Asked by: Burnett, Alexander (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Aberdeenshire West)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32194 by Gillian Martin on 3 January 2025, where the minutes of meetings held between the Scottish Ministers and COSLA can be accessed.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The answer to S6W-32194 referred to a Scottish Government and COSLA funding working group set up to consider both the affordability of the 2015 flood protection scheme programme and use lessons learned to inform the future funding and governance model for flooding. This group is not attended by Ministers but by Scottish Government officials.
The majority of these minutes have previously been released by Scottish Government in response to an Environmental Information Regulations request - Flood Risk Management Working Group meeting minutes: EIR release - gov.scot.
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
Asked by: Burnett, Alexander (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Aberdeenshire West)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32194 by Gillian Martin on 3 January 2025, when it last met with COSLA.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government and COSLA funding working group described in the answer to question S6W-32194 on 3 January 2025 last met on 6 March 2025.
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
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish its review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020 and (b) outline its next steps to improve the welfare of dogs.
Answered by Fairlie, Jim - Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity
The Review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers)(Scotland) Act 2020 was published on 4 April. In that review we committed to consult on prohibiting the use of remote control static pulse training collars. We are currently working to regulate the activities of the canine facility sector. We are also developing a Code of Practice that will ensure the transparent and safe transfer of ownership of any puppy and dog, as required under the Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2025.
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service requires new equipment to fight wildfires.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
I refer the member to the answer to her question S6W-36661 on 24 April 2025. 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
Asked by: White, Tess (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the care sector, in light of reported comments from the Chief Executive of Scottish Care that "the bottom will fall out of the sector in three months".
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government understand the level of concern Dr Donald Macaskill has for the challenges currently being faced by the Social Care sector within Scotland
We are particularly concerned about the impact of the decisions taken by the UK Government, most notably the increase in employers National Insurance Contributions, as well as changes to the social care visa system and salary threshold levels. These decisions place serious financial strain on social care services, that so many people across Scotland rely on.
The Scottish Government has increased investment into our Health & Social Care Sector, the 2025-26 Budget provides funding of £21.7 billion for Health and Social Care - an uplift exceeding consequentials and taking funding to record levels. This budget will have a continued focus on reform and improvement in our services, driving efficiency and changing how we deliver our services to improve quality and access.
We are continuing to invest in health and social care services, with almost 2.2 billion invested in social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million.
We are providing an additional £125 million to support delivery of the pay uplift to a minimum of £12.60 per hour for adult social care workers as well as £5.9 million of investment into Care Inspectorate and £13.4 million into the Independent Living Fund.
Despite substantial funding increases, significant challenge remains – prevention, early intervention and reform remain critical to delivering an effective, efficient and sustainable health and social care system. Scottish Government officials have estimated that the social care sector alone face additional costs of more than £84m as a result of the increase in Employer National Insurance Contributions.
The Scottish Government and COSLA continue to raise this issue with the UK Government and request that funding is provided to cover the full cost of these changes for public services and those commissioned services that deliver critical services such as social care.
While we continue to engage with the UK Government on this matter, Scottish Government officials are undertaking a programme of work to understand and respond to the current financial viability pressures in the sector and the impact that this change will have. This has included engaging with local leaders through the Collaborative Response and Assurance Group(CRAG), as well as monthly roundtables and weekly meetings with partners including Scottish Care.
That work is ongoing, and the Scottish Government is committed to working closely with partners to identify the pro-active steps that can be taken to mitigate these impacts and protect services.
Asked by: White, Tess (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35620 by Neil Gray on 20 March 2025, whether it will provide details of the work that Healthcare Improvement Scotland is undertaking to standardise the reporting of incidents of rape and sexual assault in hospitals and on the NHS estate, and when these changes will be implemented.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Health Improvement Scotland are working with all NHS boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events, and have developed a national framework which was published in February 2025.
This also includes a standard review process through the development of a national Significant Adverse Event Review template with associated guidance and national learning summary. The category of violence and aggression (which includes instances of sexual violence) is a priority category.
The safety of staff and patients is the responsibility of the individual Health Board. We expect Health Boards to make every effort to keep staff, patients and service users safe and to report incidents to the police where appropriate.
The courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with sexual offending. All instances of such behaviour should be reported and escalated to Police Scotland as quickly as possible for consideration of necessary action.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the 2025-26 social care budget will be used to support essential frontline services, as opposed to administrative overheads or bureaucracy.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million.
However, While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.
Decisions on how best to deliver services to local communities are ultimately for integration authorities and locally elected representatives to make.
Asked by: Mochan, Carol (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants there were for health visitor training in 2024; what percentage were accepted onto a training programme, and how many completed their training.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
This information is not held by the Scottish Government and is a matter for Higher Education Institutes and NHS Boards.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to ensure that sheriffs and courts have the powers and guidance necessary to override property title issues in the interest of victim safety.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
Under section 2 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, the Lord President as head of the Scottish judiciary is responsible for "making and maintaining appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of judicial office holders". Training is delivered through the Judicial Institute, under the direction of the Lord President.
It is for a court to reach a view about the appropriate terms of an order in a particular case based on the existing law and the facts and evidence before them.
There are protection measures available to a person at risk of future abuse by application to a civil court. These include an exclusion order to suspend the legal right of a spouse or civil partner and in some cases, a cohabitant, to live in the family home, for the duration the order is in place. Other conditions can be requested, including preventing a spouse or civil partner from coming within a certain distance of the home, or preventing the removal of any items from the home.
An exclusion order is temporary. It will end, for example, when a married couple divorce or when a civil partnership ends. An exclusion order does not affect who owns or tenants the home, nor prohibits future transactions with the property. Before applying to the court for an exclusion order, the person at risk must have the legal right to live in the family home, either as an owner or tenant or because they have occupancy rights as the spouse or civil partner of person who is so entitled. A non-entitled cohabitant can apply to the civil court for occupancy rights and seek an exclusion order.
The Scottish Law Commission are working on a project at the moment on civil remedies against domestic abuse: Scottish Law Commission :: Aspects of family law
Asked by: Lumsden, Douglas (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many households in fuel poverty have had a whole home retrofit, as set out in the December 2021 document, Tackling Fuel Poverty in Scotland.
Answered by Allan, Alasdair - Acting Minister for Climate Action
The Scottish Government funds two programmes targeting households living in or at risk of fuel poverty, Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based Schemes. Since 2022 these programmes have adopted a `whole house retrofit’ approach based upon national retrofit standards (PAS2035 published by the British Standards Institution). Relevant improvements are installed based upon an individual assessment of the property; in line with technical and regulatory requirements (such as building standards); as well as to reflect the different needs and circumstances of householders.
Since 2022 the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme has delivered retrofit improvements to 8,507 households to this standard (WHS2).
Year | Installed Households |
2023-24 | 1,173 |
2024-25 | 7,334 |
Total | 8,507 |
The number of retrofit improvements delivered through Area Based Schemes since 2013 is published on the Scottish Government website. Area-Based Schemes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)