Seòmar agus comataidhean

Transport Scotland is continuing to consult with Local Authorities and others to develop both the secondary legislation required to allow them to enforce the National pavement parking prohibition as well as the Parking Standards Guidance which will underpin the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.

The first of the associated regulations, which sets out the Exemption Order Procedures which local authorities must follow, was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 16 November and came into force on 9 December 2022.

My officials continue to work on the other secondary legislation which is required during the course of this year. These further regulations will ensure Local Authorities have all of the necessary tools to enforce the pavement parking prohibitions from late 2023 onwards.

The Scottish Government does not monitor the total number of trained mental health counsellors in Scotland.

The following table sets out the number of people who participated in Scotland's Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) course, from 2021 to January 2023.

The Scottish Government has made significant funding commitments to protect and restore our biodiversity and is committed to invest an additional £500 million in our natural economy over the course of this parliament. Our recent funding package of £2.9 million for biodiversity projects comes on top of a £65 million commitment for nature restoration. This additional funding includes £1.3m for Atlantic rainforest restoration to fund the first phase of a rainforest restoration programme; £0.5m for ‘Species on the Edge’; and £200,000 to expand nature networks.

As set out in the new draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy we are committed to developing a Biodiversity Investment Plan, to mobilise public, private and philanthropic finance, closing the estimated £20 billion finance gap for nature this coming decade.

Following careful consideration of responses to the consultation on the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government is content that there is sufficient legislative provision to enable secure transport to be utilised when necessary, and to ensure the safety of the child and others.

An overly prescriptive approach to minimising restraint practices could bring adverse consequences around escalation and criminalisation. Instead, Ministers consider that a blended framework of regulation, guidance, practice support and precise reporting is likely to best serve Scotland’s children.

Work is ongoing with partners to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of restraint in respect of children in care. This includes working with the Scottish Physical Restraint Action Group (SPRAG) to explore definitions of restraint, along with the availability of data, training and support.

A national service specification for secure transport is being developed by the joint Scottish Government and COSLA led Secure Care Group. The specification states that any use of restraint must be in line with Scotland’s Holding Safely guidance. This specification aims to bring consistency to the expectations and requirements, wherever secure transport requires to be commissioned. It covers areas such as data gathering and staff training. It also prohibits the use of mechanical restraint, handcuffs or pain-inducing techniques.

The Scottish Government accepts that this statistic needs revising and we have already committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. In response to the issues raised in the UK Statistics Authority’s letter, dated 7 December 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

The cost information related to delayed discharge for the NHS is no longer included in the PHS publications. This is due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic where detailed cost data could not be submitted by NHS Boards to PHS.

The cost information related to delayed discharge for the NHS is no longer included in the PHS publications. This is due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic where detailed cost data could not be submitted by NHS Boards to PHS.

The Scottish Government accepts that this statistic needs revising and we have already committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. In response to the issues raised in the UK Statistics Authority’s letter, dated 7 December 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

We are grateful to Scotland Versus Arthritis for their support in developing the draft Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery as members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain.

The Implementation Plan sets out, for the first time, an ambitious national direction for improvement including 18 Actions which reflect the priorities of people with chronic pain to improve the care and services they need.

This includes taking a whole-system approach to address long-standing, complex issues including improving the quality of national resources such as NHS Inform, reviewing referrals and pathways of care, investing in comprehensive national data on chronic pain and its impact, and developing a national knowledge and skills framework to drive recognition, earlier intervention and improve quality of care for people with chronic pain.

We have also redesigned our Governance structure to ensure that we can deliver these Actions at pace. This includes investing in a new Third-Sector Network in direct response to requests from charity organisations including Scotland Versus Arthritis to better support their involvement in implementing the Framework. We will continue to monitor delivery of the Implementation Plan to ensure there is rapid progress and to identify further opportunities to improve pain services.

In addition to our investment in these challenges, we have recognised the impact of arthritis, and are providing £400m to develop a network of National Treatment Centres which will provide additional capacity for hip and knee surgeries which are a significant contributor to chronic musculoskeletal pain.

As stated by Scotland Versus Arthritis in their recent briefing to MSPs, the majority of people with chronic pain are seen in primary care services. That is why we are also providing increased funding of £170 million this year to support primary care services to expand multi-disciplinary teams and provide additional pharmacists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who can support people to better manage chronic pain and its impact. We welcome the continued input of Scotland Versus Arthritis and other third-sector partners in our shared goal of improving care and services for people with chronic pain.