Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is a member of the Trading Standards Policy and Coordination Group. This Group is coordinated by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) as the representative organisation for local government in Scotland. The Group seek to provide:

• strategic leadership of the trading standards function across Scotland;
• and effective co-ordination of trading standards priorities between local and national government and recruitment and retention of trading standards staff.

The Scottish Government recognises that the work of the Scottish Powerchair Football Association and Scottish Para-Football is extremely valuable in providing opportunities for people with a range of conditions to participate in football and to promote inclusivity in the game.

An ongoing priority is for the Scottish Government is to support participation across all groups and tackle inequalities in participation. We recognise the power of sport and the positive impact which sport can have on a person's physical and mental health and that those with disabilities are less likely to feel connected to their local community.

Through sportscotland we invest in the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to support the development of football. In financial year 2024/25 our investment is almost £1.35 million. This investment supports the national partnership agreement with the SFA which includes "empowering community football clubs to become sustainable, adaptive and inclusive", but the agreement does not dictate the detail of the expenditure.

I recently met with Scottish Para-Football to discuss current issues and priorities. I will continue to work with Scottish Para-Football to help promote, and support access to all elements of para-football, including powerchair football.

With the commencement of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act taking place on 6 January 2025, it is timely to set out a brief statement of our strategic priorities for action on cladding in 2025. 

In particular, we will be:

• continuing to take forward our current programme of action  
• taking action to increase both the pace and breadth of action on cladding 
• seeking to develop a collective, national endeavour to address the risks of cladding. 

On continuing action – completing work currently underway 

We will deliver assessment and remediation for properties that have been part of our 'pilot' programme and for which the Scottish Government is taking responsibility in the absence of an identified developer:

• we will deliver assessment and if required remediation for an initial set of ‘pilot’ buildings for which the Scottish Government is responsible.  13 Single Building Assessments are underway at the moment.  Based on their findings, we will set in train all necessary remediation action, putting interim safety measures in place where needed

• based on due diligence work currently underway, we will also take forward assessment and remediation for any additional pilot buildings within the scope of the Act for which it is confirmed that responsibility falls to the Scottish Government.  Where responsibility falls to others, we will identify and communicate this to those parties and to residents. 

We will complete implementation of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024: 

• we are commencing the Act in its entirety on 6 January 2025 
• we will put in place practical arrangements for the long-term operation of the Cladding Assurance Register, building on the interim arrangements now in place 
• we will develop, consider and consult on proposals for a statutory Responsible Developers Scheme 
• as part of the response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report, we will confirm our position on the use of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (including use of the powers provided by the Act). 

We will enable the assessment and remediation of affected properties by the relevant larger developers: 

• we will seek swift agreement with the larger developers on the ‘Developer Remediation Contract’, enabling them to take forward assessment and remediation on properties for which they have accepted responsibility 
• as part of an ongoing process of engagement with the larger developers, we will track, assure and gather information on their remediation progress.

We will continue to improve communication with residents and owners affected by cladding: 

• we will continue to produce a quarterly newsletter aimed at residents along with monthly updates, backed by up-to-date information on the Scottish Government website including ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ 
• we will fully observe the new statutory duties on communication with owners and residents in buildings for which assessment and remediation is being taken forward under the new Act. 

On new action to increase pace and breadth

In parallel, we will work with partners to develop and deliver two new schemes of assessment and remediation:

• we will issue a new 'open call for further properties which may require Government-led assessment and remediation. This will enable residents faced with problems of potentially unsafe cladding, but for which no owner or developer is willing or able to undertake assessment and remediation, to bring this to the attention of Government, and to be considered for Government-led assessment and remediation
• we will also develop a further scheme designed to identify and address those buildings which appear to be at an elevated risk from cladding. In doing so, we will work with local authorities and fire services to help identify the buildings which should be prioritised, and will consider where responsibility for taking forward assessment and remediation should lie - including, where the Scottish Government has a part to play.

More generally, we will bring partners together to seek to make action on cladding a national, collective endeavour:

• we will engage proactively with local authorities, the fire service and other partners, to harness the skills, knowledge and capacity of all to greatest effect. In doing so, we will develop the clearest possible picture of the position across sectors in Scotland, and the action being taken. We will seek assurance where appropriate, and be prepared as Government to play our part where this is needed
• we will consider the circumstances of properties which are partly owned by a Registered Social Landlord or local authority but have a mix of tenure including private owners, or where the owners are not in a financial position to be able to take forward remediation. In these and similar situations, we will consider the potential need for Government funding on a case-by-case basis
• we will also work with partners to explore the potential for new, more effective delivery models for assessment and remediation.

We will publish a renewed plan of action in March, setting out how and when we will be delivering these priorities.

Interested parties can at all times sign up to receive our regular newsletter, and/or raise specific cladding issues with us on our website.

On 14 May 2024 Reach Advocacy wrote to the Scottish Government requesting to become a ‘Nationally Commissioned Advocacy Training Body’. The Scottish Government replied to Reach Advocacy on 28 May 2024 seeking to fully understand the basis on which Reach Advocacy were requesting this.

On 15 October 2024 Reach Advocacy submitted a business proposal to ask for funding from Scottish Government to deliver Reach Advocacy’s ‘Advocacy Practice Award’ and human rights-based training.

This proposal was submitted for consideration to relevant directorates under the responsibility of the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, and the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport.

Scottish Government Officials from each directorate assessed that the request for funding was not the most appropriate means by which the Scottish Government’s current priorities and objectives would be achieved.

On 6 November 2024 a response was issued to Reach Advocacy to inform them of the decision and rationale.

The Scottish Government has today published the Verity House Agreement stocktake report. It is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836019817.

Work is continuing on this consultation. It covers a wide range of areas: the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership; extending simplified divorce and dissolution procedures; qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies when they solemnise marriage or register civil partnership; a Scottish Law Commission report on cohabitant's rights following separation; and points arising on financial provision when one cohabitant dies.

We are also preparing impact assessments in relation to this consultation. We are planning to issue it within the next few months.

The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Ivabradine is currently licensed in the UK for the symptomatic treatment of chronic stable angina pectoris, and the treatment of chronic heart failure.

The use of ivabradine for the treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome is an off-label indication (where the product licence does not cover the indication for which the medicine is being prescribed). Clinicians can prescribe medicines off-label, in line with local Health Board protocols where they consider there would be significant clinical benefit for an individual.

Decisions on whether to prescribe a medicine are based on an individual’s needs and are a matter for the clinical judgement of the prescribing clinician in consultation with the individual (and where appropriate their parent/s or guardian/s), informed by advice and guidance about the medicine.

While there was support among respondents to our consultation last year, concerns were also expressed about the proportionality and cost of such a scheme and about the capacity of local authorities to absorb and meaningfully enforce additional licensing requirements. We are therefore assessing whether less onerous and more proportionate approaches, such as registration schemes linked to codes of conduct, could deliver similar outcomes to licensing.

The Scottish Government is clear that there is no place for religious or racial intolerance, including Islamophobia, in Scotland’s schools.

Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence aims to develop a society based on social justice, equality and respect, and provides opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of various forms of discrimination and their intersectional impact, including Islamophobia. The curriculum is clear in saying that responsible citizens must understand different beliefs and cultures, and have respect for others.

Education Scotland provides teachers with a range of resources to help them navigate sensitive or controversial topics, including discrimination on the basis of religious belief, and to help foster good relations. Recently their online Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework has been updated to specifically include a Developing Religious Literacy component.

In addition, by taking an intersectional approach, the work of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme addresses many of the issues at the heart of Islamophobia. Actions which have been taken forward include:

• Developing a set of Anti-Racist Principles for the curriculum;
• Providing racial literacy professional development, through the award winning Building Racial Literacy Programme;
• Publishing an Anti-Racist Action Guide aimed at empowering local authorities to better support their minority ethnic workforce;
• Developing guidance to address racism and racist incidents in schools, to empower the workforce to recognise and tackle racism and prejudice in all of its forms.