Chamber and committees

Further to the recommendation of the Drug Death Taskforce we are continuing to work with the UK Government and other devolved administrations regarding the expansion of access to drug paraphernalia.

This includes the provision of smoking inhalation devices which have been seen as an essential harm reduction tool for those smoking crack cocaine. The distribution of these devices would require an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. As this legislation is reserved, such an amendment is not within the competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Official Statistics published by the Scottish Funding Council in their annual College Statistics release show that in 2021-22 there were 69,036 full-time Higher (HE) and Further Education (FE) college enrolments in total. Although this is a decrease of around 10,000 on 2012-13, part-time HE and FE enrolments have increased by nearly 35,000 in total over the same period (from 218,616 in 2012-13 to 253,296 in 2021-22).

Academic year 2021-22 saw increases in enrolments, headcount and full-time equivalent places on the previous year; as well as increased numbers upskilling and reskilling on short courses, and increased opportunities for those furthest from the workplace.

Colleges continue to evolve their offer, whether full-time, part-time or a tailored mix, taking account of the diverse needs of learners; while continuing to respond flexibly to the social and economic needs of the regions they serve through the delivery of short courses aimed at upskilling and reskilling.

The Scottish Government’s Scam Prevention, Awareness and Enforcement Strategy 2021-24 states that an initial update would be published at an appropriate time within 18-24 months of its publication in March 2021. However, our response to the cost of living crisis has meant refocusing resource to ensure that the urgent help and advice required by consumers was delivered as quickly as possible.

We intend to provide a progress update to the Scottish Parliament by the end of this calendar year.

The Scottish Government is currently developing the new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy for Scotland and intends to publish this in 2024.

We have appointed a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care to drive the development and delivery of the strategy, supported by a Clinical and Practice Advisory Group and a wide-reaching Strategy Steering Group (SSG).

The SSG is currently reviewing the information and evidence we have and need to develop the strategy, including current and projected data on palliative care needs, mapping services and support across Scotland, and engaging with patients, families and the wider public to understand their awareness and experiences of palliative and end of life care.

The SSG will discuss the timeline for producing a draft strategy for consultation, informed by this evidence gathering, at their next meeting in September.

Eligibility for non-domestic rates reliefs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), is set out in legislation and it is for local authorities to administer reliefs to eligible properties in accordance with that legislation.

Table 1 presents the estimated value of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering units in each year since 2011-2012, broken down by the level of SBBS awarded, for properties receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other proportions of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief.Data for 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 is not available. Data for 2023-2024 is not yet available.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on reasons why properties may be ineligible for reliefs.

The rateable value thresholds for SBBS changed over the requested period. Details on current and historical thresholds are available in Table 14 of Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2022 .

Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. The data is derived from the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, and local authorities’ billing data, as at: end March 2011, end April 2012, 1 October 2013, 8 October 2015, 5 October 2016, 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, 1 June 2021, and 1 July 2022.

Table 1: Estimated value of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering premises in 2011-2012 to 2022-2023

The Lord Advocate is not undertaking a review of the legal feasibility of safe drug consumption rooms.

The Lord Advocate received information in relation to a proposed safe drug consumption room which would operate in Glasgow. The Lord Advocate was asked, if a safe drug consumption room of the type described in that proposal were to be established, whether the Lord Advocate would consider a Statement of Prosecution Policy, which would confirm that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute individuals for the possession of illegal substances within the confines of the described facility.

Such a statement would not be a ban on prosecution or decriminalisation of an offence, rather it would be an articulation of the way that the public interest considerations relevant to a prosecutorial decision would fall to be applied in a particular context.

All prosecution policy requires careful consideration. In this case in particular, further information has been sought in relation to the practical operation and policing of the facility.

The Lord Advocate’s consideration of the request is supported by officials within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

We funded ASH Scotland and Young Scot to develop online resources on vaping which are available for young people, and their teachers or carers on the Young Scot website. We are working with colleagues in Education to review additional resources on vaping and tobacco smoking to ensure they provide the best impact.

However, it is up to individual schools to decide what to teach against the experiences and outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence. Children and young people will learn about a variety of substances, and explore the impact risk taking behaviour has on life choices and health.

Enforcement of legislation around the sale and purchase of nicotine vapour products (NVPs) is carried out by Local Authorities as part of the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme (ETSEP). This is overseen by the Society for Trading Standards Officers in Scotland (SCOTSS) and funded by the Scottish Government.

SCOTSS membership includes representation from every Scottish local authority trading standards service. We regularly meet with SCOTSS, our last meeting took place on 21 June 2023, and our standing agenda includes enforcement in relation to NVPs and tobacco.

Through this engagement, we continue to support strong national and local alliances to tackle the availability and sale of tobacco and NVPs to under 18s.

The rollout of the new National GP IT system is being delivered by the national ‘GP IT’ re-provisioning programme and is now fully underway with the first 4 NHS Health Boards(NHS Tayside, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Grampian). To date there are 110 GP practices currently live with the new system. We expect all Health Boards to enter into agreements with the Supplier by mid-2024, and full rollout completed by 2026. More information is available in our refreshed delivery plan of the Digital Strategy: Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2023-24 (www.gov.scot)

The 2022-23 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak season started on 1 Oct 2022. HPAI H5N1 has since been confirmed (as 15 August) in 197 premises in the UK: 30 in Scotland, 8 in Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland and 158 in England. Of the 30 infected premises in Scotland 18 have been in commercial premises, 9 in backyard flocks and 3 captive bird premises. 16 of the cases have been in the North East of which 11 were in commercial premises, 3 in back yard flocks and 2 in captive bird premises.

One case of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) H7N3 has also been confirmed in premises in Scotland this season.

APHA carries out year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols across Great Britain on behalf of Scottish Government, Defra and Welsh Government. It is not designed to provide how wild birds are impacted by the disease but provide an indicator of the presence of disease in a specific area to help establish background risk levels to poultry and other captive birds. This information helps support how Scottish Government responds to changing disease risk. From 1 October 2022, the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme has identified 1,552 wild birds infected with HPAI H5N1, with 326 findings of HPAI H5N1 in Scotland. The surveillance scheme is designed to detect the presence of avian influenza.

NatureScot’s Wild Bird Mortality Surveillance Network, set up to provide early intelligence on the spread of the outbreak on wild birds and to give an indication of the impacts on different species, has received reports of a total of 10,087 dead and sick wild birds since 17 October 2022. Just under half of these (4,244) have been reported from NE Scotland (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Moray). This data is provided from key areas selected for monitoring and does not represent total wild bird deaths which will be much higher and may not all be solely attributable to HPAI H5N1. On 11 August Ministers launched the Wild Bird HPAI Response Plan that sets out how the Scottish Government and its partners will respond to any further outbreaks of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, this recent spike in wild bird occurrences has not translated into a corresponding spike in cases amongst poultry and captive birds. Although Scotland has confirmed 30 poultry and captive bird premises infected with H5N1 since October 2022, only 9 cases have occurred since 1 April 2023.

Scotland’s Chief Vet and officials continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in daily contact with other UK administrations to discuss policy options, control measures and future strategies for the control of avian influenza. The Scottish Government will continue to review the range of potential proportionate responses available. Together the three nations of Great Britain have an agreed notifiable avian disease control strategy which underpins our collective response to the disease.