Chamber and committees

Approximately £1.36 million was initially allocated to NHS Grampian to support 980 additional orthopaedic joint procedures at Woodend Hospital over a 9 month period. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, NHS Grampian were unable to commence activity in the timeline originally anticipated and currently expect to deliver 95 additional joints at Woodend by end of March 2025.

The remainder of the funding from the £1.36 million will be redirected to other priority areas, including orthopaedic capacity at the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital.

We are working with Health Boards, including NHS Grampian, to develop detailed annual delivery plans for 2025/26 to support waiting list reductions and improve productivity, and orthopaedics will be a key priority area.

To support the development of the Strategy since 23 November 2023, we have spent approximately £19k on engagement, and on the publication costs of our analysis of engagement on the Statement of Intent. In addition, staffing costs to develop the Strategy have continued to be met from our operating costs budget for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

During this timescale, the Scottish Government has also continued to provide funding to a number of organisations whose work supports transitions and the development of the Strategy including, but not limited to, the Association for Real Change (ARC) Scotland, Capability Scotland, Enable Scotland, and the Independent Living Fund Scotland.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provides funding to College Employers Scotland (CES) to support a fair and sustainable implementation of National Pay Bargaining through a shared partnership agenda and work plan with the trade unions.

In terms of objectives of CES, these are outlined in their business case to SFC for funding as follows:

1.Put in place a clear and visible strategy for the employers;

2.Engage positively and proactively with our key stakeholders;

3.Create a clear identity, brand and voice for the Employers’ Association which differentiates it from Colleges Scotland, and be effective in our communications, both internally within the sector and externally, promoting its value and achievements;

4.Ensure the employment services team can deliver the workload expected of them to service the Employers’ Association and National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC).

The summary report on access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services for the period January to June 2023 has now been published on the Scottish Government website at: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

All local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure their menus comply with the standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What food and drink they choose to include on their menus, including fresh produce, is a matter for each local authority taking into account local needs and preferences.

As part of the Scottish Government's response to the Education, Children and Young People Committee's Inquiry on Additional Support for Learning, I committed to engage with our partners to consider this issue further.

My officials engage with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists as well as our wider partners on a regular basis and I will provide an update to the Committee on the outcome of these considerations in due course.

The Royal College will be invited to attend the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools to ensure they can contribute to the delivery of our Relationships and Behaviour in Schools National Action Plan.

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 is one means by which the Scottish Government implements its alignment policy. The section 1(1) power has been used once to introduce secondary legislation, in respect of The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022.

This legislation, laid on 22 December 2022, aligns with the EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 (Recast) on the quality of water for human consumption. This Directive is designed to protect water intended for human consumption (“drinking water”) from source to tap, put in place measures for access to water and drive-up resource efficiency by tackling pollutants at source. This instrument also ensures alignment of health-based standards, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, and enables better reporting of these standards in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to use this power if it is the most appropriate means to deliver alignment and advance important regulatory standards. If this power is used, the Scottish Government will inform parliament through the agreed reporting process.

Local authorities are under a statutory duty to comply with the standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 when designing menus. How they do this is a matter for local decision making taking into account local needs and priorities. The Scottish Government provides advice via ‘Better Eating, Better Learning’ guidance and encourages local authorities to involve pupils, parents and carers in menu development in order to take account of local preferences and feedback as they design new menus and encourage uptake.

We have committed to refresh the Supporting Children’s Learning Code of Practice during this parliamentary term. We have been working collaboratively with a range of education partners and policy areas over the past 19 months, to ensure it continues to fully support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the ASL Act. An update on progress was set out in our third progress report, published in November 2024.

In alignment with my response to the Education, Children and Young People Committee, a public consultation will be held in early 2025, providing an opportunity for wider stakeholders with an interest in the Code of Practice to share their views.

Compliance with the standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 is monitored by Education Scotland Health and Nutrition Inspectors as part of their school inspection programme, helping to ensure that children and young people are provided with balanced and nutritious food, drink and meals to support their healthy growth and development.