

While the UK-led Warm Home Prescription pilot was reportedly extended into Aberdeenshire in late 2022, the Scottish Government understands that an evaluation of this pilot is not available at the present time and the Scottish Government does not hold data on general practice prescriptions for the Warm Homes pilot. The Scottish Government would consider the merits of the approach upon receipt of any evaluation and would discuss with partners as appropriate at that time, dependent on the data and research findings provided.

Relevant Scottish local authorities have been able to request additional powers since the introduction of The Additional Powers Request (Scotland) Regulations 2019. Whilst no requests for additional powers have been submitted under the 2019 Regulations to date, Orkney Islands and Western Isles Councils submitted separate proposals for Single Island Authority models through the joint Local Governance Review process with COSLA.

Electricity network policy and regulation is reserved to the UK Government with the Electricity System Operator responsible for strategic planning of the network. We are therefore continuing to engage with the UK Government, the Electricity System Operator and Ofgem to ensure that the network will be ready to support the delivery of our renewables potential.

Hotels are not listed as ‘relevant buildings’ within the meaning of the Building Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022. All new and converted hotels having a storey, or creating a storey at a height of 11 metres or more above the ground, must comply with the relevant mandatory functional standards, including mandatory standard 2.7 that requires the fire spread on external walls to be inhibited.

The Scottish Government is investing across a number of areas to ensure that those experiencing bereavement are able to access the support they need. We will continue to engage with our bereavement sector partners and work with them to take forward priorities.

The Scottish Government encourages all employers to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of their workers, and to be considerate of their wellbeing. We expect employers to make every effort to put in place reasonable adjustments and support workers on their return to work as they continue to deal with the impacts of bereavement. We also welcome the work being led by bereavement sector partners to help employers support their staff when experiencing a bereavement, and the Bereavement Charter for Scotland is an example of the sector’s work to support improved practices. The charter recognises that bereavement can impact all aspects of a person’s life, including work, and employers may want to consider the charter and how it can be used to support staff.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with Public Health Scotland, developed the ‘ Supporting a mentally healthy workplace’ digital platform to help employers in Scotland actively support and promote mental health at work. It signposts employers to a wide range of free mental health and wellbeing resources and information. It also includes contact details for wider support services that can help to support mental wellbeing in the workplace, including bereavement support services.