It is our intention to include a duty to publish the results of equality impact assessments in the public sector equality duty revised draft regulations. We consulted on this basis and there was support for the proposal. We believe that it will assist transparency and accountability on equality.

We consulted on draft regulations which would require listed authorities to take reasonable steps to gather information on the protected characteristics of employees, including information on the recruitment, development and retention of employees, and to publish information gathered. There was support for these proposals and it is our intention to include requirements in the revised draft Regulations. We believe that this duty will assist authorities to understand and address discrimination and inequality in their workforce. Our proposals include the characteristics of sexual orientation and gender reassignment.

ISD Scotland publishes statistics on Childhood Immunisation uptake. These statistic include analysis of uptake by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The latest statistics are for calendar year 2010 and are available in the Publication Report published at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Child-Health/Publications/2011-03-24/Immunisation-Report-Oct-Dec-2010.pdf.

No other inequalities analyses of childhood immunisation data are carried out by ISD. Data on ethnicity and disability are not currently recorded on the Scottish Immunisation and Recall System (SIRS).

Vitamin supplementation is available to some at-risk groups through the Healthy Start scheme. This scheme was introduced in 2005, to replace the Welfare Food scheme and is a highly successful UK-wide government programme to improve the health of low-income pregnant women and families with young children. At present, Healthy Start vouchers are provided to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and families with children under five on income related benefits. All young women who are under eighteen and pregnant are also eligible, regardless of income. The scheme provides vouchers for fresh milk, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, infant formula milk and vitamins. Under the terms of the National Health Service Regulations 1976, Healthy Start vitamins can be sold to non-beneficiaries at 10% above cost price or provided free of charge at the discretion of NHS boards.

The Annual Population Survey (APS) is the official source for data on people not in education, employment or training. Table 1 shows the latest published estimates from the APS, covering the period January to December 2010, of the numbers of people aged 16 to 19 not in education, employment or training in Scotland. Estimates are provided for the latest calendar year and previous calendar years back to 2007.

APS data for the 2011 calendar year (January to December) will be released in June 2012.

Table 1: Number of People Aged 16 to 19 Not in Education, Employment or Training, Scotland 2007-10

Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December datasets.

Note:

1. Estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. The survey sample sizes for these estimates are small; hence the estimates are subject to a high degree of sampling error.

The Scottish Government is committed to instil healthy and positive attitudes towards being physically active and to use the Commonwealth Games as a catalyst to encourage Scotland to become a healthier, fitter and more active nation.

We aim to “Make more Scots active, Keep Scots active and Help Scots be the best” and to help achieve this we have protected the physical activity budget of £3.3 million and are looking to better align all activities with our active policy to ensure that we use this funding in the most effective way.

During the last year Government investment has supported a wide range of projects and interventions that help people get active all over Scotland.

Paths for All is an excellent example of this where around 20,000 people regularly take part in community walking schemes supported through 5,000 volunteers. In 2011-12, the Scottish Government will have invested over £1 million in Paths for All.

We are continuing to promote regular healthy exercise through Take Life On. This year’s campaign was launched on 13 February by Dr Andrew Murray the Scottish Government’s Physical Activity Champion who is on a six month secondment from the NHS. The campaign continues to have a particular focus on parents of children in the 7 to 11 year age group, informing them of the recommended physical activity guideline of 60 minutes daily for children, and the physical and psychological benefits of integrating regular physical activity into a child’s life.

We are continuing to take action to reduce suicide in Scotland through Choose Life, our suicide prevention strategy, and a range of initiatives including: the Breathing Space telephone advice service; action to increase access to psychological therapies, and support to voluntary organisations including Samaritans.

The number of deaths by suicide in 2010 was one of the lowest in Scotland since 1991.

As annual numbers tend to fluctuate from year to year, three year rolling average rates are used for monitoring purposes. Based on these three-year rolling averages, between 2000-02 and 2008-10, there has been an overall downward trend in suicide rates, with an overall decrease of 14%.

The First Minister has appointed 11 parliamentary liaison officers (PLOs), listed as follows, to assist in developing and maintaining a positive and constructive relationship between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. Parliamentary liaison officers are unpaid, are not members of the government and are not, therefore, bound by collective responsibility.

I recently sent a letter to the Presiding Officer with this information. A copy of the letter is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 53737).