Chamber and committees

The mean and median gender pay gaps in Core Scottish Government is detailed in the following table:

Career progression for teachers who want to further their careers in specialist roles in curricular, pedagogical and policy delivery are available through the role of Lead Teacher, which was introduced into the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers grading structure in August 2021.

Lead Teacher areas of specialism can include additional support needs and therefore there is the potential for an increase in the opportunities available to teachers wishing to specialise in this area.

The recruitment and deployment of teachers, including Lead Teachers, is a matter for individual local authorities, based on their local need and priorities.

The Scottish Government has not met with COSLA or individual local authorities to discuss reusable nappies. We promote and raise awareness of reusable nappies direct to families by including a voucher for one waterproof nappy wrap, with five stay dry nappy pads inside Scotland’s Baby Box.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with UTIs. In support of this, guidelines on management of suspected UTIs were developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in 2020. These support clinicians to provide advice to patients and carers on appropriate treatment, risks and lifestyle and behaviour issues which can support management and prevention of UTIs.

The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland.

Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding the national thrombectomy service, including how funding will be broken down by NHS Board. Thrombectomy services are run on a regional basis with North, East and West of Scotland hubs. The Scottish Government has asked that regions provide spending forecasts, including workforce plans, which reflect the most effective means of further expanding access to thrombectomy and to maximise the number of patients able to benefit from this treatment.

Transport Scotland officials last met with members and officials from Dumfries and Galloway Council to specifically discuss upgrades to the A75 at the spring Convention of the South of Scotland on 28 February 2022. Transport Scotland’s Director of Transport Strategy and Analysis presented a paper which included details about STPR2 Recommendation 40 (Access to Stranraer and the ports at Cairnryan).

In addition, Transport Scotland officials have quarterly liaison meetings with Dumfries and Galloway Council officers, Police Scotland and the Trunk Road Operating Companies to discuss road maintenance and other operational issues. The most recent meeting took place on 16 February 2023.

We remain committed to commencing the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 which will provide additional protection for people who are at risk of domestic abuse.

Part 1 of the 2021 Act will provide Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service with new powers that will enable a person suspected of causing harm to be removed from the home they share some or all of the time with the person at risk of harm, through a scheme of domestic abuse protection notices and orders. This is with the intention of providing breathing space for up to three months so a person at risk can consider their longer term options.

Work to commence Part 1 of the 2021 Act continues to progress with the Act Implementation Board. The Board includes representatives from Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Legal Aid Board and Scottish Women's Aid. An Operational Working Group has also been established which includes operational justice partners directly impacted by the legislation. Together the detail is being worked through to consider how a number of aspects of the legislation can best be implemented including how the views of children can be captured in a way that does not cause additional harm or trauma.

Part 2 of the 2021 Act will allow social housing landlords to apply to the court to end a sole tenancy of a perpetrator of domestic abuse or end a perpetrators interest in a joint tenancy, enabling the victim to remain in the family home. The provisions aim to help improve the immediate and longer term housing outcomes of domestic abuse victims living in social housing who wish to continue living in the family home. They also help address the very real concern as to why victims and their families, rather than the perpetrator, should have to leave their homes, belongings and community to seek safety, with the perpetrator remaining undisturbed in the family home.

Work on the wide range of tasks necessary to commence Part 2 of the 2021 Act is progressing as a priority. This includes secondary legislation, changes to court rules and forms, model tenancy agreements and the development of statutory guidance in consultation with stakeholders. The aim is to bring Part 2 of the 2021 Act into force by early 2024, subject to the necessary rules and forms of court also being in place.

More than 670 producers responsible for more than 2 billion drinks containers have signed up with Circularity Scotland – this represents the full range of drink producers from global brands to small craft breweries and distilleries.

This means 95% of the annual total volume of products are included in scheme.

Producers must be registered by 12 January 2024 to guarantee that they will be able to sell scheme products when the scheme launches on 1 March. Those who register after this time will be able to sell scheme products when their registration is approved.

As set out in the DRS Regulations, SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.

Scottish Universities are autonomous institutions and as such, except for controlled subjects, the Scottish Government and Government Ministers do not set a student cap or direct individual universities on the number of funded places for individual subjects, available for eligible Scottish and EU domicile students.

Universities are allocated a finite amount of money and it is for universities themselves to decide how to distribute these places between faculties; the courses they offer; and how many of the total funded places will be available on each course. To give universities additional flexibility in student recruitment, the Scottish Funding Council allows universities to recruit up to 10% above the number of funded places awarded.

The Scottish Government firmly believes that access to university should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, however there is a need to exert a level of control over the higher education budget, which means that the number of students able to access a funded place is not unlimited. Despite these constraints and the cost of living crisis our investment in university education ensures that Scottish domiciled students benefit from free tuition at our world-class universities in near-record numbers.

This means that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students studying in Scotland do not incur additional debt of up to £27,750, and that average student loan debt for Scottish students is the lowest in the UK. Even in an environment of secure investment by the government, we still recognise that we have more to do, and all institutions have to work hard to ensure that students from deprived areas receive opportunities to achieve their potential.

Monitoring and analysis work will commence shortly after the launch of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). This work was originally scheduled to begin in early 2024.

Following the decision to move the scheme’s launch to 1 March 2024, this work will be rescheduled accordingly.