Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04721 on 8 December 2021. 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 .

Responsibility for the routine maintenance, upkeep and management of burial grounds in Scotland rests with the relevant burial authority. A burial authority may be a local authority or a private owner. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (as amended), owners must ensure any premises they are responsible for are maintained to a safe standard for both employees and visiting persons.

The Scottish Government is currently in the process of implementing the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. Under this Act Scottish Ministers have powers to appoint Inspectors of Burial and to make regulations about the management of burial grounds. The Scottish Government have reconvened the Burial Regulations Working Group to consider the regulation of burial authorities and grounds in Scotland, with the next meeting due to take place on the 9th December 2021.

At this time the Scottish Government has no plans to provide financial support to local community groups for the maintenance of burial grounds.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04313 on 3 December 2021. 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.

Further to this answer, I can update that the public consultation on the draft Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery is now available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/draft-framework-chronic-pain-service-delivery.

Respiratory policy falls under my portfolio remit. I met with representatives from Asthma UK-British Lung Foundation on 10 June 2021.

Asthma UK-British Lung Foundation had a stall in Parliament to raise awareness of COPD and mark World COPD Day which was on 17 November 2021. The Cabinet Secretary and I met with representatives at their stall on Thursday 18 November 2021.

Preventing litter is essential to protecting wildlife. We have taken steps to address increased litter of PPE as the result of the pandemic. Scottish Government’s “coronavirus (COVID-19): public use of face coverings guidance” also includes information on wearing reusable face coverings and disposing of face coverings.

Zero Waste Scotland has developed the “Face It: Reuse Beats Single Use” campaign which encourages the public to dispose of face coverings responsibly and wear reusable face coverings. This includes a toolkit of social media assets that can be shared by stakeholders. This initially ran in Spring 2021 and an updated campaign was launched on 2 December 2021.

As we committed to in Housing to 2040, the Scottish Government will shortly be publishing a consultation on a draft rented sector strategy. Our strategy will seek to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the whole rented sector in Scotland. The draft strategy will also set out how we will deliver a new deal for tenants – giving them more secure, stable, affordable tenancies with improved standards of accommodation, new controls on rent and more flexibility to personalise homes.

We aim is to publish a first draft of the strategy, for a full 12 week public consultation, by the end of this calendar year and to publish a final version of the strategy in the second half of 2022. Any legislative aspects identified will be included in a housing bill in this term of parliament and other legislation, as appropriate.

Our vision is for people to have equality of outcomes no matter what tenure they live in and we recognise that greater flexibility to keep pets is important for wellbeing, and for being able to consider a tenancy a settled home. That is why it is a commitment in the Shared Policy Programme, and we will set out more detail in the draft strategy when it is published for consultation.

That Scottish Government does not support the manufacture of munitions and Scottish Enterprise does not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions. The support provided is mainly focused on helping firms to diversify and develop civilian applications for their technology and ensure Scotland continues to benefit from the thousands of jobs in the defence, aerospace and shipbuilding sectors.

The licensing of arms exports is a reserved matter over which the Scottish Government has no control. We have impressed upon the UK Government our expectation to act responsibly as regards export licensing.

I refer the member to the answer given in S6W-00182 on 27 October 2021 with regard to how Scottish Enterprise undertake Due Diligence assessments when assessing business support. I understand that Scottish Enterprise have also reached out to the member with an offer to discuss how they support businesses operating in the defence sector and I would recommend that the member accepts that offer.

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 .

Since 2018, the Scottish Government has consulted and reported on funding for advice services twice, publishing our review “Publicly-funded advice services in Scotland: review report” in 2018 and our “Debt Advice Routemap” in December 2019. Both reports identified changes to advice delivery and funding models that could improve the efficiency and sustainability of the advice sector and increase the impact and effectiveness of funding. The Scottish Government is taking forward actions to implement and build upon these changes taking account of the impact of the Covid pandemic on the advice sector.

The Scottish Government understands the impact of annual funding agreements on adviser wellbeing and job security, which is why we are undertaking work to support creating a more sustainable and effective model of funding in the future. This includes testing innovative approaches using digital technology and working with the Improvement Service to help us identify a model through which devolved debt advice levy funding can best be distributed in order to have the maximum impact, both locally and nationally. We also continue to fund Money Advice Scotland to develop and run a programme to support and improve adviser wellbeing.

The Scottish Government funds advice services through a combination of longstanding funding relationships that ensure continuity of services, such as those delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland and the network of Citizens Advice Bureaux, or through a bidding process for funds aligned to specific policy objectives. All bid-in funds have their own assessment criteria based on the needs of the policy areas with responsibility for the funding programme, however all grant funding offered from the Scottish Government must adhere to the rules set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Scottish Government will consult on a draft Islands Energy Strategy in 2022, setting out its approach to supporting island residents and communities to develop renewable energy solutions that can promote resilience, enhance sustainability, and meet their energy needs now and in the future. As part of this work, we will review the evidence base and options for an "islands uplift" across our delivery programmes as part of our commitment to provide additional support for rural and island homes for heat and energy efficiency.

Support is available to all householders across Scotland, including in rural and island areas, through Home Energy Scotland (HES), funded by the Scottish Government. HES offers free, bespoke advice on measures appropriate to homes, and on the funding available for all domestic energy efficiency and renewables measures, including zero emissions heating. Loans are available of up to a maximum of £15,000 for energy efficiency measures (attracting up to 45% cashback grant (£6,000) and a maximum £17,500 for renewables measures (attracting up to 75% cashback grant (£7,500)).

Rural and island community groups and organisations can access advice and funding support to explore their renewable energy options through the Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) delivered by Local Energy Scotland (LES).

The Scottish Government's investment of at least £1.8 billion will strengthen demand and support an increase in jobs and skilled workers right across Scotland. We will work with industry to co-produce a ‘Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan’ by Summer 2022 which will include a focus on developing local supply chains, attracting inward investment and securing local jobs, training and skills, particularly in our islands and remote communities.