Chamber and committees

Boundaries Scotland has the statutory responsibility to review the electoral arrangements for local government areas. In line with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1973, Boundaries Scotland must submit to Scottish Ministers a report on its review of the electoral arrangements for a local government area no more than 15 years after the previous report for that area was submitted. Boundaries Scotland is currently conducting the Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries, and will report to Ministers by 1 May 2025. Work to review council wards will recommence once this review has been submitted. The Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill proposes an amendment to the deadline by which Boundaries Scotland must complete the next local government reviews, from 31 December 2028 to 30 April 2031. This is to align the 15-year period between reviews with the five-year local government election cycle.

The Scottish Government is committed to introduce legislation to end conversion practices in Scotland that is as comprehensive as possible within devolved competence.

Conversion practices, which aim to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, are damaging and destructive acts that violate people’s human rights. Whilst our proposals will protect people from the harms of conversion practices, our approach also recognises and respects established rights and freedoms. This includes freedom of thought, conscience and belief and private and family life as well as parents exercising their rights and responsibilities in relation to their children.

Our public consultation, containing detailed proposals, ran for 12 weeks and closed on 2 April 2024. Responses to that consultation will now be analysed and considered.

Future legislative programmes will be announced in relevant Programmes for Government in the usual way.

The information in the following table has been supplied by CalMac. This information is not held by calendar year but has been supplied by Contract Year (CY) which begins in October.

Table 1 provides the average available number of staffed beds that were recorded for paediatric/child and adolescent specialties in Scotland for each year from 2001-02 to 2022-23. Information on bed numbers prior to 2001-02 is not available. A figure showing the amount of these beds that were recorded for psychiatric child specialties is also provided.

Due to the way specialties are recorded for beds data, it is not possible to use the Public Health Scotland beds statistics to estimate the total number of beds that are available for use by different services and/or departments. For example, selecting the Paediatric specialty grouping will only provide a partial picture of the staffed beds that are used for children’s services. This is because many beds used for children are not recorded under paediatric specialties and are instead recorded under more specific specialties, such as Haematology, Neurology and Respiratory Medicine.

Furthermore, the specialty recorded for a bed depends partly on what the patient is being treated for: therefore, for some wards, the mix of specialties may change over time.

Due to the volume of data included, a table including a full breakdown by NHS Board has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 64979).

Table 1: Average available staffed beds in paediatric/child & adolescent specialties, NHSScotland, 2001-02 – 2022-23

NES published the Core Competency Framework for General Practice Administration Staff and Practice Managers in September 2023, which includes an accompanying learning needs analysis tools and training packages. The training packages include training resources specifically for GP receptionists.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Sign Language Week in promoting British Sign Language (BSL) given its positive impact on both culture and community in Scotland. During this week the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills reiterated support of BSL and the Scottish Government’s commitments within the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029.

In response to (a), the Scottish Government published the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029 in November 2023. This plan sets out our approach to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, visit, work, and learn; it sets out 45 commitments across ten priority areas including health, education, and justice. The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 also requires listed authorities to publish their own Authority Plans; they are our key partners in promoting the use of BSL in public spaces.

In response to (b), the Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness. The level of support required, and input from a specialist teacher of deaf children and young people, will vary depending on a child’s individual needs. To support deaf children and young people the Scottish Government provides funding of £150,000 to The Scottish Sensory Centre to support staff training enabling effective support to deaf pupils. In addition, Education Scotland has developed a professional learning resource which seeks to support practitioners to engage more effectively with British Sign Language users. This can be found on their website at the following link: https://education.gov.scot/resources/good-practice-in-working-with-deaf-learners-their-parents-and-families-bsl-plan/

Education Scotland has published a BSL toolkit setting out the key national legislation and General Teaching Council for Scotland standards which practitioners should be aware of when working with BSL users. Information to help practitioners understand BSL, Deaf culture and identity is provided throughout the Toolkit alongside some of the key definitions and terms used when working with parents and families. You can view the Toolkit here: British Sign Language (BSL) - Toolkit for Practitioners | Resources | Education Scotland . Education Scotland also published resources to help families support their children’s learning, which can be found at: BSL | Parentzone Scotland | Education Scotland

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail for further information on this matter.

The Scottish Government remains committed to keeping the NHS true to its founding principles – publicly-owned, publicly-operated, and free at the point of need.

Health Boards might arrange treatment for some patients outwith NHSScotland for clinical reasons in exceptional circumstances. In all patient cases, the originating Health Board retains responsibility for the funding, consultation, diagnosis and treatment of their patients.

Guidance on establishing the responsible commissioner has been issued to NHS Boards from the Scottish Government to ensure services are always provided in the best interests of the patient: https://www.publications.scot.nhs.uk/files/cel2013-06.pdf .

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national authority for the development of evidence-based advice, guidance and standards for health and care professionals. All Independent Healthcare Service providers, are required to register with HIS who regulate such services in Scotland. It is a matter for HIS to detail specific guidance available, however more information is set out on their website: https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot/inspections-reviews-and-regulation/regulation-of-independent-healthcare/ .

Information relating to personnel matters is not routinely shared with the Scottish Government by local authorities. The requested information is therefore not held by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government continues to engage regularly with local authorities and relevant bodies to ensure enforcement of animal welfare regulations.