Seòmar agus comataidhean

Public Library services in Scotland are devolved to local authorities which have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area.

No Scottish Libraries have permanently closed in the last three reporting years. The following table from the Scottish Library and Information Council provides data, compiled by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), capturing the number of service points and net increase / decrease per year between 2009-10 – 2021-22. Information for 2022-23 will be available at the end of the current financial year.

While we cannot reliably estimate the weather conditions in future years, over the last 7 years (2015-16 – 2021-22) around 97% of households in 22 out of the 27 weather station areas in Scotland received, on average, between zero and two Cold Weather Payments each winter. Five weather station areas received, on average, more than two Cold Weather Payments from 2015-16 – 2021-22, with around 12,000 eligible people resident in those areas. For the vast majority of those 12,000 people, the support received during that 7 year period was still, on average, less than 3 Cold Weather Payments per year.

Our new Winter Heating Payment will provide over £20 million investment each year, more than double the £8.3 million provided on average per winter by the UK Government over the last 7 years. This will provide reliable financial support for all eligible households in Scotland, rather than depending on sustained cold weather. This year around 415,000 people will receive Winter Heating Payment from the Scottish Government.

The operational assessment of the A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout project has included modelling of traffic flows to assess the impacts as a result of the proposed scheme. The modelling indicates that the resultant elimination of the conflict between strategic and local traffic at this junction would result in operational benefits for road users on all routes through the junction.

Details of the traffic assessment undertaken are available from the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Stage 3 Scheme Assessment Report which is available on the Transport Scotland website at https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/dmrb-stage-3-assessment-report-a720-sheriffhall-roundabout/ .

The focus of this report was providing a response on how to implement the recommendations of the Drug Deaths Taskforce Report, Changing Lives , published in July 2022.

However, people with problematic alcohol use and those who use alcohol alongside drugs will benefit from a number of the actions outlined in the plan such as the work to address stigma, the actions on early intervention and actions to support people with co-occurring mental health and substance use needs. In addition, the actions outlined in the plan to develop a trauma-informed workforce, to ensure that those with lived or living experience are involved in the development of work across both alcohol and drug policy and on residential rehabilitation services, will benefit people with problematic alcohol use as well as problematic drug use.

The Changing Lives report was the final report of the Drug Deaths Taskforce which has now concluded its work.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the grade separation of Sheriffhall Roundabout as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.

Transport Scotland continues to progress the proposed scheme through the statutory process to deliver improvements at this key junction as soon as possible.

Following publication of draft Orders and Environmental Statement, Transport Scotland received a significant number of representations, including objections, to the proposed scheme. Given the number of objections, a Public Local Inquiry (PLI) is required, during which an independent reporter will consider all outstanding objections prior to making recommendations to the Scottish Ministers. The PLI is due to commence on Monday 30 January 2023. As with all trunk road projects this is the appropriate statutory forum for considering objections received and not withdrawn.

While I am keen to see the improvements delivered as soon as possible, the statutory right for individuals to have their say on proposals cannot be set aside. Delivery of the scheme itself can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory procedures, at which point a timetable for its progress can be set.

The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland. The thrombectomy service at NHS Lothian continues to complete cases, with 55 thrombectomies completed there as of 1 January 2023.

Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding the national thrombectomy service and the appropriate timescales to achieve this, including at NHS Lothian. This includes seeking input from National Services Scotland, to ensure that regional plans are cohesive and maximise access to thrombectomy procedures nationwide.

The number of people who have purchased a property via the Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme each year since its launch is set out in the following below:

The Scottish Government is aware of a discharge payment scheme being piloted in North Lanarkshire. This has been discussed by the Social Care & Social Work National Response Group and details are being circulated to other authorities who may be considering similar measures. Monitoring and evaluation of the scheme is being undertaken by North Lanarkshire.

Job Clubs are a model of support which were delivered by Jobcentre Plus or through local organisations supporting local communities. Jobcentre Plus, along with delivery of Job Clubs, remain reserved to the UK Government.

Since the devolution of employability services to the Scottish Government, support is being delivered through a combination of locally designed services, No One Left Behind, and our national employment support service, Fair Start Scotland.

No One Left Behind, which commenced in 2019, is The Scottish Governments approach to transforming employment support in Scotland. It aims to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards and into work, particularly people with health conditions, disabled people and others who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

Fair Start Scotland, our devolved employability support service, launched in April 2018 and offers 12 to 18 months of tailored, flexible and person-centred pre-employment support to people who want help to find and remain in work. Up to 12 months in-work support is also available for the participant as well as the employer, helping to ensure fair and sustainable employment.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone has access to person centred employability support that meets the needs of individuals, helping them towards, and into sustainable employment.

The Digital Inclusion Fund was initiated in 2020 to enable students who, owing to low incomes, struggled to access online learning during the pandemic.

To date the fund has supported almost 11,000 learners across colleges, universities and within community learning settings. We expect this number to increase on receipt of final reporting on the £5 million investment for 2022-23; which is expected by the end of this academic year.