Chamber and committees

The UK Government’s 11th hour decision to undermine DRS in Scotland will have affected businesses across Scotland that were preparing for the launch of the Scottish scheme. We wrote to the UK Government on 16 May, 19 May and 23 May 2023 to inform them of the potential impact a delayed decision on the IMA exclusion, or not providing an exclusion, would have on businesses. In our letter dated 2 June 2023, we specifically highlighted our concerns about the impact this would have on Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL).

Administrators (Interpath) were appointed on 21 June 2023, and are currently working through the details of the administration process for CSL. The administration process will assess if any businesses has been directly financially affected by CSL going into administration.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the delivery of a successful DRS in October 2025 and are pushing the UK Government to set out how this can be delivered across the UK. The onus is now on DEFRA to work with the devolved nations, industry and wider stakeholder to ensure this scheme is launched successfully and on time.

The number of probationers local authorities bid for was greater than the number of probationers required to be allocated.

As at May 2023, local authorities bid for 3,818 probationers. The number of probationers allocated were 3,161.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, as responsibility for managing Police Scotland’s call handling system, including for non-emergency 101 calls, rests with the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland publish performance data, including for the non-emergency 101 service, on their website at Call Handling Reports 2023 - Police Scotland . The average wait time for non-emergency 101 calls in the last 6 months is below.

Police Scotland has advised that when there is a surge in 999 calls they will re-prioritise Advisors from non-emergency (101) calls and emails as they aim to answer 999 calls under 10 seconds. Therefore there is a direct link between increase in 999 volumes and the average speed of answer for 101 non-emergency calls performance. As shown below, the months where there has been a notable increase in Police Scotland’s average answer times for 101 is as a direct consequence of aiming to achieve an average speed of answer of under 10 seconds for 999 calls. The average speed of answer for 999 calls for the same period is also below.

There has been a significant change in the contact volume profile (999, 101, Other Emergency Service calls and Contactus E-Mails) being experienced by the Police Scotland Service Centre following the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes sustained annual growth in 999 call volumes which have risen by 34% since 2018. This year there has been an increase of 18% in January to June when compared to 2022; with May and June increases of 25% and 37% respectively in 999 calls compared with the same month the previous year.

101 average speed of answer – Jan to July 2023

As of 28 July 2023, a total of 65,602 properties in Scotland remain eligible for a voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 SBVS. That total is broken down by R100 contract area as follows:

North – 31,104

Central – 29,550

South – 4,948

The R100 SBVS remains the most generous broadband voucher currently available and we continue to publicise its availability via the press, social media, and through continued stakeholder engagement activity across Scotland. Suppliers registered to deliver connections through the R100 SBVS provide a range of superfast capable technologies including fibre, fixed wireless, 4G and satellite. The R100 SBVS can also be combined with the UK Government’s Gigabit Voucher, where applicable, to provide up to £9,500 to secure a gigabit capable broadband connection.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19616 on 6 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The four delivery model pilots of school swimming have now been completed and an evaluation is currently being undertaken which will be published in September. We will work with Scottish Swimming and sport scotland to utilise the learning from these pilots to consider the best approach for a continued roll out of a national framework for school swimming.

The decision on whether or not to issue a statement of prosecution policy in relation to the prosecution of users of any proposed safer drug consumption facility is for the Lord Advocate to consider in her position as independent head of the systems of prosecution and investigation of deaths. This decision is independent of Scottish Government so the timing of this response is unknown.

Once the Lord Advocate reaches a decision the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy will be able to respond appropriately, likely including a ministerial statement.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government, and this would be a matter for Local Authorities. However, not every Local Authority has a Young Carer Champion, and if they do, they are not necessarily a teaching member of staff.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on the joint bid to host EURO 2028. This bid was submitted jointly by the five football associations of the UK and Ireland on 12 April, 2023. The winning bid will be announced on 10 October, 2023.

Together with the Scottish Football Association and partners across the bid nations, we are continuing to develop legacy, sustainability and governance plans, in the event of a successful bid. UEFA EURO 2028 will have a significant global reach and has the potential to leave a positive lasting legacy in Scotland by generating significant economic, environmental and social benefits. The bid vision – Football for all, Football for good. Football for the future’ – is a promise to help the Football Associations and UEFA grow a more diverse and inclusive game.

A policy decision has been made to link the student loan age cap in Scotland to the UK state pension age, ensuring a 5 year gap between the two. This was implemented to allow students sufficient time to complete their studies, enter repayment and pay back some/all of their student loan. The current age cap of 61 reflects the UK state pension age of 66 and will increase in line with any future changes.