This data is not centrally available; aggregated data for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Waiting Times is sent to PHS from each NHS Board. It does not contain any information specifically on the number of young people removed from waiting lists, it reports on the number of referrals for young people to services, numbers waiting to start treatment and total waiting, and then numbers for those who started treatment and those who’s referral was rejected / not accepted (with both outcomes resulting in them being removed from the waiting list).

Table 1 shows the number of young people that started treatment – i.e. resulting in them being removed from waiting lists - and Table 2 shows the number that were not accepted for treatment therefore removed from waiting lists. The figures are presented by NHS Board of Treatment and relate to the financial years 2014-15 to 2021-22.

Data from 2012 has been published on the Information Services Division website, but data prior to 2014 is from a period when the aggregate dataset in development and is not regarded as reliable compared to more recently collected data. All data presented in Tables 1 and 2 has been previously published, however the data presented has been newly extracted and analysed to take account of subsequent data resubmissions to provide the most accurate figures. Therefore figures below may differ slightly to previously published figures for some years.

Table 1: People who started treatment in CAMHS from April 2014 to September 2022, by NHS Board of Treatment.

The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (“the Regulations”) aims to minimise the risks to public health at designated locations and during periods when large numbers of people bathe. For all 87 designated bathing waters in Scotland the bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September each year, in accordance with the traditional period of peak usage. In comparison with the 3 ½ month bathing season in Scotland, across Europe the season length varies from 2 months in Sweden to 6 months in Cypress.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate level of water quality protection and improvement is provided for the designated bathing waters within the bathing season and outwith for nature and wildlife.

Scottish Water currently has UV treatment at nine Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW) to meet microbiological standards during the bathing season as set out in its discharge authorisations issued by SEPA.

Maintaining the UV treatment at these WwTWs for the whole year would increase the use of energy and resources incurring financial and carbon costs at a time when these waters are not regularly used by large numbers of bathers. In line with the Bathing Waters Directive, the Regulations ensure that bathing water standards in Scotland are applied using a proportionate approach.

The number of bathing waters in Scotland has increased since last year and now stands at 87, with 98% achieving the bathing water quality standards and more rated excellent than ever before.

The number of properties expected to be liable for the Higher Property Rate (HPR) in 2023-24 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the below tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in these tables are rounded to the nearest 10, with values greater than zero but lower than five displayed as ‘[low]’.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for HPR in 2023-24 by property class

Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as 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, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table is based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from IPR after revaluation transitional relief in 2023-24 by property class

The Scottish Government has backed Scotland’s economic recovery with more than £4.7 billion in direct business support since March 2020. This included 100% retail, hospitality, leisure (RHL) and aviation relief in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 uncapped, and 50% RHL relief in 2022-23 capped at £27,500, which expired on 30 June 2022.

We recognise the difficult economic climate and this is why the Scottish Budget 2023-24, announced on 15 December, included a freeze in the poundage – the number one ask of 18 business organisations, and delivering the lowest poundage in the UK for the fifth year in a row. It also proposed a package of reliefs worth £744m including the UK's most generous small business rates relief.

We expect around half the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief next year. Properties in these sectors may also be eligible for the transitional relief schemes set out in the Budget.

This information is not held centrally.

The Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) have published related figures on the levels of staff vacancies in Scotland’s care services, in their recent 2021 Staff Vacancies in Care Services report:

The 2021 Staff vacancies in care services report | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data (sssc.uk.com)

Perinatal and infant mental health is a key priority for the Scottish Government and the continued development and implementation of perinatal and infant mental health services across all sectors will continue to be supported. A Delivery/Implementation Group is currently being planned to build upon the successes of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board from April 2023.

The Third Sector play a key role in access to perinatal mental health support and has been pivotal in delivering the programme to date, including as members of the Programme Board. Third Sector organisations will continue to play a key role in the next iteration of the strategic oversight of perinatal and infant mental health across Scotland.

Forestry and Land Scotland provides the following guidance on its website:

Purchase or scavenge firewood for domestic use

Members of the public can obtain a permit to buy timber for the purpose of domestic heating.

A firewood permit is available where a set quantity of small unprocessed logs is available for collection. A scavenging permit allows the recovery of timber from a recent harvesting site using hand tools.

Please contact your local office for help with any enquiries about the availability of these licences, and how to buy them.

In the Financial year 2022-23, in the Dumfries and Galloway Area, 5 firewood permits and 12 Scavenging permits have been issued by Forestry and Land Scotland. The issue of permits is limited due to the inconsistency of the availability of suitable material, particularly on sites in convenient locations for public access. This type of collecting of firewood has had ongoing health, safety and welfare concerns as Forestry and Land Scotland have had a number of incidences of permit holders, getting lost in the forest and/or using chainsaws to cut up wood in the forest rather than collecting suitable lengths by hand or using hand tools as per the respective permit conditions.

The cap on claims for the Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund is currently being reviewed, in line with feedback received from the consultation analysis. Both Scottish Mother and Baby Units are aware of this and until the review is complete, the £500 cap can be waived on a case by case basis, subject to local judgement.

There were no applications to the Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition (ARIA) Fund that indirectly included local authorities as beneficiaries.