Chamber and committees

As I set out in Parliament on 18 December during the statement on implementing the medication assisted treatment we are preparing for changes to the drug supply with synthetic opioids becoming more prevalent. At the National Mission Oversight Group meeting on 14 November 2023 Dr Sharon Stancliff, Associate Medical Director of Harm Reduction in Healthcare New York State, and Professor Thomas Kerr, Director of Research with the British Columba Centre on Substance Use, gave presentations on their experiences of fentanyl and the impact this has had since becoming prevalent in the drug supply in New York State and British Columba respectively. An overview of fentanyl was given, the differences between opiates and synthetics and the differences in overdose presentations were covered. The use of naloxone and fentanyl testing strips, along with the need for buprenorphine and harm reduction practices generally, were discussed. The presentations also covered use of safer drug consumption facilities, drug checking and the decriminalisation pilot which took place in British Columbia. They shared their views on what is needed here in Scotland, based on their respective experiences with fentanyl epidemics in their countries, to help address the risks that synthetics pose.

Officials recently met with stakeholders who are involved in the delivery of drug and housing services to discuss the roundtable event taking place this year on synthetic opioids and those areas they would want to cover. Planning is continuing for this to take place at the start of 2024, the event will cover all synthetic opioids including nitazenes.

The Scottish Drugs Forum have launched resources on synthetic opioids and nitazenes to get information out to people that they are in the illegal drug supply Resources — Stop The Deaths . Public Health Scotland have also recently issued an update to their alert via RADAR to healthcare staff and the public to highlight the increased dangers associated with the drugs ( RADAR Nitazenes alert 2023 ).

Scottish Government officials from the Gaelic and Scots team met with senior education officers of North Lanarkshire Council on 6 December to discuss matters relating to the recent consultation involving both Condorrat and Baird Memorial primary schools. Along with the meeting, the Scottish Government has also received correspondence from parents on this matter and officials have been following the consultation closely. There was an agreement to meet again in the new year.

We remain committed to delivering a pilot of universal free school meals in secondary schools, and continue to work closely with key delivery partners on our free school meal expansion programme. We have prioritised the work to expand free school meals on the basis of eligibility for Scottish Child Payment, and this has been supported through the budget.

The Scottish Government has fully funded Network Rail Scotland to meet the assessment of its requirements as carried out by the independent rail regulator for the next five year rail investment Control Period (2024-29).

The total funding for the rail sector in Scotland for financial year 2023-2024 alone is circa £1.4 billion. This is compared to pre-pandemic levels of around £1 billion, demonstrating a significant increase in investment by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Ministers’ priorities remain focussed on a high-performing, efficient and safe rail network. These objectives are fully aligned with ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper so that best value is secured for Scotland’s rail passengers, communities and businesses.

Where the ORR has determined increases in spend, such as operations to adapt to climate change, the Scottish Government has accepted and fully funded these recommendations, in order to strike the right balance in this Control Period among operations, maintenance and renewals.

The certification of a person’s death is a matter that falls solely within the clinical responsibility of medical practitioners, who require to be satisfied to the best of their knowledge and belief as to the cause of death.

Following a post mortem examination, the pathologist will ordinarily certify the cause of death. In some cases, an ‘interim’ death certificate is issued by the pathologist indicating that the cause of death is unascertained until the results of further analysis - including but not limited to histopathology, toxicology and neuropathology - are obtained. This certificate allows the death to be registered and the body to be released to the family to allow funeral arrangements to be made. Once all analysis has concluded and the final cause of death is confirmed, the interim death certificate is then amended. However, in a small percentage of cases the pathologist is unable to determine a cause of death even after all such analysis is done.

In relation to post mortem examinations instructed by COPFS from 1 January 2023 to 31 August 2023, the pathologist was unable to determine a cause of death after full analysis in 134 cases. It is not presently possible to confirm the number of examinations where a cause of death was able to be determined as, in some cases, the final post mortem report confirming the cause of death has not yet been finalised and only interim causes of death have been issued.

Where a pathologist is unable to determine a cause of death, they will include in their report as much information as possible about their findings to assist nearest relatives with possible explanations for the death having occurred. COPFS will provide that information to relatives when advising them of the final cause of death.

In support of a range of priority commitments within Scotland’s population strategy , Scottish Government is developing a Talent Attraction and Migration Service, expected to launch in 2024. The service will help address Scotland's demographic challenges, attract and welcome more workers from outside Scotland with the skills that our economy will need and support those who have chosen to make Scotland their home.

The Environmental Health Policy Co-ordination Group was formed in October 2022 and, as per the Terms of Reference aims to meet monthly, subject to member availability and other diary commitments. Since its inception in October 2022, the group has met 9 times. The Environmental Health Officer (EHO) vacancies and workforce shortages are a standing agenda item for each meeting.

The group consists of representatives from a number of Scottish Government directorates, Food Standards Scotland, COSLA, the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland and SOLACE. Other participants such as those representing education have been invited as determined by subject matter and agenda items.

In summer 2023 we engaged with stakeholders including clinicians, third-sector organisations and people with lived experience of chronic pain. Feedback received was used to inform the development of the updated Pain Management Service Delivery Framework – Implementation Plan.

Annex A – response to feedback in the Plan highlights common areas of feedback we received throughout our engagement period and outlines our response to this.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of declining wild Atlantic salmon populations very seriously and is committed to working with our partners, both domestic and international, to safeguard this iconic species.

The Scottish wild salmon strategy was established in January 2022 in response to the long term downward trend in the number of Atlantic salmon returning to Scottish waters. In February 2023 we published the wild salmon strategy implementation plan, which sets out over sixty actions to tackle the wide range of pressures affecting the species throughout their life cycle.

The emergency, temporary measures within the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 are expected to remain in place until 31 March 2024. To support a transition away from those measures, the Act contains a regulation-making power to temporarily reform the rent adjudication process, this is to mitigate the risk of unintended steep rent increases that could occur if the temporary rent cap ended without modification to rent adjudication to ease the transition.

This regulation-making power is subject to the affirmative procedure, ensuring that appropriate Parliamentary scrutiny is given to the necessity for any temporary changes proposed. Therefore, to ensure that the regulations have gone through the appropriate scrutiny and are in place from 1 April, they will be laid before Parliament no later than 25 January 2024.

Prior to that, the Scottish Government will undertake a short, targeted consultation period with key rental sector stakeholders - including tenant, landlord and investor representatives - on the temporary rent adjudication measures being proposed. The consultation period commenced on 15 December.