Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government expects to lay commencement regulations in early May 2022 that will bring into force the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 this summer.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06233 on 25 February 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 has no plans at this time to review the eligibility criteria for Funeral Support Payment but we continue to monitor and evaluate all our benefits.

During the development of Funeral Support Payment we consulted and engaged with stakeholders, including people with direct personal experience of the benefits system. This work helped to inform the eligibility criteria for Funeral Support Payment. As a result, we substantially widened eligibility compared to the UK Government’s funeral payment. This has allowed us to support 40% more people, who would have received nothing from the UK Government.

Eligibility for Funeral Support Payment is based on receipt of a qualifying benefit, ensuring support is targeted at those on lowest incomes. State pension recipients who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit - for example pension credit - are therefore eligible to apply.

The Scottish Government continues to urge the UK Government to maximise take-up of Pension Credit. This is a vital support for many older people, but we know that only around 6 in 10 of those who are entitled to it actually claim it. On 12 November 2020 we joined Welsh and Northern Irish Ministers in sending a joint letter to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions urging a more strategic approach to maximising the take-up of reserved benefits. To date no response has been received.

I met with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) on 25 January 2022. We share with MACS a concern to ensure the best service possible to disabled people and value for money for taxpayers. The Government has noted that Motability has committed to utilise their surplus profits for good causes, including a rebate to clients and future investment in greener vehicles. That is the right thing to do and we would urge Motability to ensure all those profits are used to benefit the public.

On disability benefits in Scotland, whilst Motability is currently the only provider accredited under the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme, we plan to begin work to re-open further accreditation rounds towards the end of this year. This will ensure we are doing all we can to encourage value and promote choice.

As set out in the answer to S6W-06070 on 25 February 2022, work to implement the recommendations of the Deer Working Group is underway. Part of this work involves considering the most appropriate method of reporting on progress and further details on this will be provided in due course.

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 information requested on vacancy rates for retail and hospitality units is not held centrally but is held by Local Authorities.

We continue to engage extensively with CalMac Ferries Ltd on a regular basis concerning timetables, and through the twice yearly timetable consultation process.

As part of the Ardrossan project; Transport Scotland continues to meet with and provide support to CalMac Ferries Ltd in the development of service continuity plans for the Arran ferry service when it temporarily relocates to Troon.

A small number of contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio is expected to be in place from 1 April to ensure the continuity of rail services in Scotland from 1 April 2022.

In particular, a contract for the continued use of the Abellio Shared Services Centre will maintain employment for staff in its Glasgow office.

Work to increase standardisation since the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-22 to 2025-26 was published, can be seen in the announced Invitation to Tender (17 December 2021) for two new ferries for Islay and the continuing work as part of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP) that will see up to 7 vessels replaced on the west coast as part of Phase 1 of the programme.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) are taking forward the SVRP and are currently working with the appointed naval architects (Navalue) who are providing consultancy services for the concept design stage as well as investigating and evaluating the feasibility of designing low emission ferries to be in line with the Scottish Government climate change and standardisation commitments.

We also continue to support the vessel resilience funding that can be spent on replacing obsolete equipment on existing vessels.

We continue to engage extensively with the Arran Ferry Committee on timetable matters through the twice yearly timetable consultation process, which has recently concluded with regard to the Winter 2022 timetable, and additionally through the Ardrossan Task Force which met most recently on 23 February 2022.

In the coming months CalMac Ferries Ltd will undertake a public consultation regarding service continuity plans for Arran ferry services when they temporarily relocate to Troon.