Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has long recognised that health and work are inextricably linked. Creating workplaces which support and promote good physical and mental health benefits both employees and employers.

While health and safety legislation itself is reserved to Westminster, the Scottish Government is using its devolved healthcare powers to support the physical and mental health of the Scottish workforce. This includes the Healthy Working Lives service which provides advice and guidance to employers and the services offered by NHS Scotland. We are also considering Occupational Health provision as part of our update of the Fair and Healthy Work for All strategy this year.

Additionally, last year, together with Public Health Scotland and in partnership with a range of employers, Trade Unions, mental health organisations and public sector partners we launched a new mental health and wellbeing platform to help Scottish employers actively support and promote mental health at work.

We do not currently hold data to quantify the provision of school childcare clubs within schools in particular local authority areas.

There are a variety of delivery models for the range of services being provided before and after school and in the holidays which might provide childcare options for families.

Services whose primary purpose it to provide childcare must register with, and be inspected by, the Care Inspectorate (dependent on their hours of operation). The majority of regulated school age childcare services are delivered by private, voluntary or third sector organisations. Only a minority are delivered directly by the local authority. The Care Inspectorate hold central data about regulated services.

Where a school offers clubs outside the school day as part of its activities programme (such as hobby or activity clubs), or for less than 2 hours each day (such as many breakfast clubs), these are not required to be registered or inspected by the Care Inspectorate. These may be provided by teachers, activity providers or volunteers. Data on these clubs is therefore not collected centrally.

Increasing the ADS to 6% provides much-needed revenue to support our national priorities, while also protecting opportunities for first-time buyers and home movers by allowing them to more fully compete with buy-to-let investors or those buying second homes.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that the private rented sector plays in meeting Scotland’s housing need. However, tax is just one of a wide range of financial, regulatory and other considerations that landlords will need to consider when making their investment decisions.

There are currently no plans to reverse or review the current rate of the ADS, however, the Scottish Government continuously monitors and considers all available data regarding the impact of LBTT and the ADS on the housing market.

Dog owners must take responsibility for their pet and responsible behaviour is central to the concept of exercising access rights. Increasing awareness is a key factor in the prevention of livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is clear on the rights and responsibilities of land managers and those exercising access rights, and is widely publicised.

Further to this the Scottish Government previously undertook an awareness raising digital campaign, in partnership with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to promote responsible dog ownership. The campaign was re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in September and December 2021, to further emphasise the importance of training pet dogs correctly. Reportedly NFU Mutual have estimated the cost of dog attacks on Scotland’s livestock fell by almost a third in 2022, indicating greater awareness on this matter.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any analysis of the impact of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021.

The main piece of legislation that controls the sale of alcohol in Scotland is the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The administration of the alcohol licensing regime is devolved to independent local Licensing Boards – in effect the 32 Scottish Local Authorities.

Licensing Boards can grant general extensions of licensed hours if they consider it appropriate to do so in connection with a special event of local or national significance.

The Scottish Ministers do not have a power to grant a general extension of licensed hours, unlike the Home Secretary under the England and Wales alcohol licensing regime.

We will aim to publish a report on the analysis of consultation responses, along with responses that responders have given their consent to share, within 12 weeks of the survey’s closing date. The survey is due to close on 26 April.

A final publication date for the strategy will be determined by the level of returns we receive to the survey, the analytical requirements of processing them and the drafting process.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work to increase provision of Changing Places Toilets, we are aiming to transform attitudes across Scotland so that more organisations, including businesses, are aware of, and understand the importance of, Changing Places Toilet facilities.

The Scottish Government has already introduced Scottish Building Regulations in 2019 requiring the provision of Changing Places Toilets in larger new buildings to which the public have access.

We also published our Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide and an accompanying easy read in November 2022. This guide, written in collaboration with PAMIS (Promoting A More Inclusive Society), details practical considerations when considering installing a Changing Places Toilet in both existing and new buildings. This helpful toolkit has been designed to improve and encourage Changing Places Toilet provision in the immediate term and ensure that new toilets built following our changes to legislation are appropriate and well considered.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets during this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues. This investment will be delivered in phases over the course of this parliamentary term.

The Scottish Government published the Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide and an accompanying easy read in November 2022. This guide details practical considerations when considering installing a Changing Places Toilet in both existing and new buildings.

The Scottish Government works closely with Promoting a More Inclusive Society (PAMIS) who are co-chairs and co-founders of the Changing Places Consortium and offer expert advice on Changing Places Toilets to a range of organisations in Scotland. From this work, and drawing on the lived experience that PAMIS brings, we know that there is significant demand for increased provision of Changing Places Toilets across the country.