Chamber and committees

In line with the duty set out in section 24(4) of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, the Scottish Ministers have laid two six-monthly progress reports before the Scottish Parliament on establishing a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court.

The first such report was laid in April 2021 and covered the period from 1 October 2020 to 1 April 2021 - Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - alternatives to court and funding of alternative dispute resolution pilots: report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The second such report was laid in November 2021 and covered the period from 1 April to 30 September 2021 - Pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court - Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): second report on the Scottish Ministers’ duties - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The next progress report on the pilot scheme is due to cover the period from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 and will be laid before the Parliament in due course.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd ensured the highest standards of service quality in this procurement, relevant at time of initiating the procurement process. Suppliers were asked to describe and demonstrate how they will commit to progressing towards adopting the five Fair Work First criteria that were in place at the start of the procurement for workers (including any agency or sub-contractor workers) engaged in the delivery of this contract, as part of a fair and equitable employment and reward package as a route to progressing towards wider fair work practices set out in the Fair Work Framework. Answers also had to include tangible and measurable examples and also describe how they will report on, and demonstrate progress, to the contracting authority during the lifetime of the contract.

The Wellbeing Economy Monitor and Framework are being developed as tools to help realise the Scottish Government’s vision to build a wellbeing economy in Scotland.

The development of these tools has been informed by the consultations we conducted on the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, as well as previous consultations including the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, the Social Renewal Advisory Board, and that which informed the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.

These tools are also being informed by engagement with key stakeholders and the Wellbeing Economy Governments group, as well as our Wellbeing Economy Pilot Project with Clackmannanshire Council.

We will continue to welcome views on these tools as they develop.

The level of identifiable public sector expenditure spend per person on housing and community amenities in Scotland was £413 in 2020-21. This is higher than in England (£167) and in Wales (£264), and this has been the case every year since at least 2016-17, as outlined in the following table.

Since 2011, Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by Energy Saving Trust (EST) on behalf of the Scottish Government, has served as the primary domestic advice service providing impartial advice and support on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty in Scotland and acting as the main point of referral for Scotland’s flagship fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland.

Prior to 2008, funding was provided from the Scottish Government (Scottish Executive) to support the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC) network as part of a UK wide network of energy advice centres operated by EST. This was replaced in 2008 by the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre (ESSAC) Network.

The Energy Assistance Package was introduced in April 2009, and while advice services did advise people who were fuel poor prior to the Energy Assistance Package, it is not possible to say how much of the advice budget was specific to fuel poverty. Prior to 2013, fuel poverty was not a separate focus for advice services. Specific fuel poverty advice services funding figures are only available from 2013.

The following tables provide information on advice service funding, including fuel poverty advice, where available, in each year since 2008-09.

The Scottish Government recognises the acute pressure that is felt by people due to energy price rises right now and will be pulling forward planned marketing activity to promote the advice and support that is in place for them.

The Scottish Government directs people towards its fuel poverty and home energy schemes, including Warmer Homes Scotland, via the Home Energy Scotland Advice Service. This makes it easier for people in Scotland to access all the support they are eligible for in one place and acts as the referral mechanism for the schemes.

In addition to the forthcoming activity, the Home Energy Scotland marketing campaign for winter 2021-22 ran very recently, concluding on 6 March 2023. The campaign ran over TV, digital and press advertising in two bursts of activity from 1 November 2021 to 12 December 2021 and from 5 January 2022 to 6 March 2022. An evaluation is currently being compiled to inform the immediate action that is underway in planning another burst of the Home Energy Scotland Marketing campaign to reach those most in need of support at this time.

The Scottish Government will consider all of the information received from people affected by historical adoption practices through our ongoing engagement activity before next steps are decided.

Regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the UK’s independent medicines regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA, an executive agency of the Department of Health and Care (DHSC), is responsible for investigating any current safety concerns regarding licensing of diethylstilbestrol.

The Scottish Government committed to publishing a refresh of the 2017 Energy Strategy. In parliament in June 2021, the Minister for Environment and Land Reform announced that a draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) would be published in Spring 2022. This will now be published in Autumn 2022.

We are working to deliver the ESJTP in the context of a fast-moving energy landscape. The revised timeline will allow time for robust evidence and analysis to be produced and take account of ongoing projects, which are progressing at pace in response to the rapidly evolving global energy environment. The UK Government is due to produce an energy security strategy, which has been postponed, and we will also need to take this into consideration for Scotland’s Energy Strategy.

Securing a just transition for our energy sector is a non-negotiable aspect of our journey to net zero and the timeline will enable an extensive stakeholder engagement programme, ensuring we create a Just Transition Plan that is truly collaborative in its approach and design. The extended timescale will also allow stakeholders more time to engage in the process.

The Scottish Government has worked with stakeholders including individual local authorities, COSLA, advice agencies such as Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland and representative bodies of landlords including PropertyMark and the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) on developing The Tenant Grant Fund in order to assist tenants struggling with rent arrears as a result of the pandemic.

The Scottish Government continues to have discussions with these stakeholders. Officials met with Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland on 2 March to discuss how we can work together to further support efforts to publicise the Tenant Grant Fund, particularly to private rented tenants.

In addition, in developing our Money Support Scotland campaign we have worked with stakeholder organisations including Citizens Advice Scotland, Christians Against Poverty and StepChange. This campaign raises awareness of the services available to those with financial worries.

Our Fuel Poverty Strategy contains a comprehensive range of actions addressing all four drivers of fuel poverty, We will keep progress towards the fuel poverty targets under review and will report every 3 years. If we consider that we need to change our approach to ensure that the targets are met, we will revise the Strategy.

To ensure that we meet our ambitious targets, we will continue to monitor rates of fuel poverty and, working with the independent Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, we will develop an outcomes framework to assess the impact of our work.