Chamber and committees

Table 1 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by property class as at 1 October 2024. Table 2 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by council area as at 1 October 2024.

The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. “Property class” is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate, by property class

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Local Authorities are responsible for identifying potentially contaminated land within in their areas, and when any contaminated land is identified, informing SEPA, the land owner, the occupier(s) of the land, and any person who appears to be an appropriate person in respect of the remediation of that land. It would be for the local authority to inform the public of any risk identified except in the case of contaminated land designated as a special site in which case, the responsibility would lie with SEPA.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Since 2022, and up to 9 December, there have been 42 recorded drone incidents that resulted in a successful and confirmed recovery of drugs.

The Scottish Government has worked with the Scottish Futures Trust and local authorities to develop robust costings for the expansion of the Free School Meals Programme. This work estimates the cost of rolling out universal free school meals to pupils in Primary 6 and Primary 7 is £256 million.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member should contact Children’s Hearings Scotland for this information.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member should contact the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for this information.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member should contact Children’s Hearings Scotland for this information.

Special care dentistry is predominantly carried out by the Public Dental Service (PDS). The PDS are NHS Board-run services and therefore the responsibility of the health boards.

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to reducing deaths by suicide, whether this is by intentional self-poisoning or any other method.

Our 10 year suicide prevention strategy and action plan - published jointly with CoSLA - aims to tackle the root causes of suicide – and has a clear focus on people at higher risk of suicide, including those affected by substance use.

We are continuing to deliver the National Mission which aims to reduce drug deaths and includes specific work to improve the interaction between mental health and addiction recovery services.

We are also prioritising suicide prevention training for staff working in the substance use sector to increase their confidence and skills in supporting people at risk of suicide.

We recognise that intentional self-poisoning can be a form of self-harm, and in some cases this can increase the risk of suicide. We have provided funding to Penumbra since 2022 to deliver a bespoke Scotland-wide self-harm support service.

This information is not held centrally. NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships are the experts on their communities and are responsible for providing services that meet local needs. This may include providing services in-house or, where appropriate, through robust referral pathways to non-specialist services.

Following publication of the recent HIV Outcomes Beyond the Virus report, officials will work with the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Implementation Group and the Scottish Health Protection Network’s HIV Clinical Leads Group to consider its recommendations and ensure that psychological support for adults living with HIV meets the high standards we would expect.

The Scottish Government is also providing NHS Education for Scotland with around £30 million in 2024-25 to deliver multidisciplinary education, training and workforce expansion for staff supporting adult and children’s mental health and psychological wellbeing.