Chamber and committees

We remain committed to sustained investment to strengthen provision of education in Scotland and we are offering local authorities £145.5m in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers.

The commitment to increase the number of classroom assistants has already been exceeded, with 725 additional staff recruited in 2022-23 alone. In addition, since 2019 the number of teachers in Scottish schools has increased by 1,786 from 52,247 to 54,033.

We will continue to work with local authorities to deliver our shared education commitments, with the approach we are able to take being dependent on the resources we have available and ensuring we deliver value for money, during an era where budgets continue to be under pressure as a result of UK Government austerity measures.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) met it’s 900ha woodland creation target in 2023-24 by planting 454ha of new trees and delivering 447ha of trees through naturally seeded regeneration, principally around Loch Katrine.

The Scottish Government continues to work towards our ambition to ensure that all adults who require timely access to rehabilitation services can by the end of 2025.

This is being taken forwards through the implementation of the Six Principles of Good Rehabilitation as set out in the Once for Scotland Approach. This is supported by the national rehabilitation leads network and through working across health and social care, leisure, third and independent sectors.

The General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme opened to General Practices across Scotland in November 2023. The scheme aims to raise awareness among General Practice teams of some of the health challenges that veterans and Armed Forces families face as a result of military service. The training itself is easily accessible through NHS Scotland’s Digital learning platform and is currently being further developed for use by staff in secondary care.

During 2020, the Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities, MOD and Veterans Scotland, promoted and distributed Armed Forces and Veterans awareness training to all local authorities in Scotland via the network of Armed Forces and Veterans Champions. The training package also provided sources of further information and support for the veterans and Armed Forces community.

While training is currently available, it is for individual practices and local authorities themselves to determine the mandatory training requirements of their staff.

The Scottish Government are not aware of any regulations which prevent public sector bodies from using recycled aggregates in construction projects.

SEPA encourages the use of recycled aggregates and has issued guidance on their manufacture from inert waste production-of-recycled-aggregates.pdf (sepa.org.uk) . This aims to ensure recycled aggregates have the same technical and environmental performance as virgin aggregates, providing confidence to users. Recycled aggregates must also comply with the relevant performance specifications.

Transport Scotland encourages the use of recycled aggregates where appropriate and, in order to encourage and facilitate this, recently issued a guidance note on road recycling https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/51380/ts-ia-52-road-recycling.pdf .

Scottish Government guidance Client Guide to Construction Projects includes a chapter on Sustainability in Construction that endorses a circular economy approach to conserve and value all resource.

More widely, the Scottish Government has introduced an Aggregates Tax and Devolved Taxes Administration (Scotland) Bill, which will encourage the use of recycled materials in construction, by taxing the sale or use of aggregates consisting of freshly extracted rock, gravel or sand.

The Scottish Aggregates Tax, scheduled for introduction in April 2026, is intended to encourage the minimum necessary exploitation of primary aggregate, maximise the use of secondary and recycled aggregates and incentivise innovation and the development of alternative materials.

The Veterans Mental Health Advisory Group was established to progress the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan. Tackling stigma is a key objective.

A Veterans Voice group serves to ensure the views of veterans inform the development and implementation of proposals emerging from the Advisory Group. This lived experience group will play a vital role in ensuring we remove barriers that prevent veterans from accessing mental health support.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has worked in partnership with See Me Veterans | End Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination (seemescotland.org) providing £50,000 to tackle stigma and promote the importance of veterans seeking help for mental health issues.

The Scottish Government has established the Graduate Apprenticeship Enhancement Group. It held its first meeting in April and met again in May. Membership includes Universities Scotland, Colleges Scotland, representatives from universities and colleges, Scottish Funding Council, Skills Development Scotland, Student Awards Agency for Scotland and members of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board. Former and current Graduate Apprentices will also be invited to join the group. The Group is developing the workstreams which will support its work.

I recognise the need to provide stability and encourage investment in the community pharmacy network and my officials are in discussions with Community Pharmacy Scotland to reach a financial settlement for 2024-25 which both meets our policy objectives and the needs of the network.

The operation of e-gates at the UK Border is the responsibility of the UK Government. There is no role for the Scottish Government in the operational or policy matters relating to the UK Border.

This information is not held centrally.