Chamber and committees

This information is in the public domain and can be found on the Scottish Government’s website within the Budget Bill documents covering the last ten years. This information can also be obtained and found on the Scottish Legal Board’s website from their published Annual Accounts.

Deposit Unlock, is an industry led mortgage indemnity scheme which enables buyers of new build properties to purchase with a 5% deposit. Homes for Scotland have kept the Scottish Government informed about the scheme throughout its development.

The UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme also helps to increase the supply of 5% deposit mortgages by supporting lenders to offer these products through a government backed guarantee on new 95% mortgages until 31 December 2022.

The Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) will continue to be available in Scotland next financial year.

My officials are working closely with the homeowners of the 25 buildings within the pilot phase of the Single Building Assessment. Our approach is to understand the fire safety of those buildings and particularly the external cladding. The programme will be concluded once buildings with unsafe cladding are remediated. We have committed to spending £97.1 million on cladding assessment and remediation and I have recently written to the UK Government to seek clarification on further funding for this work.

In March 2020, we announced a funding package of £350m for an emergency communities fund to ensure local authorities, community groups, the third sector and social enterprise sector were able to support people and communities affected by COVID-19.

This included the £25 million Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) and the
‎ £40 million Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme (CTSRP).A further £22.5 million was added to the CTSRP fund in 2021-22 to enable it to continue through to late summer.

These funds are now closed however third sector organisations may also contact their local Third Sector Interface for advice and information on funding sources. Here are the contact details for your local interface, Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway: www.tsdg.org.uk

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, SCVO, has a website, ‘Funding Scotland’ offering a one stop shop for information about possible sources of funding for third sector organisations and providing details of possible sources of funding from public sector organisations, corporate and charitable trusts - http://www.funding.scot

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that legal assistance continues to be available to all those facing issues such as housing concerns. In our Programme for Government we committed to engage with the legal professionals and other stakeholders to review the Legal Aid system, and to introduce a Legal Aid Reform Bill in this Parliament, ensuring that the system is flexible, easy to access and meets the needs of those who use it.

The Scottish Government has reiterated its commitment to retaining a demand led Fund to support a wide scope of actions. Particular consideration will be given, during the development of the Bill, to how more targeted and planned interventions can support user need.

I am pleased to confirm that, after due consideration, the Scottish Government will make an offer to Optometry Scotland regarding a 3% uplift to General Ophthalmic Services fees for the year 2021/22, backdated to 1 April 2021, as well as a commitment to continuing discussions with them regarding a process for future reviews of such fees.

The Care Inspectorate’s most recent data showed that as of December 2019, 4,752 childminding services were operating. This is a decrease of 356 from 2018, reflecting a downward trend in recent years.

We are funding research by Ipsos MORI to explore the factors contributing to the decline in childminding numbers, and to identify actions to ensure there are sufficient childminders to meet demand for this unique form of childcare. The study will publish in early 2022.

Additionally, we continue to progress Our Commitment to Childminding Report, working alongside the Scottish Childminding Association and other partners to highlight childminding, not only as a choice to parents, but as a positive career opportunity.

The Scottish Government meets with representatives from NHS Boards, including NHS Lothian, on a regular basis to discuss a range of matters relating to drug and alcohol treatment. Most recently this has included a number of discussions about the additional funding being made available to support the widening of access to residential rehabilitation and the embedding of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards.

As part of these discussions Scottish Government officials met with the General Manager of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital & Associated Services on the 24 November 2021.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The recruitment and deployment of Police Officers and Police Staff is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

Scottish Government statistics show that we have a higher number of officers than at any time during the previous administration. We currently have 17,232 officers, with Scotland having around 32 officers per 10,000 population compared to around
‎ 23 per 10,000 population in England and Wales.

The Chief Constable regularly reviews the size and shape of the policing workforce in light of changing demands. Local police divisions have a core complement of officers who are always dedicated locally to community and response policing, and they can additionally draw on specialist expertise and resources at a regional and national level – providing the right people in the right place at the right time to keep people safe and to meet the needs of our communities.

In February 2018, the then-Chief Medical Officer wrote to NHS Scotland Medical Directors about public interest in the use of mesh implants, including in hernia repair. Medical Directors were asked to ensure that clinicians offer patients all appropriate options for surgery, as well as the option of no surgery. In addition, the importance of shared decision making, informed consent and listening and acting upon patients concerns was noted.

The Scottish Government commissioned a review by the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) of primary inguinal hernia repair in men. SHTG published their report in early 2020 and this concluded that, compared to non-mesh procedures, using mesh resulted in lower rates of recurrence, lower rates of serious adverse events and similar or lower risk of chronic pain. The advice for NHS Scotland was that surgical mesh should be used in elective repair of inguinal hernia in adult males.

Further to this, the Scottish Government asked SHTG to examine hernia repair more broadly, to include women, and to review the outcome of mesh versus non-mesh surgery in a variety of groin or abdominal wall hernias. SHTG have published their report today which is available online at: Elective surgery using mesh to repair primary or incisional hernias in adults (shtg.scot) . This states that the current evidence supports the continued availability of surgical mesh for elective repair of primary ventral hernias, incisional hernias, and primary inguinal hernias in adults in Scotland. This notwithstanding, SHTG also recommends that consideration should be given to patient preference and that patients should have access to alternative hernia treatment options such as non-mesh (suture and natural tissue) repair. Once again, the importance of shared decision making and informed consent has been emphasised.

The Chief Medical Officer has written to Board Chief Executives and Medical Directors to draw their attention to the report’s findings. The Scottish Government will continue to work with Health Boards, Specialist Associations and the relevant Royal Colleges on the issues raised within the report.