Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28882 on 26 August 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.

Recruitment and training of registered mental health professionals is a matter for employers such as NHS boards and Local Authorities. These bodies make informed decisions about recruiting counsellors and psychotherapists or training new mental health practitioners, according to the needs of local service providers and working with relevant professional bodies. The Scottish Government expects employers to apply standards and frameworks which are appropriate to the specialism being recruited for.

In September 2023, we published Mental Health Core Standards, initially applying to adult secondary mental health services. These outline national expectations to boards regarding staffing levels and appropriate skills.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) meet on a quarterly basis with the representatives of the Society of Chief Officers in Environmental Health who work in local authorities to discuss issues in relation to food safety, food standards and nutrition in Scotland. The last time they met was on 17 July. They also attend and present at the Society’s annual congress.

FSS are members of the Environmental Health Policy Co-ordination Group, who meet monthly and have the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) vacancies and workforce shortages as standing agenda item for each meeting

.Since vesting, FSS has provided an annual grant to the Society which it disperses to local authorities who apply for funding assistance in training and recruitment of trainee Environmental Health and Food Safety Officers. The amount has averaged at between £20,000 - £60,000 per annum and a one-off payment of £300,000 was provided in 2022 – 23 to assist with the acute shortage in student and EHO numbers.

FSS also provide a number of speciality training packages to local authorities to ensure EHOs are trained on numerous technical subjects. These courses are reviewed and updated regularly.

I, in my capacity as Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, met with Geoff Ogle, CEO of FSS on 20 June to discuss the current state of local delivery in relation to food law and the proposed reform programme that would introduce digital capabilities, as well as an overhaul of the food law delivery system.

For the purposes of this response we are interpreting “publicly owned bodies” to mean devolved public bodies. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Marine Directorate has recorded no collisions between its Marine Protection Vessels and (a) whales, (b) dolphins, (c) porpoises, (d) basking sharks, (e) seals and (f) other large marine species since 2021, and is not aware of any collisions.

As this is a matter for SEPA, outlined in answer to S6W-28593, the Scottish Government does not hold the information being requested. I will therefore ask SEPA to write to the member to provide any further detail on the matter, where it is available.

Cabinet minutes provide a full account of decisions made but are not a verbatim record. As such, it is not possible to determine with certainty when or how many times a particular topic has been discussed at Cabinet. The Cabinet discusses issues relating to the natural environment on a regular basis.

The surveillance network that has been established as per the answer to S6W-01580 has been expanded to include additional pheromone lure traps and ground surveys in Scotland. Communications and discussions with the forestry sector in Scotland are also increasing to encourage the sector to manage their forests in a way to reduce the risk of infection. This includes leading presentations, through the Institute of Chartered Foresters, to highlight the driving factors and potential impacts of a major infestation. Joint communications with Defra for North England and Scotland are being planned to ensure a collective sharing of knowledge across the border region to help prevent spread further north.

Scottish Government considers industry involvement a vital component in preventing the spread of Ips typographus into or within Scotland.

Regular updates on surveillance and discussions are held with industry representatives from the nursery sector, growers and processing sector through the scheduled Scottish Tree Health Advisory Group and the Sottish forest and Timber Technologies Industry Leadership Group. Scottish Government is also involved in wider GB discussions with the forestry sector through the GB Incident Management team and Lead Government Department management groups overseeing the outbreak in SE England.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with our international partners to secure a global transition to a net zero and nature positive future in a way that is fair and just for all.