Chamber and committees

Since 2013 the teaching of modern languages in schools has expanded considerably. Language learning is now normal in schools beginning at P1 and continuing throughout the Broad General Education (BGE). Prior to the introduction of the 1+2 approach, learning modern languages did not normally commence until later into primary schooling.

We have supported this expansion by providing funding of over £50million to partners and local authorities since 2013. This funding has been used to help upskill the workforce by providing teachers with training in language learning and teaching. It has also been used to promote language learning to learners, families and communities.

While the Scottish Government has not undertaken any assessment of the social impact of grassroots boxing we recognise that boxing as a sport is continuing to break down barriers. The wide reach of boxing related projects continues to grow with a lasting and positive impact on people and communities.

Boxing has the ability to reach into disadvantaged communities and engage young people who otherwise might not participate in sport, providing a significant opportunity to address a number of issues including improving health outcomes, reducing inequalities, and benefiting social regeneration.

We will continue to work with sport scotland and Boxing Scotland to ensure that grassroots boxing maintains its positive impact on communities throughout Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold information on the number of businesses that have used the Capitalising on Military Talent toolkit.

All Scottish Government buildings offer gender-specific toilet facilities as well as accessible facilities which are gender-neutral. Five buildings also offer gender-neutral facilities in addition to gender-specific facilities.

The Scottish Government are not currently considering any plans to introduce a domestic abuse register but remain open minded to consider any proposals that further our commitment to do more for victims of domestic abuse.

An independent Evaluation of the Pilot Domestic Abuse Court in Glasgow was undertaken by Reid Howie Associates and published on the Scottish Government’s website at the time. It is available; at; https://web.archive.org/web/20130205035916/http:/www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/173485/0048418.pdf

The report is also referred to in a letter from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service which was published on the Criminal Justice Committee’s page on Scottish Parliament’s Website at Criminal Justice Committee Evidence Session 8 December 2021 Further Evidence | Scottish Parliament Website

There is no evaluation report for Edinburgh.

We are committed to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare. Where lethal control of beavers is required to be undertaken, this must be carried out under licence by an authorised person who must have attended training in beaver ecology, the law, and best practice in beaver control as well as holding the appropriate firearms certificate. Furthermore, NatureScot now require carcasses from licensed control to be submitted for independent post mortem in order that aspects of beaver health and welfare can be monitored, other than in the exceptional circumstances where a carcass cannot safely be retrieved.

The latest available figures for the number of beavers killed are for the calendar year 2021. A summary of licence returns for 2021 is publicly available on the NatureScot website at https://www.nature.scot/doc/summary-beaver-populations-and-licence-returns-covering-period-1st-january-31st-december-2021 .

To summarise, during that period eighty seven beavers were killed under licence and thirty three animals were trapped and translocated from conflict areas to licensed projects. NatureScot intends to release the figures for 2022 as part of a Beaver Management Report planned for the end of May this year. We expect to see a further shift in the proportion of beavers being trapped and translocated as opposed to being lethally controlled.

The Scottish Government wants to ensure the quality, fairness and consistency of social care support provision regardless of where people live in Scotland. Framework guidance on National Eligibility Criteria and Waiting times for the Personal and Nursing Care of Older People was issued jointly by the Scottish Government and COSLA for use by local authorities on 28 September 2009.

Four eligibility categories - Critical, Substantial, Moderate and Low Risk are defined in the framework. In addition, the category of "No Risk" is used for people who are assessed as not coming under any of the four eligibility categories, and "Not available" is used when the eligibility category is not known. The eligibility criteria consider both the severity of the risks and the urgency for intervention to respond to the risks.

The national framework recognised that local authorities should set eligibility criteria that indicate what level of need they and their partners recognise as requiring services. In setting criteria, local authorities consider a range of factors including the overall level of resources available to meet need, the cost of service provision and ensuring equity in their service decisions. These criteria are not required by statute, but most local authorities have relied on them for the allocation of limited resources.

Eligibility criteria can be a barrier to accessing social care support. We want the focus to be on people getting the support they need when they need it, not on eligibility. The Scottish Government and COSLA are committed to "the overhaul of the current mechanism of eligibility criteria to ensure an approach to social care support that is based upon human rights and needs" (Joint Statement of Intent and Next Steps for Adult Social Care, December 2022), and are working together with partners and stakeholders on the development of alternative approaches.

Table 1 presents the latest available statistics on the total waiting list size for patients covered by the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) and the number of ongoing waits for treatment within an inpatient or day case setting at 31 December 2022, broken down by waiting times of over (a)two years (104 weeks), (b) two years and six months (130 weeks), and (c) three years (156 weeks) for an orthopaedic procedure.

Table 1 - Number of ongoing waits for an inpatient or day case admission for orthopaedics by length of wait in NHS Scotland, at 31 December 2022

The Scottish Government can investigate complex cases in relation to future broadband connections delivered through Scottish Government funded programmes such as the Reaching 100% (R100) programme. Through our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com , members of the public are able to check if their property will receive a connection through the R100 contracts or if it is eligible for a voucher worth up to £5,000 through our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS). There is an online enquiry form to contact the R100 team directly for additional information.

In cases where members of the public have issues related to connections being delivered by commercial suppliers, it falls upon Ofcom as the UK’s telecoms regulator to investigate any such matters: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/contact-us .