Chamber and committees

Statistics on the pupil-teacher ratio in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each year since 2019 are published in Figure 4 of Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2023, which is available on the Scottish Government website at:

Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The Scottish Government policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of capital funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on flood protection, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Individual local authorities hold information on spending in this area.

The freeze on public sector marketing expenditure was part of a wider exercise to introduce the necessary emergency spending controls to achieve a balanced budget. Cabinet Secretaries were given a directive to freeze all marketing expenditure with immediate effect, with any spend deemed essential then requiring to be assessed accordingly in line with individual policy priorities and outcomes, and approved by the First Minister before proceeding. Many campaigns have gone ahead.

Further details on this process are set out in the answer to question S6W-30726 on 20 November 2024, alongside the now approved public health campaigns listed in the answer to question S6W-30729 on 20 November 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Following the implementation of emergency spending controls (which included the public sector marketing expenditure freeze), a process was put in place across all policy areas to rigorously assess which essential marketing expenditure should still proceed in 2024-25 and what activity can be halted or postponed. This assessment process is aligned with the 4 key priorities of the Scottish Government and with individual policy outcomes. All Scottish Government marketing expenditure with an essential need for 2024-25 is subject to the First Minister’s approval.

For clarity, the Scottish Government has not suspended public health marketing campaigns and remains committed to the importance that campaigns have in communicating public health priorities. It should be noted, however, that marketing is just one of a number of interventions that can affect health outcomes.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) provides modelling of the projected amount of (short duration) battery storage that could be required in the GB system and Scotland. On 5 November NESO published advice to the UK Government on how to achieve Clean Power by 2030. At the same time, NESO also published consultations on the connections queue reform. We are currently considering this advice and modelling, which will inform our approach. We will also consider any measures proposed in the forthcoming UK Government Clean Power Action Plan.

Scotland’s National Planning Framework 4 ensures that the impacts of proposals on communities and nature are important considerations in the decision-making process.

Details are as follows:

We continue to support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding a year to ensure all school pupils aged 10 and above have access to counselling services across Scotland.

Prior to delivering the commitment, the Scottish Government published a set of aims and principles, agreed in partnership with COSLA. These principles require school counselling services to be delivered within an agreed definition of counselling by qualified counsellors registered with an appropriate registration body, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland (COSCA).

This is a matter between the University and UK Government, and general UK Government budgeting is continuing to be reviewed. However, the Scottish Government recognises the University’s unique track record and further potential as the UK’s foremost supercomputing centre, and we will continue to work to influence UK Government public finance discussions to positively benefit our economy and key sectors, including computing and AI.

CMAL and CalMac each have 1 island-based person sitting on their board of directors.

The current maximum legal noise level for fireworks is defined in UK-wide legislation, the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015.

While we recognise that some retailers label fireworks as silent or low noise consultations with various stakeholders had confirmed that no formal standard or specification exists to identify or differentiate these products.

We are keen to stay informed about advancements in this area, and I have written to the new UK Government to request a meeting to discuss possible updates to fireworks regulations on a UK wide basis. I recognise we share the goal of enhancing community safety and wellbeing, and I plan to address noise as part of these discussions.

Within the powers available to us, we have taken a series of proportionate, evidence-based steps to strengthen the law around access to and use of fireworks.