Chamber and committees

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The allocation of resources is a matter for Police Scotland.

I replied to a similar question from the member on 3 November 2022 (S6W-11386) providing details from 1999-2000 to 2021-2022. I have included in the following table the information for 2022-2023 following the Spring Budget Revision.

The Scottish Government recommends the Eatwell Guide as the main UK consumer facing resource which shows the types and proportions of foods and drinks that are required for a healthy balanced diet and reflects a translation of the population level dietary goals for Scotland.

The Eatwell Guide illustrates that animal-based products, such as meat and dairy, can be included as part of a healthy balanced diet, but in much smaller proportions than that of plant based foods. The sustainability of the Eatwell Guide was assessed by the Carbon trust and they concluded that moving from our current diet towards the Eatwell Guide would be a more sustainable way of eating, with a 32% lower environmental footprint than our current diet.

Within the context of the Eatwell Guide , sector-specific guidance that considers nutrition and sustainable food provision is also in place for (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) nursing homes, as follows:

Schools

All food and drink served in schools must comply with the school food and drink Regulations. The associated Healthy Eating in Schools guidance supports provision of a balanced and nutritious diet which includes plant based foods such as fruit and vegetables alongside a wide range of other food and drinks rich in a variety of key nutrients.

Hospitals

Food provision in NHS Scotland must be compliant with the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Food Fluid and Nutritional care standards as well as the Food in Hospitals: National Catering and Nutrition Specification - both of which have a robust evidence base. Food in Hospitals recognises that meat free options can be valuable and can contribute to overall menu content however the menu structure outlined within Food in Hospitals must recognise the differing needs of those are nutritionally well and those who are nutritionally vulnerable and as such, menus for patients must be sufficiently varied to ensure that the needs of both those groups are met.

Care homes

While there is no specific guidance around plant-based foods for care homes, the Health and Social Care Standards , which all social care services must adhere to, include standards on food and nutrition, emphasising the importance of healthy meals and snacks.

To support care homes in meeting people’s food and fluid needs, the Care Inspectorate has produced a guide for older people and adult care homes - Eating and drinking well in care: good practice guidance for older people .

In addition, My Health, My Care, My Home - healthcare framework for adults living in care homes - provides a series of recommendations aiming to transform the healthcare for people living in care homes, and include a recommendation that “Religious and philosophical beliefs in relation to food and diet should be enquired about and catered for.”

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06291 on 28 February 2022. 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

The Scottish Government does not hold information on work being carried out in either new or old housing developments to support bat conservation.

All bats in Scotland are protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 and therefore any development work, including housing, has to take into account the conservation and protection of the species and ensure that there will be no adverse impacts on their conservation status.

The level of local authority reserves from 2007 to 2022 is set out in a document that has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Bib number 64019. Please note that the information you have requested is not available at individual local authority level prior to 2007.

The Scottish Government holds limited information on pension contributions and these are contained within the Local Financial Returns (LFRs). Data on LFRs is published as part of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics.

Teachers

There are currently two occupational pension schemes for teachers in Scotland. These schemes are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The SPPA is the definitive source of information on teachers pensions.

Non-Teachers

The Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland is a funded, defined benefit, statutory occupational pension scheme. It's one of the main public service pension schemes in Scotland, serving more than 236,000 active members, over 140,000 deferred members and more than 169,000 pensioners and dependents.

The scheme is administered by 11 local government administering authorities. These are:

• Dumfries and Galloway Pension Fund
• Falkirk Council Pension Fund
• Fife Council Pension Fund
• Highland Council Pension Fund
• Lothian Pension Fund
• North East Scotland Pension Fund
• Orkney Islands Pension Fund
• Scottish Borders Pension Fund
• Shetland Islands Pension Fund
• Strathclyde Pension Fund
• Tayside Superannuation Fund

These eleven funds provide information on employee and employer pension contributions, as shown in the table below. The contributions cover all employers in the schemes, and this is broader than just Scotland’s 32 councils. It is not possible to separate out the individual local authority contributions in the data held centrally by Scottish Government.

Responsibility for public libraries sits with the relevant local authorities, and as such, this information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, Scottish Government officials work closely with the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to ensure that Ministers are kept aware of relevant local issues as they arise. Information provided by the Scottish Libraries and Information Council showed that no Scottish Libraries have permanently closed in the last three reporting years.

Employability hubs are generally a local arrangement between The Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities. The Scottish Government does not hold the data you have requested however, local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions may be able to provide you with this information.

Since the devolution of employability services to the Scottish Government, support is being delivered through a combination of locally designed services, No One Left Behind, and our national employment support service, Fair Start Scotland.

No One Left Behind, which commenced in 2019, is the Scottish Governments approach to transforming employment support in Scotland. It aims to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards and into work, particularly people with health conditions, disabled people and others who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

The No One Left Behind approach moves away from funding and delivering several separate and distinct employability programmes, to a more flexible approach. Scottish and Local Government are working with third and private sector to deliver support which aims to be more joined-up and responsive to the needs of individuals of all ages and tailored to local labour market conditions.

Fair Start Scotland, our devolved employability support service, launched in April 2018 and offers 12 to 18 months of tailored, flexible and person-centred pre-employment support to people who want help to find and remain in work. Up to 12 months in-work support is also available for the participant as well as the employer, helping to ensure fair and sustainable employment.

Fair Start Scotland is delivered by a mixed economy of public, private and third sector providers across nine geographical areas throughout Scotland. A breakdown of the providers in each local authority area can be found at the following website.

https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/employability-services/fair-start-scotland/individual/

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone has access to person centred employability support that meets the needs of individuals, helping them towards, and into sustainable employment.