Chamber and committees

There have been no compulsory purchases of a building or land under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 since 2003.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 originally contained two rights to buy.

The Community Right to Buy (Part 2) which is a right for a compliant community body to register an interest in land. If granted, this right means that if and when an owner of such land should decide to sell, then the community body is given the first option to buy at market value. This is not a compulsory purchase power.

The Crofting Community Right to Buy (Part 3) is a right that applies only to crofting areas and which, if granted, gives a compliant crofting community body the right to force the compulsory sale of the crofting land identified in their application. Only two Part 3 applications have ever been approved, but these were not taken forward as the owners in both cases agreed to a negotiated transfer.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) 2015 inserted a third right to buy to the 2003 Act. This third right was the Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land. This right, if granted, gives a compliant community body the right to force a compulsory sale of land which is either abandoned, neglected or detrimental to the wellbeing of the community. To date, there have been three applications under this part of the Act and none of these have been approved by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with the university sector, through the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group and the Equally safe in Colleges and Universities Core Leadership Group on issues relating to student well-being and safety where these issues are considered.

Modern Apprenticeship (MA) statistics are publicly available on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website at Modern Apprenticeships | Skills Development Scotland .

Registered starts by year are detailed in the table below . Figures for 2022-23 are available until the end of Quarter 2, with year-end statistics expected to be published in May 2023.

We are still considering the next steps on how to address the responses to our engagement with people affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people affected by historical adoption practices. This will help us understand where we need to improve, introduce or enhance the services to better meet the needs and expectations of those affected by historical adoption. The research started on 9 January and will take approximately 8 months.

We have also agreed to fund a proposal to establish specialist peer support groups for those affected, in partnership with Health in Mind The planning and implementation of this support service has already begun and been influenced by a working group of people affected by historical adoption.

Death registration data collated by National Records of Scotland contains information on the occupation of the deceased. Public Health Scotland (PHS) include this information in the Scottish Suicide Information Database.

In 2021, PHS published a thematic analysis of probable suicides by occupation group, which includes students. This can be accessed here: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/8047/2021-scotsid-report.pdf

The Scottish Government and COSLA published ‘ Creating Hope Together , Scotland’s ten year suicide prevention strategy’ in September 2022 alongside an initial three year action plan. The development of the strategy and action plan involved engagement with key stakeholders, including those working across the further and higher education sector, as well as people with lived experience of suicide. The action plan includes a focus on developing tailored approaches to suicide prevention to meet the needs of different groups, and students are identified as one such group.

The Government is also currently developing a Student Mental Health Plan, due to publish in Spring 2023, which will complement ‘ Creating Hope Together’ and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which is due to publish in Spring 2023. The Student Mental Health Plan will provide a framework for action by universities and colleges.

The Student Mental Health Plan will be informed by key research, such as the Mental Health Foundation’s Thriving Learners Surveys and Universities UK’s ‘Suicide-safer universities’ resource. The development of the Plan is being driven forward by the Student Mental Health and Well Being Working Group, which I chair. Membership includes NUS Scotland, Think Positive, Universities Scotland and Colleges Scotland.

The Scottish Government works closely with relevant third sector organisations at a policy and communication level when developing public health messaging. Charities across Scotland are invited to disseminate vital public health messages via relevant charity outreach and platforms.

No specific strategy is in place to help charities share public health messages on government social media feeds. Any request from a charity for information to be shared on Scottish Government social media feeds is reviewed on a case by case basis by relevant officials across policy and communications.

Local authorities have reported that in 2021-22 103 play park renewals were completed with a further 82 renewals in progress. The following table shows how many play parks were renewed in each local authority in 2021-22. Local authorities will report at the end of the financial year on the number of play parks renewed in 2022-23.

The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a thorough review of its options in relation to collecting data on secondary breast cancer in Scotland, taking consideration of clinical time required and how it can be used to improve services. We are currently in dialogue with Public Health Scotland, NHS England and the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership alongside breast cancer specialists and the Third Sector.

The Scottish Government has not carried out recent assessment of the financial viability of independent, third sector Scottish Hospices.

As confirmed by the First Minister in the Chamber on 15 December 2022, the Scottish Government will meet with Hospice representatives to discuss the pressures they are facing, in common with other voluntary and statutory sectors, due to the impact of increased inflation and energy costs.