Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is working closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, local authorities, Scottish Water and others to deliver the flood risk management actions set out in the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies published in December 2015. Taken together, the strategies form the first ever national flood risk management plan for Scotland. The strategies are supported by the 14 Local Flood Risk Management Plans which were published in June 2016. These local plans provide additional local detail on the funding and delivery timetable for actions between 2016 and 2021. The Scottish Government has reached agreement with COSLA on a ten year funding plan to deliver the actions set out in these plans, including 40 new flood protection schemes aimed at protecting around 10,000 properties across Scotland, and 134 flood protection studies to help find potential solutions for another 26,000 residential properties currently at risk. This agreement will give local authorities the certainty they need to deliver the actions set out in their Local Flood Risk Management Plans to help protect individuals, business and communities from the danger of flooding.

Scottish Government officials have met with the Scottish General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association (Scotland) and with Police Scotland on several occasions to discuss the sharing of information between general practitioners and the police for the purposes of firearms and shotgun licensing. Discussions are continuing in order to ensure the appropriate and timely sharing of information and the safety of individuals and the public.

Funding for Council House Building was introduced in April 2009, the aim of which was to incentivise local authorities to build new homes. Cost information on the new homes delivered was not held on our recording system.

From 2012-13, we have recorded total project costs based on information provided by councils. The following table therefore shows the average cost to deliver a new home for social rent by councils since 2012-13, together with the average number of bedspaces per unit:

The figures within this table are from programme management information only and are not published

Scottish Government are supportive of the excellent partnership work that British Transport Police, the Railway Industry, NHS Greater Glasgow and other external bodies are undertaking to reduce fatalities, suicidal behaviour and disruption upon the rail network. In addition we work with the trunk road Operating Companies, Police Scotland, local authorities, health boards and stakeholders to introduce a range of mitigation measures, monitor activity and help prevent self-harming across the trunk road network.

The Scottish Government records units by bedspace rather than number of bedrooms.

The following table shows the average cost per unit to deliver new homes for social rent by registered social landlords since 2007-08, together with the average number of bedspaces per unit:

* Programme management information only – not published as yet and as such, could be subject to change.

Scottish Health Service Costs is published annually by Information Services Division Scotland and provides a detailed analysis of where its resources are spent (http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/).

Taking forward the implementation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 is a key part of the current programme for government. Scottish Government resources are allocated in accordance with government priorities.

The following table shows the average cost per unit to deliver new homes under the Rural Homes for Rent pilot grant scheme, together with the average number of bedspaces per unit since 2007-08:

Information on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is available in the annual reports published by the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network (SEAN) http://www.sean.org.uk/AuditReport/Main.html.

These reports summarise data that have been collected from an electronic care pathway installed in all ECT treatment clinics in Scotland. Data are collected on every aspect of patient care, including the number of patients, episodes and treatments relating to ECT to ensure compliance with SEAN standards.

The Scottish Government believes that public awareness, participation and community support are essential components of sustainable flood risk management. That is why the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out a framework for coordination and cooperation between all organisations involved in flood risk management, including a formal statutory process which leads to confirmation of a flood protection scheme. This process provides an opportunity for local people to comment on, and lodge objections to, any proposed scheme, which local authorities will then be obliged to seek to address. However, long before a planned flood protection scheme gets to the stage of formal confirmation, local authorities are encouraged to involve local residents, land managers and key community representatives in the scheme planning process. This helps to build understanding and trust locally, which means that communities understand the basis on which decisions about flood risk management actions have been made.