Chamber and committees

In 2024-25 Skills Development Scotland (SDS) will receive around £200m in funding from The Scottish Government to deliver against our priorities, including our net zero ambitions as outlined in key strategies such as the upcoming Just Transition Plans and Green Industrial Strategy.

The impact assessments for the E&S portfolio were prepared collectively and reflected in the Education and Skills portfolio analysis section in Annex B of the Equality and Fairer Scotland statement available at this link Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government has been supportive of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association since their inception in Scotland and since 2016-17 has supported the movement’s growth. In the financial year 2023-24, grant funding was provided under the portfolio of myself. However, the work of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association is cross-cutting and is not supported by a specific minister. As with other third sector organisations, engagement with the organisation spans across a range of portfolio areas including health and social care, equalities, and communities.

Since 2019 the number of teachers in Scottish schools has increased from 52,247 to 54,033 and the pupil teacher ratio has improved from 13.6 to 13.2.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff, and the Scottish Government continues to provide local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is also considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

The ‘Hate Monster’ is a Police Scotland campaign which ran for 6 weeks in Spring last year. The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

I will assume you are referring to the Scottish Government’s ‘Hate Hurts’ campaign which ran in March. The campaign showed the impact that hate crime has on those affected to help people recognise their experiences, highlighted the forms that hate crime can take and encouraged those who are witnesses to, or victims of hate crime to report it.

The campaign sends a message of reassurance to all communities in Scotland that hate crime will not be tolerated. c£390k was invested in the ‘Hate Hurts’ national campaign which included a broadcast and print.

The taskforce has established four subgroups to focus on attraction, education and development, leadership and culture, and wellbeing. All subgroups are considering retention as part of their remit. Each subgroup will formulate and provide recommended actions to the main taskforce. The Taskforce is making good progress with the development of its recommended actions and will continue to work until members have agreed a comprehensive action plan. We anticipate the publication of a report later in 2024.

Corporate governance and accountability arrangements for public bodies are in place and built around an established series of statutory and administrative mechanisms. These ensure consistent processes and parameters, based on the principles in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, within which public bodies are required to operate in terms of the stewardship of public money, propriety and ethics.

This is supplemented by framework agreements that Scottish Government has in place with most public bodies setting out respective roles and responsibilities, including requirement for bodies to set plans which contribute to achievement of the National Performance Framework outcomes, including tackling poverty. These activities and the sponsorship and relationship arrangements the Scottish Government has with public bodies helps ensure that Scottish Ministers priorities are delivered.

Scottish Government funding to local authorities is allocated using a relative needs-based formula, taking into account disadvantage and various other considerations, including levels of deprivation. While local authorities decide how to spend their available finances they are guided by a set of national and local outcomes, with the Equality Act and associated specific duties providing a framework to help local authorities pay due regard to equality issues.

Specifically, local authorises, and other certain public bodies, in Scotland are subject to the Fairer Scotland Duty, which places a legal responsibility on them to actively consider how they can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage, when making strategic decisions.

Since the establishment, the Nursing and Midwifery taskforce has held four ministerial led meetings in April, July, December 2023 and March 2024. The taskforce has also held two official led meetings in June 2023 and March 2024.

The Scottish Government publishes the agreed minutes and actions from each meeting on its website: www.gov.scot/groups/nursing-and-midwifery-taskforce/

The Scottish Governments Foreword - Health and Social Care Standards: my support, my life - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) set out what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland including care homes. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights are upheld. Standard 2.12 states that if residents are unable to make their own decisions, the views of those who know their wishes, such as carers, independent advocates, formal or informal representatives must be sought and taken into account.

The Care Inspectorate is the regulator of care services in Scotland and is a non- departmental body and independent of the Scottish Government. Using the Health and Social Care Standards, they inspect services to ensure the safety, protection and wellbeing of residents. Through their inspection process, they review personal plans to determine the capacity status of individuals in receipt of care and support. If a valid s47 certificate of incapacity is in place they will review that the legal proxy advocate is involved in pro-active decision making about the care and support in accordance with the individual.

The most recently published figures show a cumulative spend of £7.141m which supports the assessment, urgent interim measures and remediation of those buildings with the pilot programme. Information on expenditure is published quarterly on gov.scot

https://www.gov.scot/publications/single-building-assessment-spending-information/

The Scottish Government has stated an ambition to establish a pilot scheme on methane supressing feed products. Officials are currently exploring options for the proposed scheme.

The pilot scheme will support policy development around the appropriate use of methane supressing feed products. Officials will consider the appropriate targeting of such a pilot scheme, this will include consideration of farm business specialisation and size including the role of livestock crofts in such a pilot scheme.