Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is aware that there have been reports of incidents of anti-social behaviour on buses over recent months and we are aware of concerns relating to anti-social behaviour in other public places. We do not hold data on individual incidents but use official statistics to monitor trends on reported incidents and people’s own experiences or perceptions of antisocial behaviour.

These incidents are of concern but should not detract from the success of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme. By the end of October over 98 million journeys had been made since the scheme went live in January 2022. The Scheme is making a real difference to the lives of young people and their families by helping to cut costs for essential, every day and leisure travel.

To understand the impact of the Young Persons Scheme, the Scottish Government will carry out an ongoing evaluation during the first five years of its operation. The first part, the one year after launch evaluation will be published later this year and will consider impacts on antisocial behaviour.

The Scottish Government recognises the horticultural sector’s important contribution to the Scottish population’s mental and physical health, and the environment through provision of plants and trees for public landscaping and domestic gardening. In addition, horticulture contributes to the Scottish economy, through retail, job creation and employment opportunities in green careers. That is why I welcomed the Horticultural Trades Association's Scottish Environmental Horticulture Growth Strategy during the Holyrood launch event in March 2023.

The eight ‘Asks of Government’ outlined by HTA align with existing Scottish Government policy priorities, including climate change mitigation, nature networks as outlined in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and the local living policy principle of the National Planning Framework 4, which proposes the development of parks, green spaces, community gardens, local food production, allotments and recreation facilities to help improve wellbeing. These highlight opportunities for the sector and Scottish Government to work together towards shared goals across a wide range of policy areas. Officials will therefore continue to take forward detailed discussions with the HTA to ensure environmental horticulture is represented in relevant government strategies.

The Scottish Government provides funding through the Fruit & Vegetable Aid Scheme which promotes innovation and collaboration with a focus on environmentally sound cultivation practice and production techniques. Measures aimed at reducing the environmental impact of water usage including for example high flow storage reservoirs are eligible for funding in the scheme.

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) also offers support for the establishment of irrigation lagoons, which aims to improve water-use efficiency through collecting and storing water. This support is targeted to areas within a catchment that are significantly impacted by agricultural abstraction.

Additionally, up to £1000 in funding is available through Scotland's Farm Advisory Service for specialist face to face advice on water pollution, prevention, and control.

The Scottish Government recognises the wide range of careers available in the horticultural sector and the importance of educational pathways to deliver graduates equipped with the skills and expertise demanded by the sector. Officials are therefore currently giving careful consideration to the eight ‘Asks of Government’ included in the Horticultural Trades Association’s (HTA) Scottish Environmental Horticulture Growth Strategy. In regard to the ‘ask’ to raise the presence of horticultural opportunities in careers guidance, officials have been working closely with universities and colleges across Scotland, and Lantra who are the leading provider of training, qualifications and career guidance for land-based industries across the UK. These discussions were recently outlined to sector stakeholders and MSPs at the Gardening and Horticulture cross party group at Holyrood.

Encouraging horticultural skills across the workforce aligns with government ambitions to address current environmental challenges, such as the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Scottish Government is committed to respond this year to the 22 recommendations in the Land-based Learning Review. The recommendations we accept will inform our actions to attract more people to work in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors and to improve learning pathways to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed.

Work to encourage people into horticultural careers and develop apprenticeships and higher education programmes designed to create highly skilled horticultural graduates for a range of careers is continuing.

The Scottish Government commissioned an independent review of the VNS in spring 2022 to ensure that the scheme was working well for victims. The review published its report and an easy read summary in May this year. It made 22 recommendations for change of the scheme, including in relation to data, evidence and reporting, the information available and communications.

Since that time, we have been considering the report in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including criminal justice agencies and victim support organisations. We have used the information gathered from this programme of stakeholder engagement to inform development of our formal response to the review’s report.

We intend to publish that response towards the end of this year, or early next year, and for it to include information about what stakeholders have said to us on the recommendations, and our strategy for reform of the VNS.

The Scottish Government commissioned an independent review of the VNS in Spring 2022 to ensure that the scheme was working well for victims. The review published its report and an easy read summary in May this year. It made 22 recommendations for change of the scheme, including in relation to data, evidence and reporting, the information available and communications.

Since May we have been considering the report in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including criminal justice agencies and victim support organisations, to inform our formal response to the report.

As part of this work, we have been considering how the review’s recommendations could be delivered. This involves a range of possibilities, including primary or secondary legislation, as well as administrative and operational delivery. Where review recommendations may require primary legislation to deliver, we are carefully considering the options available to us for doing this.

We have consulted on ending the sale of peat in Scotland as per the commitment made in our 2021-22 Programme for Government. We received over 550 responses to the consultation, which are providing valuable insights as to the transitional needs of growers. We are actively collaborating with the horticulture industry to facilitate the transition, with a crucial aspect being the allocation of sufficient time for the industry to identify alternative growing media and methods. It is important to recognise that there is no direct replacement for peat, and growers must proactively adapt to meet their individual needs.

We work closely with the horticulture industry and with research providers to commission and support a number of research projects that will assist transition away from peat. These include:

• a Rapid Evidence Assessment of the Alternatives to Horticultural Peat in Scotland (2019, link );
• an evaluation of alternative growing media for the production of healthy potato mini-tubers (2020, link );
• an analysis of the barriers and Opportunities for Peat Growing Media Supply (2022, link );
• identifying the plant health risks associated with plant waste disposal and peat-free growing media and developing best practice guidance for waste disposal and composting across sectors (2023, link ).

The Scottish Government has several sources of funding available to children and young people with cancer, in Scotland, to assist with the travel expenses incurred for travelling for cancer treatment. These include the Patient Travelling Expenses Scheme and The Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme (HITS) for outpatients. All Health Boards also have the discretion to reimburse patient travel expenses where it is viewed to be an extension of treatment costs and deemed to be clinically necessary.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that that it can be difficult for patients when there is a need to refer them outwith Scotland for specialist treatment.

Ministers expect Health Boards to be mindful of this, to discuss patients’ circumstances with them, and make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way. This includes helping to identify and access financial support available for eligible patients and authorised escorts, such as through the Patient Travelling Expenses Scheme and the Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme (HITS).

All Health Boards also have the discretion to reimburse patient travel expenses where it is viewed to be an extension of treatment costs and deemed to be clinically necessary.

Individuals from NHS Scotland Health Boards fulfilling Service Level Agreements continue to be supported and managed under the policy requirements and the terms and conditions of employment of their substantive role. They will also be expected to meet certain requirements of the host organisation, particularly code of conduct and standards of behaviour.