Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government asked Andrew Horne, Chief Executive of We Are With You Scotland, to chair a multi-agency working group focusing specifically on improving drug treatment services for young people.

The purpose of the group is to set clear expectations for the delivery of treatment support to children and young people who experience problem alcohol and drug use.

To date, the group have sourced statistical data which will be used to shape how we improve the provision and access to drug and/or alcohol treatment and support services. The group will work towards establishing Standards for Young People’s Alcohol and Drug Services in order to provide consistency in quality across Scotland. The group will also consider residential rehabilitation provision as part of their work to develop these standards. However, residential rehabilitation is just one aspect of a recovery oriented system of care, and the group will also look to develop a comprehensive approach to early intervention for young people which is focused on supporting children and young people to access support that is age-appropriate and in their own community so that, where possible, they can remain with their families.

This is a requirement for the online process but applications can also be made directly to a local authority, including where the legal guardian is not named on the birth or adoption certificate.

Local authorities can look at other documentary evidence to prove the connection. Proofs from school records or through other interactions with the local council are often available.

Planning Circular 01/2021 remains the current guidance on these matters.

The Scottish Government is working to update Planning Circular 01/2021 to reflect minor changes to the regulations which came into effect on 1 March 2022 and will publish a revised Circular in due course. The changes to regulations relate to definitions of certain types of property or tenancy and have no impact on either the designation process or the process for Ministerial approval.

The Scottish Ministers will consider any applications for approval of a proposed short-term let control area in accordance with the relevant legislation and the considerations set out in Planning Circular 01/2021.

Since May 2020, the Scottish Government has invested over £48 million in our Connecting Scotland programme, which provides people on low incomes with a device, connection with unlimited data for two years, as well as training and support. Since programme launch 60,000 digitally excluded people in total have been brought online. We are now working on an extension to the programme to reach 300,000 people by the end of this Parliament.

The programme is part of our wider package of support to help everyone in Scotland benefit fully from the advantages of the digital world – from broadband connectivity to digital skills training and support for schools and business.

The Scottish Government is aware that Crown Estate Scotland have issued Mines Royal Options Agreements for gold and silver exploration in south west Scotland. The Scottish Government do not have direct involvement in this process, and do not hold details of Crown Estate Scotland Option Agreements or leases for mineral exploration. You may wish to contact Crown Estate Scotland directly at [email protected] .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04826 on 13 December 2021. 26 Projects received recommendations of support totalling up to £24,145,384 as result the 2020 round of the fund.

No projects from Midlothian, East Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire or South Lanarkshire Council were recommended from the 2020 round.

Projects supported in Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire Council are detailed in the following table with figures taken from the applications for funding made in 2020. These are ongoing capital projects.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06795 on 8 March 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 Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce new council tax rebates based on energy efficiency ratings for properties. Individual local authorities are required by section 80A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to establish their own energy efficiency council tax discount schemes. Advice and support on improving home energy efficiency is available through Home Energy Scotland, administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Information on the numbers of metastatic breast cancer patients who have had access to a breast cancer specialist nurse is not held centrally.

As part of the National Cancer Plan, we are providing up to £2.5 million to NHS boards to support 12 pilot programmes across Scotland to deliver a single point of contact for cancer patients. These points of contact will support patients throughout their journey to discuss questions or anxieties related to their clinical care from the point of diagnosis.